Texas Senate Bill Moves Public Integrity Cases Out of Travis County

[txradioguy]

The Texas State Senate passed a bill on Thursday that would move pubic integrity cases out of Travis County. The bill passed 20-11 on partisan lines.
 
Senate Bill 10, authored by Republican Senator Joan Huffman (R-Houston), places the state’s Public Integrity Unit investigation with the Texas Rangers. If the Rangers find wrongdoing, they would forward the case to the district attorney’s office in the county where the official is from. The Senate Bill was passed as amended.
 
The Public Integrity Unit of the Travis County District Attorney’s Office has been the source of criticism by Republicans who say the unit has been used to further partisan motivated criminal indictments. Indictments of Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, and Governor Rick Perry, have been the source of this criticism.
 
Governor Perry was indicted for abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public servant by the Travis County District Attorney in 2014. Perry has called his indictments an outrageous abuse of power. While Governor, Perry threatened to veto, and did veto, funding for the Public Integrity Unit. Perry had called for Travis County District Attorney’s Lehmberg’s resignation after she was arrested and pled guilty to drunken driving. Lehmberg oversees the offices’ Public Integrity Unit. Perry’s case is pending.
 
Then House Majority Leader DeLay was indicted when Ronnie Earle was the Travis County District Attorney. Earle brought indictments against DeLay and Hutchison. DeLay has called the indictments in Travis County “The Criminalization of Politics.” He was indicted and found guilty by a Travis County jury but was later exonerated by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals after years of litigation and appeals.

http://www.breitbart.com/texas/2015/04/10/texas-senate-bill-moves-public-integrity-cases-out-of-travis-county/

[SVPete]

I understand that the Travis County Public Integrity Unit has been used, frequently, as a partisan political weapon. DeLay's and Perry's cases are just the most widely known. But is this constitutional (i.e. the state constitution)? Can the Travis County DA's office be entirely precluded from initiating partisanship-driven "corruption" investigations? Seems to me a better - though more difficult - approach to minimizing or solving this problem would be cleaning out the partisans infesting the DA's office. With ongoing oversight and cleanings.

[txradioguy]

I understand that the Travis County Public Integrity Unit has been used, frequently, as a partisan political weapon. DeLay's and Perry's cases are just the most widely known. But is this constitutional (i.e. the state constitution)? Can the Travis County DA's office be entirely precluded from initiating partisanship-driven "corruption" investigations? Seems to me a better - though more difficult - approach to minimizing or solving this problem would be cleaning out the partisans infesting the DA's office. With ongoing oversight and cleanings.

I'm pretty sure it is.  The only reason it hasn't passed sooner was because former Lt. Gov Dewhearst was not letting it come to a vote.

The Travis County DA isn't being precluded from cases that originate in Travis Country...i.e. with a Representative or Senator that represents the county/district...they just can't go on a Witch hunt on say the State Senator or Representative form Midland County.  That case would be handed over to the Midland County DA.

What got Perry into trouble with the PIU was the fact he tried to cut off funds to the office after the DA for Travis County who runs it was busted for a DUI and then was a Grade A bitch at the police station.