New bill could harm El Paso County if it becomes law

A new bill set for discussion in Austin has some county workers concerned.

The bill, slated to be talked about within the Texas Senate Committee of Criminal Justice on Tuesday, would initiate new requirements for law enforcement.

Cygne Nemir, a member of the El Paso County Attorney’s Office, voiced concerns during Monday’s county commissioners meeting.

“We have some serious legal issues, and I strongly urge this court to take a position,” said Nemir.

The concern stems from the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure 60.10. It’s a rule enacted several years ago that has put El Paso county at risk of losing funding from the Office of the Governor’s Criminal Justice Department.

Each year in January Texas DPS releases a list of what county’s are in compliance with standards of how quickly they complete cases. If a county isn’t in compliance they have until the end of July to get caught up to a 90 percent efficiency rating. But a new bill introduced in the Texas Senate wouldn’t just require county’s to get caught up on the cases tied to the January report, but new cases that are added every month.

Nemir told commissioners it pressures investigators to hurry up cases and the cistrict attorney’s office to dismiss cases or cut deals.

Perhaps more alarming, she says that if the standards aren’t met the county would lose funding for the next year. That grant money is said to be $4,750,000.

“For El Paso County, that’s a big punishment,” said Nemir.

The other concern raised is the way the bill is written appears to stop funding from other entities within El Paso County. This means any grants held by the city of El Paso, Socorro or other areas wouldn’t be able to receive money from the Criminal Justice Department.

Nemir said last year the county came into compliance with just days remaining before the July deadline, and that if the bill were to become law she doesn’t believe the county would make it this year.

Commissioners said it was a concern, and decided to send a representative to Austin for the Tuesday meeting to raise concerns the commissioners have with the proposed law.

For the latest on El Paso County Commissioners court news follow ABC-7s Matthew Smith on Twitter at @MattSmithABC7.