letter from harris county attorney letter from harris county attorney

Thank you for your help! This contest is one of two current requests by losing Republican candidates to throw out the results of the November 2022 election in certain races. Many of those races were close, and it wouldnt surprise us to see candidates filing election contests.. At issue is a new state law passed by the GOP-controlled Legislature,Senate Bill 23, that bars large counties from cutting law enforcement spending without getting approval from voters. Im pleased with the courts decision today to reject the request for a temporary restraining order that would have blocked this rule from being implemented.. ; and. All About Bail Bonds owner Sunya Claiborne, plaintiff in the lawsuit, contends that her business is at stake because the minimum charge requirement is classic price fixing and a per se antitrust violation without any grant of state authority to displace competition, according to court documents. Violators are subject to a fine between $300 -$500, can be taken to court, as well as have a warrant issued for their arrest for breaking Chapter 28 of Houston's code of ordinances. Theres no explanation for it hes just flat wrong. Sales, Landlord In its release, the county elections office said it does request the information being asked on the form used by men and added that voters are not required to sign them. Their leadership has known about the Countys election day plans for some time, yet they waited until 6 hours before the polls close to now ask a court to throw the plans out the window and put residents votes at risk, Menefee said in a statement. While Ingram was on the stand, Rodriguez presented him with hypothetical interactions between Longoria and voters, asking if she could recommend voting by mail to someone who appeared to qualify. That doesnt mean the Legislature wants resources to be used toward nudging people toward voting by mail.. He urged the county to proceed with the lawsuit, rather than relent. Its not like voters were told they couldnt vote or that they had to go home. The Harris County Attorneys office on Thursday said it is looking into allegations a grass-roots group knocked on doors in Sunnyside and attempted to get residents to sign affidavits verifying the identities of registered voters living at their addresses. The Statesman has a couple of key bits from the ruling: In his order, Rodriguez rejected Paxtons argument that the solicitation ban targets government speech, which isnt protected by the First Amendment because the state is allowed to regulate how public employees perform official duties. The Texas Attorney Generals office is attempting a last-minute intervention to toss out 2,000 provisional ballots before a Harris County Commissioners Court meeting Tuesday to certify the November election. As happened last fall, Hegar and County Administrator David Berry have used different methods to project out Heaps seven-month budget to a full year. As things stand now, a whole lot of people will be mad at the outcome, whatever it is. The countys agreement can only be approved after a Commissioners Court meeting, scheduled for Thursday. Did you say anything at all to the officers? The ballots in question were cast during a one-hour period on Nov. 8. It is scary to receive a letter from the U.S. Attorneys Office. 1 went into effect on December 2, 2021. Those details are not the only obstacles to construction, which officials will consider moving from 2024 to 2027 later this month in the regions four-year transportation plan. Employment law attorneys advise the county, its departments, and its officials regarding proposed policies, procedures, and legal obligations and provide training for management and newly elected officials. Advise and represent clients in courts, before government agencies, and in private legal matters. That would require dividing the short fiscal year by 16 pay periods and multiplying that by 26 to cover the whole year, she said. Campos and the Texas Signal have more. Abbotts swift action to get a temporary restraining order lifted was expected, as the governor would not want to be seen as weak while school districts and local governments defy his executive order, said Jon Taylor, professor of political science and chair of the department of political science and geography at the University of Texas at San Antonio. The San Antonio Report consulted another expert with a similar opinion. Time and again, the TCEQ has approved permits for additional plants in these very same neighborhoods, and failed to ensure that the pollution that comes out of these plants does not harm human health and the environment, Menefee said. Ill try to learn to live with it. Harris County Attorney Christian D. Menefee on Thursday expressed disappointment in . The guardian of the estate has all rights and obligations to expend the wards funds, subject to prior court approval. The petition asks the high court to order Harris County to allow election judges to drive their own precinct ballots to the central counting center at NRG Park. This case was always about reducing youth nicotine addiction in our communities. That came one day after Paxton petitioned the Supreme Court to toss the late-cast ballots. 2023-00952; Nile Copeland v. Judge Latosha Lewis Payne. Ogg 161,659 19,356 48,489 242,159 If you decide to make a contribution a check can be sent to: CLUBS IN ACTION Life comes at you fast. The dispute seems to be more about politics than the law, Martin Renteria, a Republican election judge in Harris County, said. