Att. Gen. Ken Paxton has filed a new lawsuit against the Travis County Commissioners Court, accusing them of violating the Texas Open Meetings Act during a ‘secret’ meeting on taxpayer-funded security for District Attorney Jose Garza.
The lawsuit centers around one specific meeting held on March 19, 2024, in which county leaders purportedly entered into an executive session to discuss “security issues” related to Garza’s personal home residence. Following the meeting, the commissioners’ court voted to allocate $115,000 from the general fund for enhanced security measures, mainly for Garza. However, the meeting was only listed as a generic “Executive Session.”
“Travis County has illegally abused procedure to conceal self-serving decision-making, to hide from scrutiny, and to prevent citizens from knowing exactly what is being done with their money,” Paxton said via a press release published on Monday.
“After the Travis County DA’s pro-crime policies have created such dangerous conditions for Austin residents, it is especially ironic that he secretly sought taxpayer-funded security measures for his home,” he added.
According to state law, executive sessions are only permitted for specific topics, none of which include funding for personal security measures. Paxton’s suit argues that this meeting represented an apparent misuse of executive powers, as it intended to shield the decision to up the ante on Garza’s home security from public scrutiny.
However, the unusual situation surrounding DA Garza’s security has been on the public radar, with greater interest from state officials such as Paxton, as previously highlighted in a report from The Texas Scorecard.
The situation regarding taxpayer-funded security for DA Garza became increasingly unusual with the recent announcement that he would shift to using a new agency to manage his security.
Budget documents showed the county intended to establish an agency tasked with safeguarding elected officials and county employees, starting with a budget of $1.8 million for security equipment, operations, and overall salaries, KVUE reported.
Garza has had security from county constables since February after his home address was allegedly leaked on social media. He also has undisclosed security services from a private Houston firm.
Hector Nieto, spokesperson for Travis County, emphasized that the county is dedicated to addressing the community’s needs and protecting its representative officials regardless of any legal pressure from Paxton, according to a recent statement obtained by KERA News.
“We will always defend the role of local government in supporting Travis County residents, our employees, and our elected and appointed officials despite the deliberate attacks by state leadership,” Nieto claimed.