Flock Exposed - Who Bankrolled the Bill's Death?
In 2026, a California bill that would have added guardrails to ALPR vendor contracts died in the legislature, even as public anger over Flock's surveillance network kept growing. It did not die by accident. Two lobbying forces pushed in the same direction, and one of the groups fighting the bill counts Flock itself as a paying corporate partner.
Flock's Own Lobbying Spend
Flock's largest known state lobbying expenditure came in California, where since January 2025 it spent 30,000 dollars in each quarter, for a total of 180,000 dollars, focused on bills adding guardrails around vendor contracts for license plate reader programs.
Source: OpenSecrets
Nationally, Flock Safety spent 690,000 dollars lobbying in 2025 alone, and has poured more than 2 million dollars into federal and state lobbying since 2025 as the company faces mounting scrutiny from lawmakers in both parties and privacy advocates.
Source: OpenSecrets
The Sheriffs' Lobbying Muscle
The California State Sheriffs' Association (CSSA) spent more than 400,000 dollars on lobbying efforts during the 2025-2026 legislative session, including against the Flock camera bill, according to the California Secretary of State.
Source: ABC10
CSSA's own legislative director said the group was concerned the bill was going to limit the utility of ALPR data to solve crimes, find missing persons, and exonerate innocent individuals, and that CSSA was glad it did not pass.
Source: CalMatters
Flock Is a Paying CSSA Partner
Flock Safety is not a neutral bystander to the Sheriffs' Association it lobbied alongside. Flock is listed among CSSA's "Corporate 100 Partners" in the association's own magazine, appearing in 2024 and 2025 editions alongside companies like Motorola, Microsoft, and Oracle.
Source: CSSA California Sheriff magazine, 2024 and 2025 editions
The Corporate 100 Partners tier costs an annual fee of 2,500 dollars, according to CSSA's own program brochure. In exchange, partner companies get name recognition in every issue of CSSA's magazine, a company listing on the CSSA website, and networking access at Sheriffs' trainings and CSSA's Annual Conference.
Source: CSSA Corporate 100 Partners Program brochure
It is a modest sponsorship fee, not a massive campaign donation. But it buys Flock a standing seat at the table with the same association that spent over 400,000 dollars fighting the bill meant to rein in Flock's own industry.
The Same Pattern in Congress
This was not just a California story. A bipartisan amendment that would have effectively blocked police license plate reader programs nationwide, including Flock's, was killed at a House committee markup on May 21, 2026. Investigators found a lobbying connection between Flock and one of the amendment's own sponsors.
Source: IPVM
Questions to Ask Your Town
Does your town's law enforcement agency, or any statewide association it belongs to, list Flock Safety or its competitors as a paying corporate partner or sponsor?
How much has Flock spent lobbying in your state, and which bills did that lobbying target?
Did any law enforcement association in your state lobby against ALPR oversight legislation, and how much did that cost?
Would your town's elected officials support requiring public disclosure of vendor sponsorships and payments to law enforcement associations?
This page will be updated as more factual sources become available.