Touting his public safety priorities for the legislative session, the governor continued to assail Austin for redirecting part of its police budget. He backed changes in police training, but said little else about reforming policing or accountability.
The Texas Legislature must step in and forbid cities from cutting their police budgets, Gov. Greg Abbott insisted Thursday, but he remained silent on calls for myriad changes to policing tactics or accountability that gained national momentum last year during protests against police brutality and racial injustice.
After hosting a roundtable discussion on public safety that included mostly law enforcement officials, Abbott laid out some of his public safety priorities for this year’s legislative session at a press conference, saying that “Texas is a law-and-order state, and we are going to ensure that we keep it that way.”
He focused on asking lawmakers to withhold tax revenue from cities that cut police budgets and changing a bail system that he said “allows dangerous criminals to go free,” renewing a failed proposal from 2019.
Photo: After hosting a roundtable discussion on public safety that included mostly law enforcement officials, Abbott laid out some of his public safety priorities for this year’s legislative session at a press conference. Credit: Miguel Gutierrez Jr./The Texas Tribune
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