• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • CJCAT
    • From the President
    • From the General Counsel
    • North and East Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association
    • South Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association
    • West Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association
  • Conferences
    • Conference Galleries
    • Conference Close-Up
  • Texas County Directory
  • About Us
    • Meet Our Team
    • Previous Issues
      • 2020 Previous Issues
      • 2019 Previous Issues
      • 2018 Previous Issues
      • 2017 Previous Issues
      • 2016 Previous Issues
      • 2015 Previous Issues
      • 2014 Previous Issues
Texas County Progress

Texas County Progress

The Official Publication of the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas

  • Home
    • Feature Story
    • CJCAT
  • Legislature
  • Monuments of Justice
    • Courthouse Preservation
    • Courthouse Trails
    • Why Stop In
  • Emergency Response
  • Road & Bridge
  • Jails
    • Indigent Health Care
  • County Focus
    • A Glimpse In The Life
    • Century of Service
    • Courthouse Preservation
    • Key Concept
    • Veterans

Senate Finance Alert

March 3, 2023 by Julie Anderson

The Senate Finance Committee is concluding its hearings on funding issues. It will then prepare its budget recommendations for the full Senate consideration. Commissioners Court members should voice their concerns about this funding proposal as soon as possible. Please provide your legislators with information on the cost of these issues to your county taxpayers.

Jail Backlog – CJCAT is requesting reimbursement from the State of Texas for the expenses incurred due to backlogs of prisoners that are held in our county jails awaiting transfer to state facilities.

Mental Health Beds

  • 1,049 incompetent jail inmates are being held for maximum security beds with an average wait time of 699 days.
  • 1,496 incompetent jail inmates are being held for non-maximum beds with an average wait time of 227 days.
  • $285 per day is the average cost of a jail inmate awaiting transfer to a mental health facility.

Blue Warrants

  • 1,910 technical parole violators are being held in county jails awaiting a hearing or transfer to state prisons.

Paper Ready

  • 2,443 convicted state prisoners are being held in county jails awaiting transfer to state prisons
  • 4,073 immigrant detainees are being held in county jails awaiting processing

CJCAT Request: The state is currently shifting over $500 million per year in state prison and mental facility costs onto county taxpayers. Although the proposed increased funding in the base budget is appreciated, more funding directed to the counties for services such as competency restoration is required to alleviate the current crisis. If the state does not accept its inmates and mental patients, it should compensate the county taxpayers for this cost, providing direct property tax relief to the county property taxpayer.

Indigent Defense – The cost of providing criminal indigent defense has consistently been one of the most expensive and increasing mandates that counties are forced to fund with county property tax dollars. The current base budget includes a decrease in funding due to reduced collections in court fees. However, the TIDC legislative appropriation request includes an additional $11.4 million to replace these lost revenues and $70 million in new funding for rural county public defender offices.

  • 2022 TIDC estimates report counties spending more than $300 million per year
  • 222 percent increase in county criminal indigent defense spending since 2001

CJCAT Request: An additional $100 million per year to bring the cost for indigent criminal defense to a 50/50 split with the state, providing direct property tax relief to the county taxpayer.

Child Protective Services – Court Appointed Attorneys

Texas counties are required to pay appointed counsel for indigent parents and children in CPS proceedings. Over 16,000 removal proceedings were initiated by the Department of Family Protective Services in 2021. No state funding was provided to offset the cost to the county property tax payer.

CJCAT Request: Appropriate $63 million to provide 100 percent funding, providing direct property tax relief to the county property taxpayer.

Senate Finance email list:

Sen. Joan Huffman            joan.huffman@senate.texas.gov

Sen. Chuy Hinojosa           juan.hinojosa@senate.texas.gov

Chair Paul Bettencourt       paul.bettencourt@senate.texas.gov

Sen. Donna Campbell        donna.campbell@senate.texas.gov
Sen. Brandon Creighton    brandon.creighton@senate.texas.gov

Sen. Pete Flores                 pete.flores@senate.texas.gov

Sen. Bob Hall                    bob.hall@senate.texas.gov

Sen. Kelley Hancock         kelly.hancock@senate.texas.gov

Sen. Bryan Hughes            bryan.hughes@senate.texas.gov

Sen. Lois Kolkhorst           lois.kolkhorst@senate.texas.gov

Sen. Robert Nichols           robert.nichols@senate.texas.gov

Sen. Angela Paxton           angela.paxton@senate.texas.gov

Sen. Charles Perry             charles.perry@senate.texas.gov

Sen. Charles Schwertner  charles.schwertner@senate.texas.gov

Sen. Royce West                royce.west@senate.texas.gov

Sen. John Whitmire           john.whitmire@senate.texas.gov

Sen. Judith. Zaffirini          judith.zaffirini@senate.texas.gov

 

 

Filed Under: Legislature Tagged With: 88th Legislative Session

Primary Sidebar

Subscribe to County Progress

Subscribe: Newsletter | Magazine

March 2023

March 2023
If you'd like to view our previous issues, click here.

Search County Progress

Dates of Interest for the 88th Regular Session of the Texas Legislature

Official deadlines will be set when the House and Senate adopt their rules, but until then, the Texas Legislative Council Drafting Manual provides the following general calendar: 

Bill pre-filing began:  Nov. 14, 2022 

1st day of session:  Jan. 10, 2023 

60-day bill filing deadline:  March 10, 2023  

Adjournment sine die:  May 29, 2023 

Post-session 20-day deadline for governor to sign or veto:  June 18, 2023 

Effective date (91st day after adjournment):  Aug. 28, 2023

Sample Rules of Procedure, Conduct, and Decorum at Meetings of the County Commissioners Court

Resolutions

Unfunded Mandate Resolution

The latest resolutions passed by the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas and the three Regional Associations are available at the links below.

County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas Resolutions 2022

North & East Texas Resolutions 2022

South Texas Resolutions 2022

West Texas Resolutions 2022

Texas County Directory

Place your order for the updated 2023 Directory

Connect with us online.

Facebook spacer Twitter spacer LinkedIn

Footer

Search County Progress

Privacy Policy

Cookie Policy

County Progress

3457 Curry Lane
Abilene, TX 79606
325.673.4822
countyprogress@zacpubs.com

Categories

© 2023 · Zachry Publications