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. My office is going to do everything we can to protect every single vote that was cast. Former officer Gerald Goines led a raid on the home, which police believed to be a drug den.Jun 21, 2021. Winning it will be another matter. Bennett 0 1,022 0 14,527 With fewer people needing bail bonds because fewer people were being assessed bail, bail bond companies saw their revenues decline and so they looked for new customers by lowering their fees so as to entice those who were still being required to pay bail but couldnt afford their fees. This 11th-hour ask to throw those votes away should not be tolerated, especially considering the State rejected the Countys offer to hold off on counting these votes while it sought clarification from the Supreme Court, Werner added. Estates, Forms Free Preview Harris County Attorney Letter Description Attorney Vacation Letter Texas This is an official form from the Harris County, Texas District Clerk's Office, which complies with all applicable laws and statutes. Our election workers should not have to fear being criminally prosecuted because the attorney general wants to play politics and try to rewrite laws, Menefee said. See here (scroll down) for the background. Communicate with their clients, colleagues, judges, and others involved in the case. Nor does it require that election officials start soliciting applications to vote by mail it simply prevents the imposition of criminal and civil penalties against officials for encouraging people to vote by mail if they are eligible to do so, Rodriguez wrote. See here and here for some background; the story also references the lawsuit filed by Harris County that has been temporarily paused to allow the discussion that led to this agreement. The judge said the law likely violates the First Amendment. There were 2,555 provisional ballots cast on Election Day, of which 2,420 included a vote in the DaSean Jones Tami Pierce race. Neither he nor Ted Heap seems to have gotten any better at math or more truthful in general, so most likely this will play out in similar fashion. This case will focus on the details of every aspect of the November 8 election in Harris County. DA is technically a state office for smaller counties, the DA can cover several of them at once so Id normally expect to see them on the Texas Ethics Commission site. Hiring or retaining a lawyer is simply too expensive. The challenged provision makes it a state jail felony for election officials to solicit the submission of an application to vote by mail if the voter did not request it. Harris County Attorneys Office1019 Congress, 15th FloorHouston, TX 77002, Harris County Attorney's Office Staff Directory. Brian Staley is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. The motion was granted by a district court judge and then put on hold by the Fifth Circuit. The root cause of that debate, however, remains unresolved, Hegar said in the statement, referring to the defunding spat from last fall. Although the scope of Rodriguezs preliminary injunction is limited, the judge dealt the first legal blow to new elections restrictions and voting changes Republican lawmakers enacted last year. Andy Taylor, general counsel for the Harris County GOP, is representing Lunceford. Greg Abbotts executive order prohibiting local authorities from issuing COVID-19 restrictions, such as mask and vaccine mandates. The Chron story, from a bit later in the day, has more details. One week later, just six days from election day, the Harris County Republican Party notified us that its judges would not participate in the program.. Thats how it is for the judges. She is 1 of 17 elected Harris County Dem. Its going to be Republican versus Republican, Renteria said. Nevertheless, the requests contained in civil investigative demands and grand jury subpoenas often exceed the appropriate boundaries of what can be asked for. Templates, Name State highway officials held fast to their plans for rebuilding Interstate 45 in Houston on Thursday, offering a litany of benefits the project will bring and pressing federal officials to lift a 12-month-and-counting pause on development. If you need to write a similar letter. Under S.B. Erin Lunceford is represented by Andy Taylor. Thus far, the Harris County Attorneys Office has identified filings by (and we expect more filings to be made today): These filings are in addition to previously announced contests by: Below is the statement from the County Attorney released this morning: This is a shameful attempt by a group of losing candidates who couldnt win the hearts and minds of Harris County voters and are now throwing nonsensical legal theories at the wall to see what sticks. But really, this is all about making noise and trying to cast doubt on the election administrators office and government in general in Harris County. I figure its just a matter of time before incumbent DA draws a primary challenger or two, so well want to keep an eye on her fundraising totals. The story refers to 2,000 provisional ballots. Sometimes if you sign up for trustee (work while in jail) they give you and extra days credit. Trust, Living The Republicans picked the judges with some of the smallest accounts. 