Texas Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to sign a bill prohibiting jurisdictions in the state from defunding the police.
“We’re about to pass a law-that I will sign-that will prevent cities from defunding police,” Abbott said on Twitter, citing a shooting in the state’s capital of Austin that did not receive a quick police response. “Sanity & safety will return.”
“Shooting Call came out at 5:35am this morning. No units available city wide for 12 minutes,” said the tweet shared by Abbot, which was posted by Austin Police Association President Kenneth Casaday. “First Apd patrol unit Assigned at 5:47am Apd made scene at 5:51am, 16 minutes after the call came out. Victim critically injured after being shot in the head.”
https://twitter.com/GregAbbott_TX/status/1396643982785105920TEXAS HOUSE PASSES BILL TO PUNISH CITIES THAT DEFUND THEIR POLICE DEPARTMENTS
The Austin City Council voted last year to reallocate up to $150 million, with the city so far reducing the police department’s budget by $21.5 million. The decision was made amid a wave of social justice protests after the death of George Floyd last May, which sparked a movement to defund police departments across the country.
But the Texas Legislature has moved to punish cities in the state that choose to follow the movement, with the House passing a bill that would allow the state to take a portion of a city’s sales taxes and use it to help fund the State Department of Public Safety. The bill would also prevent cities from raising other taxes to make up for the lost revenue.
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The bill only targets cities of more than 250,000 residents, which would affect Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth, El Paso, Arlington, Corpus Christi, Plano, Laredo, and Lubbock. So far, Austin is the only city in that category that has moved significant police funding away from its department.
