Set to take over statewide corruption investigations, the Texas Department of Public Safety must decide whether it will investigate itself.
In April, DPS Director Steve McCraw demanded that the Travis County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit re-start a probe into a no-bid border-security contract issued by his agency.
The director had objected to media stories about the deal and wanted the probe brought to a conclusion. But the head of the Public Integrity Unit responded that his agency was so devastated by a funding veto by former Gov. Rick Perry that it couldn’t reopen the probe even with financial assistance.
Now, thanks to a bill that awaits Gov. Greg Abbott’s signature, DPS on Sept. 1 will take charge of the integrity unit’s investigations.
On Friday, the agency declined to say whether a look at the border-security contract with Abrams Learning and Information Systems would be among the ones it would pursue.
“I confirmed that the bill has not been signed yet, so it (is) still considered pending legislation, which we do not discuss,” Tom Vinger, a spokesman for the Department of Public Safety, said in an email.
In an email Sunday, Abbott’s press secretary, Amelia Chasse, declined to comment when asked whether Abbott plans to sign or veto, House Bill 1690.
However, a left-leaning watchdog group said the conundrum McCraw faces with the Abrams investigation starkly illustrates problems that the Legislature ignored when it passed the bill.
“Having DPS investigate its own contract with Abrams illustrates how the legislature turned the Public Integrity Unit into the Keystone Kops,” Andrew Wheat, research director for Texans for Public Justice, said in an email. “But why stop there? Why doesn’t McCraw hire Abrams to investigate the contract? Then if Abrams finds evidence of its own wrongdoing, McCraw can refer the case to Abrams’s homeboy prosecutors back in Virginia. The whole thing is a farce.”
See here for the background. It should be noted that Abbott hasn’t yet signed the bill to move the Public Integrity Unit to DPS yet, so there is a way to work this out in a non-ridiculous fashion. I can’t imagine that he won’t sign it, however, so good luck to DPS figuring out how to untangle that mess. And for a Governor that made “ethics reform” an emergency item this session, he sure got some crappy results from his legislators. You’d think he’d have more to say about that.
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