Fox26 by Elizabeth Evans 9/3/2020
Gov. Greg Abbott is considering a proposal for the state to take over the Austin Police Department after the Austin City Council voted to defund the department last month.
Abbott wrote on Twitter that the proposal is one strategy he is looking at.
"This proposal for the state to takeover the Austin Police Department is one strategy I'm looking at," he wrote. "We can't let Austin's defunding & disrespect for law enforcement to endanger the public & invite chaos like in Portland and Seattle."
This comes after he, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen held a press conference in mid-August to announce a legislative proposal to discourage cities from following Austin's lead and defunding law enforcement.
The proposal stated that any city in the state that defunds police departments will have property tax rates frozen at their current level. “Cities that endanger residents by reducing law enforcement should not then be able to turn around and go back and get more property tax dollars," Abbott said at the time.
More:
https://www.fox26houston.com/news/gov-abbott-considering-proposal-for-state-to-take-over-apd
