Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democratic Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley and independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced legislation Friday to effectively end the federal use of automated license plate readers (ALPRs).

The Ban Flock Act would prohibit the federal government from purchasing, using or possessing an ALPR, accessing its data or using federal funds to purchase ALPRs, but it does not outright ban the cameras, according to the bill’s text. It would block certain federal grant funding for state and local governments that use ALPRs or contract with ALPR companies, such as Flock Safety, although it does not outright prohibit local agencies from purchasing the technologies with local tax dollars.

State and local governments using ALPRs would no longer receive federal assistance from the Department of Justice, Department of Transportation, Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Homeland Security, according to the bill.

The legislation would allow Americans to sue the federal government for violation of their rights through the use of ALPRs.

No lawmakers have introduced bills to ban the cameras altogether. Republican Florida Rep. Anna Paulina Luna said in July she planned to introduce a bill to ban the cameras, although she has yet to introduce the bill.

We cannot allow America to become a surveillance state where AI oligarchs profit by giving the government the power to track our every movement.

That is why @AOC, @JeffMerkley and I are introducing the BAN FLOCK Act to block federal funding for automatic license plate readers.

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) October 2, 2026

(Read more from “AOC, Bernie Sanders Introduce Bill To Ban Feds From Using Flock Cameras” HERE)