A member of the Texas House of Representatives is calling on his fellow lawmakers to look for ways to pay for the Public Integrity Unit of the Travis County District Attorney’s Office.
Governor Rick Perry used a line-item veto to cut off the Unit’s state funding, citing D.A. Rosemary Lehmberg’s DWI conviction.
State Representative Sylvester Turner (D-Houston) says he’s concerned that cases pending at the Public Integrity Unit, which looks into allegations of corruption in state government, won’t be investigated.
“Since the governor has vetoed the funding for this law enforcement agency, which is currently handling 400 pending cases," Rep. Turner said, "what is the next course of action to make sure these criminal cases have the funding?”
House Speaker Joe Straus indicates that his office will look into the matter, but it’s not clear what can be done during a special session with an issue that’s not on the Governor’s agenda.
