Gov. Greg Abbott announced a legislative proposal today, (Tues, Aug 18th) to freeze property tax revenue at its current rate for any city that defunds their police department.

Last week, The Austin City Council cut roughly 34% of the Austin Police Department's $434 million total budget.

Abbott, House Speaker Dennis Bonnen and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick spoke out against the Austin City Council's decision to chop $150 million from the police budget during a news conference in Fort Worth.

Speaking today from the Bob Bolen Public Safety Center Abbott said “They will never be able to increase property tax revenue again if they defund police. Defunding the police puts Texans in danger and invites lawlessness into our cities, and cities that endanger their residents should not be able to turn around and raise more taxes from those same Texans."

People across the country have called for defunding police departments, including major cities in Texas following George Floyd's in-custody death in May.

Abbott said “We need to take action to ensure the officers are trained in ways where they won’t engage in police brutality. It doesn't mean we cut back on law enforcement, it means we do a better job of training those police officers."

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