Harris County Commissioners Court on Thursday voted to sue Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar's office in response to his comments accusing the county of defunding law enforcement.
"They were wrong back when they tried this the first time — the comptroller and his allies — and they're wrong again now," County Judge Lina Hidalgo said before the court met in executive session Thursday.In a 4-1 vote, the court authorized County Attorney Christian Menefee to pursue a lawsuit against the comptroller's office. Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey, the lone Republican on the court, voted against the measure.
At issue is a 2021 state law passed by the GOP-controlled Legislature, Senate Bill 23, that bars large counties from cutting law enforcement spending without getting approval from voters. Hegar, responding to a complaint from Harris County Constable Ted Heap, last week said county officials had reduced the budget for Heap’s Precinct 5 office by some $2.4 million in their most recent budget.
Under Hegar’s calculations, Heap’s"annualized" budget would have been about $48.9 million over 12 months — nearly $2.3 million more than the $46.7 million figure calculated by the county.
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