$1 Car Insurance Fee in Texas Funded Thousands of Surveillance Cameras
· Telemundo McAllen (KTLM)
TEXAS – In 2023, the Texas Legislature unanimously passed a law that increased car insurance costs by $1 for Texans, aimed at combating the rising theft of catalytic converters. Three years later, a little-known state agency has allocated at least $30 million from that revenue to enhance the state's Flock surveillance network by installing license plate reader cameras along roads and streets from El Paso to the Louisiana border, according to an analysis by the digital news organization The Texas Tribune. The Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority (MVCPA), led by a board mostly appointed by Governor Greg Abbott, has used the $1 increase to acquire at least 3,200 Flock cameras. The state agency has awarded no fewer than 95 grants to assist police agencies in purchasing and maintaining around 2,000 Flock cameras. An additional $15.9 million is helping the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) add nearly 1,200 more cameras. The initiative is far from over; earlier in August, the agency approved another $3 million to help the Texas DPS install 583 additional cameras on the state's toll roads over the next year.
AI summary · Source: Telemundo McAllen (KTLM) →
