League City voters will decide Nov. 3 whether the city should continue using Flock surveillance cameras as Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo calls for a regional pause on the technology.

Hidalgo posted her call on Substack on Saturday, Sept. 5, saying the county renewed its Flock Safety contract in May without privacy safeguards that commissioners had promised to add. She said those provisions still have not been incorporated months later.

"The members who forced the item through owe the public answers to these questions," Hidalgo wrote.

The Harris County Commissioners Court approved the Flock contract renewal May 28 in a 4-0 vote, with Hidalgo abstaining, according to KPRC 2. County records show the renewal runs through June 5, 2027, at a cost of $868,975. Hidalgo characterized the total contract value at $2 million in her Substack post, according to ABC13. The discrepancy was not explained.

Hidalgo outlined three steps she wants the county to take: produce a clear summary of its license plate reader contracts, hold a public discussion that includes privacy experts and residents, and halt the programs until oversight provisions are written into the contract. No date has been set for the special meeting.

The call comes less than two months before League City residents vote on Proposition A. The nonbinding measure asks whether the police department should continue using Flock's automated license plate reader cameras on public roadways. City Council placed the proposition on the ballot in an Aug. 11 vote, according to the city's election ordinance.

The result will not bind the council. Council member Courtney Chadwell called it "essentially a city-wide straw poll" at the Aug. 11 meeting, Houston Public Media reported.

League City currently operates 55 active Flock cameras, with 16 more awaiting state permits. The city approved a five-year agreement in December 2023 valued at nearly $900,000 covering 70 cameras, KPRC 2 reported. The city says the system aided 305 criminal investigations in a recent 12-month period and helped recover about $1 million in stolen property.

Privacy concerns extend beyond League City. Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state agencies to pause Flock camera funding Aug. 27 after the Texas Tribune reported that at least $30 million in state money had gone toward building the surveillance network. In the Houston area, the Houston Police Department said it is investigating officers for potential policy violations involving the Flock system. The Harris County Sheriff's Office has disciplined officers who abused the cameras, according to Hidalgo.

A former Katy police officer, Sergio Guadalupe Rodriguez, has been charged with stalking and misuse of official information after allegedly using the Flock system to track his ex-wife, KPRC 2 reported.

Manvel Mayor Dan Davis said the Flock issue was scheduled for discussion at his city council's Sept. 8 meeting.

Early voting for League City's Nov. 3 election begins Oct. 19.