From the Texas Tribune: Texas gives $125 million to rural sheriffs and prosecutors for pay increases

More federalism - in this case, state assistance to counties.

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Texas has awarded $125 million in grants to rural sheriffs and prosecutors across the state, the Texas Comptroller said in a statement last week — an effort to help those law enforcement agencies attract and keep talent in their communities.

The pool of money was established by state lawmakers last year in Senate Bill 22, which passed with bipartisan support. The legislation, authored by state Sen. Drew Springer, R-Muenster, totaled $330 million and established grants for increasing minimum salaries and additional equipment.

Rural law enforcement can apply for the grant again in 2025, which the comptroller will issue using the remaining money.

The comptroller’s office, which among other duties manages the state’s budget and collects taxes, began accepting applications last year and determined the amount each county would receive by population size. Only counties with a population smaller than 300,000 were eligible for the grant.

Of Texas’ 254 counties, 236 have populations slimmer than 300,000, according to a 2022 estimate from the Texas Demographic Center.

The comptroller’s office said 94% of eligible sheriff’s offices applied for money. Nearly 86% of eligible prosecutor’s officers applied, the comptroller said. The comptroller awarded grants to 224 sheriff offices and 138 prosecutors offices.

The grant’s recipients must first raise pay — with sheriffs earning $75,000, deputies $45,000, and jailers $40,000 — before using the money to buy equipment. The grants ranged from $250,000 to $500,000 for sheriff’s offices. Prosecutors could apply for anywhere between $100,000 and $275,000.

The money is a start to reverse a long-term decline of prosecutors in rural Texas counties, said Pamela Metzger, executive director of the Deason Criminal Justice Reform Center at the SMU Dedman School of Law.