A bill in Congress would require federal law enforcement to obtain a warrant before searching license plate reader data collected by local systems like the Flock cameras Katy police use.

Rep. Keith Self, a Texas Republican, introduced the Protecting Rights in Video and Equipment Acquired Discovery Act, or PRIVACY Act (H.R. 9716), on July 15. The bill also caps federal agencies' data retention at 30 days and bars federal dollars from funding surveillance camera purchases, according to Self's congressional office.

"Right now, under the surveillance cameras, Flock, Axon, and others, there is no warrant that federal agencies have to get to go get the data," Self told CW39 on Sept. 6. "That violates the Fourth Amendment."

The legislation comes as Katy's own Flock system faces scrutiny. Former Katy police officer Sergio Guadalupe Rodriguez was indicted on third-degree felony charges of stalking and misuse of official information. A Fort Bend County grand jury alleged he used the department's Flock system to track his ex-wife's movements between Nov. 2, 2024, and April 2, 2025, Covering Katy reported.

Rodriguez was arrested May 4 after warrants were issued. Bail was set at $15,000 per charge. He has pleaded not guilty.

Katy's Flock network is substantial. Then-Police Chief Noe Diaz told City Council in January 2024 that about one million vehicles pass through the readers every month. The city operates 40 cameras, with roughly 35 to 40 additional privately owned cameras connected to the system, according to a separate council presentation in early 2024.

The PRIVACY Act's 30-day retention limit applies only to federal law enforcement's use of the data. It does not impose a cap on the underlying local database, the Washington Times reported. That means Katy PD's own Flock records would not be directly affected by the retention rules.

Self framed the federal funding restriction as the bill's enforcement lever, saying agencies that accept federal dollars should accept federal conditions on those programs.

The bill has drawn half a dozen Republican cosponsors, including Reps. Eli Crane of Arizona and Andrew Clyde of Georgia. It is pending before the House Judiciary Committee and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. No hearing date has been set.

The federal push follows state-level action. Gov. Greg Abbott ordered all state agencies to pause Flock camera funding on Aug. 28, according to the Texas Tribune. The Motor Vehicle Crime Prevention Authority had helped install at least 3,200 Flock cameras statewide since 2023.

Nationally, the Institute for Justice counts 157 local governments that have canceled or declined to renew license plate reader contracts since the beginning of 2025.

Closer to home, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo called for a special meeting to review the county's Flock program, as we reported Sept. 6.

Harris County operates 480 Flock cameras across 20 networks under a contract worth roughly $869,000 that runs through June 2027, according to Houston Public Media.

Following the Rodriguez investigation, Katy police said command staff now conduct random monthly audits and quarterly audits of all officers with Flock search privileges. The department has not publicly addressed how the PRIVACY Act might affect its operations.