*** Click here for the audio version.*** According to Texas Transportation Code Section 502.401, Subchapter H, Optional Fees, “The Commissioners Court of a county by order may impose an additional fee, not to exceed $10, for registering a vehicle in the county.” The $10 maximum was established in 1991. County Impact Grimes County collects the $10 fee, which is deposited … [Read more...] about Resolution Spotlight: Optional County Road and Bridge Fee
Resolutions
Resolution Spotlight: Municipal Utility Districts
*** Click here for the audio version.*** A municipal utility district (MUD) is a state governmental entity that provides utility services to designated areas. A MUD may be created by the Texas Legislature or by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) following a petition and consent process described in the Texas Water Code. MUDs are usually created … [Read more...] about Resolution Spotlight: Municipal Utility Districts
Resolution Spotlight: Mentally Incompetent Inmates
In many Texas counties, the county jail has become a de facto mental institution housing mentally ill inmates awaiting due process without their medications and/or life-sustaining therapies. Texas Health and Human Services (HHS) operates nine state hospitals and one residential youth center, all located across the state, for people with mental health issues. If a judge … [Read more...] about Resolution Spotlight: Mentally Incompetent Inmates
Resolution Spotlight: Juvenile Funding
County governments provided approximately 73 percent of the total funding for juvenile probation departments in FY 2024, according to the 2025 Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) Rider Report to the Governor and Legislative Budget Board. This percentage has historically been as high as 75 percent, confirmed Windy Johnson, program manager for the Conference of Urban … [Read more...] about Resolution Spotlight: Juvenile Funding
Resolution Spotlight: Support for County Road Grant Funds
Over a five-year period, TxDOT data shows a consistent and alarming trend: Nearly 7 percent of all traffic fatalities in Texas occur on county roads each year. “That’s a significant share of the state’s roadway deaths occurring on roads that counties struggle to maintain with limited and outdated resources,” observed Cass County Judge Travis Ransom. One of those outdated … [Read more...] about Resolution Spotlight: Support for County Road Grant Funds