Ignoring calls for a veto, Gov. Greg Abbott signed controversial legislation this week that will allow elected and appointed state officials and state employees to bypass Austin prosecutors when they are accused of public corruption.
Abbott, a Republican, signed the bill Thursday without making a statement or staging a public signing ceremony. His press office did not respond to requests for comment left via email and over the phone.
The unique carve-out for politicians and state employees drew fire throughout the recently concluded session of the Texas Legislature. John Courage, state chairman of the nonpartisan watchdog group Common Cause, said he believes the bill is unconstitutional and could be challenged in court by various watchdog groups.
“They’ve set up a separate legal process for the legislators,” he said. “It doesn’t make any sense. A normal person would be tried in the location where they committed the offense and not the legislators. It’s just an unfair, unbalanced system.”
That’s the first I’ve heard of a potential lawsuit. I get the rationale – Texas lawmakers have created a separate system of justice for themselves, which is arguably unconstitutional. I wish the Trib had quoted a law professor to get an opinion on that. There are other issues with having the DPS in charge of these investigations, and empowering local prosecutors may not be a better deal for legislators than what they have now. I continue to believe that this is a scandal waiting to happen. We’ll see how long that takes.