2023-01067; Dan Spjut v. Judge Juanita Jackson. Look at how zealously they opposed all of the efforts to expand voting access in the pandemic, including the third week of early voting that Greg Abbott ordered. As far as this goes, I dont think anyone is making any new arguments, and there continues to be a large gap between what activists and local governments want out of the project and what TxDOT is willing to give. Please complete an event and/or meeting request in its entirety using the link(s) below. The file is going to be stored in two places: on your device and in the My Forms folder. While the provisional ballots are included in the official count certified by Commissioners Court, the Supreme Court also is ordering the county to include in the final canvassed results a separate report that details the votes of the later cast votes for each candidate in each race. That way, candidates can determine whether this group of ballots would change the outcome of their race and assess the extent to which further litigation is warranted.. That would include increasing penalties for those who violate election laws even inadvertently, reducing early voting days and restricting mail-in balloting to only the military, the disabled and people who will be out of the county during the entirety of early voting. Carla Wyatt, County Treasurer, Alexandra Mealer, County Judge But well see what happens. The Harris County Elections Administrators office debuted the plan in the May 7 election deputizing law enforcement officials and full-time county staffers to deliver ballots from the polling location to the countys central counting station. Hidalgo 612,111 1,095,479 101,400 36,568 Handling of the voted ballots themselves opens up the possibility of accidental or intentional damage or misplacement that could call into question the election after the fact.. Upon receiving a sworn statement challenging a voters residence, election officials must send a Notice of Address Confirmation to the voter in question. The Department of Justice haschallengedS.B. Menefee said Paxtons opinion directly contradicts a separate opinion his office issued last month, as well as an opinion issued by the AGs office more than 30 years ago, which both concluded that ballots are confidential for 22 months following an election. The agreement announced Monday does not remove the pause the Federal Highway Administration placed on the project in March 2021. Paxtons opinion, which doesnt stem from any change to state law, theoretically permits anyone an aggrieved voter, activist or out-of-state entity to request access to ballots as soon as the day after they are counted. Taylor accused Harris County Elections Administrator Cliff Tatum, who took over the office starting in August, of intentionally causing ballot paper shortages in Republican-leaning neighborhoods. I would quibble with the assertion that Abbott took swift action as you know, Ive been marveling at how long it took him to respond. Corporations, 50% off The guardian of the person is authorized to make decisions about health care, living arrangements, and similar matters, but has no authority to expend funds. The project also connects to trails for running and biking, adds air monitoring in certain areas, adds features aimed at encouraging transit use and commits to stormwater design changes sought by the Harris County Flood Control District. Longoria said her office was now taking a passive approach to voter outreach in regard to voting by mail, with staffers gingerly weighing their words while answering voters questions about their options. And every voter who might have been discouraged by issues at one location could have gone to another one, which would have been at most a couple of minutes away by car. Governors have broad power under the Disaster Act, he said, noting that the state Supreme Court sided with Abbott when Travis County attempted to enact a New Years Eve curfew for restaurants. Agreements, Sale 2023-01202; Stan Stanart v. Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth. solicit[] the submission of an application to vote by mail from a person who did not request an application. The civil-liability provision creates a civil penalty for an election official who is employed by or an office of the state and who violates a provision of the election code. Houston ISDs board of trustees already is expected to vote Thursday on a mask mandate proposed by Superintendent Millard House II. With voters walking into polling places and ballots set to arrive at NRG Arena in a few hours, Harris Countys Republican Party has challenged the process election officials will use to transfer ballots from locations to the central counting center, citing concerns with handing the machines over to anyone but precinct judges. As I said, I have no criminal record to speak of prior to this so I'm not sure what to think at this point. Weve seen this show before Comptroller Hegar misconstruing the law and playing political games to make headlines, Menefee tweeted. Harris Countys decision to allow volunteers to transport election records including voted ballots to the countys Central Count location on Election Night is incompatible with the Texas Election Code and violates well-established chain of custody protocols spelled out under Texas law, Texas Secretary of State spokesperson Sam Taylor said in a statement on Friday. They noted many of the details give TxDOT room to renege while others fall short of the changes some neighborhood advocates had sought. You can read the Chron story here and their explainer about election contests here. Will Archer is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. In his orders, hell suspend two to three laws specifically by name, and then hell say any other laws that could allow a local official to do something inconsistent with what Im doing, Menefee said. I am taking the following steps to comply with the letter and spirit of Section 171.004. of Incorporation, Shareholders local news and culture, Faith Bugenhagen One thing thats clear from the high number of mail-in ballot applications being rejected is that our election officials should be empowered to explain the process and encourage folks to apply to vote by mail if