Harris County Commissioners voted down two motions presented by Judge Lina Hidalgo for taxpayer money to be used to pay for members of her staff to accompany her on an international trade mission to France.

Harris County will dedicate a downtown building in honor of the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. The ceremony, scheduled for Thursday at 1111 Fannin, will unveil the new name of the 17-story office building, which recently underwent upgrades.

Tensions erupted during a Harris County Commissioners Court meeting as deputies demanded urgent pay raises, highlighting a 20% pay gap compared to Houston Police Department salaries.

“My only regret is not having called attention sooner to his well-known history of blatant disrespect toward me and other colleagues, community leaders, and county employees who dare to disagree with him," Hidalgo said.

Fireworks and verbal blows were unleashed at Harris County Commissioners Court earlier this week. County records show that Tuesday’s meeting with the four county commissioners along with the county judge lasted for over 10 hours.

A Harris County contract to conduct an outreach campaign to encourage COVID vaccinations was canceled in September, but the issue has come back to life in the form of grand jury subpoenas for every member of the Harris County Commission.

HOUSTON The Harris County Commissioners County approved eight measures to reform the criminal justice system that aids in mass incarceration and police brutality against people of color and the poor community. Commissioner Rodney Ellis proposed the reformation of the criminal justice system following the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and many others. The proposal includes studies that could lead to reallocating the countys criminal justice budget, implementing an independent oversight board to investigate excessive police force and expanding the Public Defender Office. Data also shows there are twice as many people at the Harris County Jail as opposed to jails in New York or Cook County. When Texas reduced its incarceration rate, the crime rate also went down.