tl;dr: A 2023 Texas law added $1 to auto insurance premiums to fight catalytic converter theft, but the Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority has quietly funneled at least $30 million of it into roughly 3,200 Flock license plate reader cameras statewide—something bill sponsors say was never discussed. After the Texas Tribune's inquiries, Gov. Abbott's office announced a pause on state grant funding for Flock cameras, amid mounting bipartisan backlash over Fourth Amendment concerns and documented cases of officers misusing the surveillance data to stalk individuals.