State laws will have broad-spectrum effects on Travis County

The 88th Texas Legislature’s regular session recently ended, with both favorable and unfavorable fiscal effects on Travis County.

On Tuesday, county Intergovernmental Relations Officer Julie Wheeler updated the Travis County Commissioners Court on the outcomes of the session and the scope of the legislation passed, which affected the county in areas like transportation, natural resources, elections and law enforcement.

Lawmakers filed 8,345 bills and about 1,200 that passed both chambers. Many of those bills affected county processes, and some concerned Travis County in particular.

House Bills 4085 and 2620 would carry negative and positive fiscal effects, respectively, Wheeler said. While HB 4085 will make the county shoulder the costs of court filing fees that were previously covered by private, inpatient mental health facilities, HB 2620 mandates that the state pick up its inmates from the Travis County Jail within 45 days, after which it must cover the confinement costs.

“These are people that already have private insurance and can afford private care,” Commissioner Brigid Shea said, referring to HB 4085. “Why would the taxpayers be picking that up if the people can afford private insurance, have it and can get private care?”

Wheeler said that the county currently brings in $800,000 from the filings.

“It’s a weird bill. It was under fire last session. We had headed it off and did not expect it to return, but I guess we shouldn’t be surprised those private providers did not want to pay those filing fees,” Wheeler said.

Concerning HB 2620, Shea said, “We’ve seen people stay in our jails for very long periods of time … because the state is just refusing to pay their share, shifting their cost to the local taxpayers.”

Wheeler said that a 45-day rule already existed, but this law now codifies it in statute.

Wheeler also noted HB 479, which would have reimbursed the county for holding people in county facilities on mental health detainers, failed to pass the Senate.

“That one really would have had a tremendous impact,” Wheeler said. “So while we didn’t get as much as we hoped for, we did get something, and it’s rare that I get to say that.”

Other bills that affect Travis County include HB 6, HB 19 and HB 3697.

HB 6 would make distributors of substances that result in deaths eligible to be charged with murder, which is relevant to Travis County, given its declaration of a public health crisis due to an increasing number of fentanyl overdoses and deaths. HB 19, meanwhile, creates a new business court that has jurisdiction in cases of disputes exceeding $10 million.

HB 3697 narrows the requirements of the plat-approval process. It allows a commissioners court to delegate approval authority to multiple officers or employees of the county.

Wheeler said the Intergovernmental Relations Office will soon distribute a document giving a more comprehensive overview of bills that affect the county.

“We’ll be sure to update all of you on bills that have passed this session that we think will have some sort of direct or indirect impact on the county,” Wheeler said. “Some of these are really big issues, and we think will come back to you in future court sessions.”

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