House Amends, Passes Public Integrity Unit Bill
The Texas House approved a bill that creates a unique and complicated venue rule—a rule that would enable a state leader charged with public corruption to have his trial in his hometown county rather than where the offense occurred.
April 21, 2015 at 02:00 PM
5 minute read
The Texas House approved a bill that creates a unique and complicated venue rule—a rule that would enable a state leader charged with public corruption to have his trial in his hometown county rather than where the offense occurred.
Offenses by state leaders often occur in Austin because it's the state government's headquarters. The public integrity unit of the Travis County District Attorney's Office prosecutes those crimes. Under House Bill 1690, the unit would lose responsibility for public officials' cases, but it would still prosecute state employees for corruption and would keep statewide venue to prosecute insurance fraud and motor fuels tax fraud.
Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, said that current law gives just one elected official, chosen by one county's voters, the power to investigate and prosecute public officials for corruption. King said that his bill would task a renowned law enforcement agency—the Texas Ranger Division of the Texas Department of Public Safety—with investigating the crimes and diffuse the prosecution power to counties throughout the state.
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