AUSTIN, Texas – Following votes in Austin and Dallas that will reallocate police department funding, Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott has proposed a state takeover of the Austin Police Department as well as legislation that would freeze property tax increases for any city that defunds law enforcement.

What You Need To Know

  • Gov. Abbott discusses proposal to strip annexation powers from cities that "defund police"

  • Has already discussed property tax increase freeze and state takeover of APD

  • Mayor Adler dismissed move as "political theatre"

On Thursday, the governor introduced a third proposal: stripping cities that reduce police budgets of annexation powers and allowing residents who have been annexed to depart from those cities.

Abbott said a combination of the property tax freeze and the removal of annexation powers would make it “financially impossible to defund law enforcement and it should leave Austin with no choice but to restore the cuts they’ve already made to law enforcement.”

Austin City Council recently voted to immediately reallocate about $20 million of the police budget elsewhere and eventually redistribute roughly $150 million of APD’s budget.

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Abbott earlier in the week introduced a “Texas Back the Blue” pledge which he said has been signed by 35,000 people.

Following Abbott’s announcement, Austin Mayor Steve Adler weighed in, claiming City Council's move was not an instance of police defunding and characterizing the governor’s proposal as “political theatre.”