eligible. Mark Goldberg is represented by Elizabeth Alvarez. We cant spend money to design and we cant spend money to do those things, Ryan said at the forum, which drew criticism because it was for paying guests only at an event sponsored by various engineering, construction and planning firms. Look, theres no point in deploying things like logic to point out that they seem to have no problems with the elections that they won, or that doing this would hurt their voters, too. County election officials around the state are already reporting getting a bunch of requests, some of which appear to be part of a coordinated effort. Letters have a maximum word . For additional information please review our Hiring a lawyer is expensive, but if a party is holding off on retaining one because they cant afford the costs, there are options they should pursue. PPP/Emilys List, July 2: Biden 48, Trump 46, UT-Tyler/DMN, July 12: Biden 48, Trump 43, Morning Consult, July 28: Biden 47, Trump 45, Morning Consult, August 3: Biden 47, Trump 46, 2023 Off the Kuff | Powered by WordPress, Name Raised Spent Loans On Hand New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast. And of course there can always be election contests. Houston furniture magnate Jim Mattress Mack McIngvalehas filed a lawsuit against the Harris County Elections Administrators office accusing it of refusing to turn over public records related to theNovember 2022 election, adding to an array of GOP litigationaimed at the countys elections process. Im tentative to overreach at the moment.. That has led some community leaders, such as activist and urban planner Abdul Muhammad, to urge federal officials and local opponents to work to find solutions and not reasons to stop the project. 11 Cause No. Harris County gives 3 for one on non-violent offense but not DWI or BMV. Things are moving in what seems to be a positive direction, said J. Bruce Bugg, chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission. RECORDING OF ANY PROBATE PROCEEDINGS IS STRICTLY PROHIBITEDAND COULD RESULT IN A FINDING OF CONTEMPT OF COURT. 2023-00932; Chris Daniel v. Marilyn Burgess. Skepticism remains high among project opponents that TxDOT can be a willing participant. Often times, if there are urgent matters, they will be addressed in the letter as well. This anti-solicitation provision of SB 1 not only makes it harder for these folks vote, but it criminalizes the constitutionally protected free speech of the Harris County Elections Administrator and violates the First Amendment., S.B. The Texas Organizing Project didnt file its lawsuit to extend voting hours because of problems in The Villages and Cy-Fair. I'm clueless as to what this could be about and I apologize if this isn't the best place to ask this question but I'm rather worried at this point. Agreements, Letter Hopefully, well find out soon. I presume that last line is there in the event the provisional ballots have an effect on the 180th Criminal District Court race, in which event (again, I presume) the merits of the arguments will have to be addressed. The bottom line is that the plaintiffs have asked for a temporary injunction against the provision of that law that makes it a crime for election officials and election workers to encourage voters to vote by mail, whether or not those voters are eligible under Texas law to do so. Thats the best I can do. Sherman Eagleton, Constable Precinct 3 14 Cause No. Unless you're tempted to ignore a summons/subpoena/etc. Voting, Board Conduct research and analysis of legal problems. webcomments@hctx.net. I am writing to request your help with a matter that is very important to me. What gives us perspective are the lawyers in our firm who left behind successful careers as federal prosecutors to come and work for us. Step 3: If payment is not received within sixty . Judge Fleischer is represented by John Raley. We have had their lives in limbo for a year, Commissioner Laura Ryan said of Houston-area drivers. Christian D. Menefee (@CDMenefee) 5:00 PM 17 February 2022. However, state law does not prevent the county from providing the records, but rather gives the county discretion to decide. If I trusted them before I have no reason not to trust them now. Judge Lina Hidalgo is the head of Harris County's governing body. EPA stepping in signaled a shift in that fight for residents who have little more than emotional appeals on their side, and what help they can get from frustrated government representatives. Judge Jackson is represented by John Raley. My Account, Forms in If thats what we have to do, then so be it. View New York Release of Lien of Estate Tax, View Application for Name Reservation - West Virginia, View Arkansas Registration of Foreign Corporation, View Colorado Foreign Judgment Enrollment. That is a sacred act, and were going to fight to protect it.. (*) I did search on the Supreme Court webpage for Paxtons mandamus filing, which might have been more specific and thus answered my questions. Menefee told the Houston Chronicle Tuesday evening that he believes the July 29 order violates the Texas Disaster Act of 1975, which he said grants the governor the power limited authority to suspend laws. in the final count and seeking clarification so that the parties can pursue any legal remedies, if necessary., In a statement Monday, Harris County Attorneys office spokesperson Roxanne Werner said: Representatives from the Attorney Generals office and the Harris County Republican Party asked for the language describing that process to be removed from the agreed order, leaving Harris County to process and count the late ballots as they would other provisional ballots while ensuring they were kept segregated.