Legal Services

	"Everything is expensive right now! We're getting SB22 grant funds to help out, but we want to try and move some of the existing funds somewhere else that also needs a little extra assistance. Can we do that?"

May the commissioners court reduce the amount of county funds budgeted to the sheriff's office this year because SB22 grant funds will be used?

Probably not. Such action would likely run afoul of SB22's broad mandate that, "[a] county may not reduce the amount of funds provided to the sheriff's office because of grant funds provided under this section." Texas Local Government Code §130.911(g). Consequences could include disqualification from the grant program that may require a county to return grant funds to the State.

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, who is administering the grant program, has provided the following guidance:

The intent of SB 22 is to raise the annual salary for specific employees in the sheriff's office, constable's office and prosecutor's office. Additionally, the sheriff's office can hire new deputies [...]

The law specifically requires the sheriff's office to increase the salary of the sheriff, eligible deputies, and jailers to meet the statutorily required minimum annual salary before the county can spend the grant funds to:

• increase the salary of these employees;
• hire new deputies and staff; and
• purchase vehicles, firearms and safety equipment. […]

For subsequent grant years, the program will continue to measure salary increases against the salary amounts on the last day of fiscal 2023, and the portion of a salary that exceeds the salary on the last day of fiscal 2023 would still be a salary increase that qualifies for SB 22 funding as long as appropriations are available and provided the other requirements are met […]

For new positions created that qualify for SB 22 funding, whether created in the first year or subsequent years, the position will continue to qualify for SB 22 funding as long as appropriations are available and as long as other requirements continue to be met […]

The Annual Compliance Report will have the counties/offices submit their budget, a breakdown of how the funds were spent and purchase orders/receipts for all items purchased using grant funds.

The compliance report will include:

• name, title, salary pre-award, salary post-award and salary increase date of sheriff, deputies and jailers who had their salaries increased using SB 22 grant funds;
• swearing in date for deputies;
• name, title, hire date, and salary of new deputies and staff hired using SB 22 grant funds;
• list, cost and purchase date of all vehicles, firearms and safety equipment purchased using SB 22 grant funds;
• purchase orders, invoices and receipts for vehicles, firearms and safety equipment purchased using the SB 22 grant funds, submitted in PDF format;  
• TCOLE certificates for each jailer, submitted in PDF format;
• budget for fiscal year (FY) before the grant was awarded; and
• budget for the fiscal year the grant was awarded.

For more information, please visit the Texas Comptroller's SB22 FAQ page.