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Along party lines, commissioners approve redistricting rules By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
Fort Bend County commissioners last week – over the advice of an attorney the court had previously used to advise on redistricting matters – voted along party lines to approve the rules for the citizens advisory committee it had previously empaneled to do a rare, mid-decade redistricting of the county’s precinct lines. But that 3-2 vote came only after – following a rare, behind-closeddoors mid-meeting conference of commissioners and the county attorney – the commissioners agreed
to drop several clauses of the draft rules that referred to the controversial 2021 redistricting plan as unequivocally being in violation of the federal Voting Rights Act. It was just the latest salvo in the redistricting imbroglio that has consumed much of the court’s meetings since March. As with the Texas Legislature’s current effort to redraw congressional district lines, the Republican-led Fort Bend effort is occurring in the middle of the decade. Typically, redistricting at the state and local level is done soon after the once-per-decade U.S. Census results are released.
Fort Bend County Republicans have long chafed under the 2021 maps which was pushed through by a Democratic majority on the court that then included County Judge KP George. George, who is facing several criminal charges, announced his switch to the Republican Party in June, reversing the court’s partisan balance and giving new impetus to the redistricting effort. At last week’s meeting, after hearing from several public
Photo by Ken Fountain
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Fort Bend County commissioners consider a vote on rules for its new citizens redistricting advisory committee. After some changes, the court along party lines approved the rules.
PROSECUTORS:
GEORGE USED CAMPAIGN FUNDS TO MAKE HOUSE DOWN PAYMENT, PAY PROPERTY TAXES By Ken Fountain KFOUNTAIN@FORTBENDSTAR.COM
In a court document filed last week, Fort Bend County prosecutors for the first time provide specific details in their felony money laundering charges against County Judge KP George, saying he illegally transferred campaign funds during his 2018 campaign to pay property taxes and make a down payment on a new house. The details are part of prosecutors’ response to a motion by George’s defense attorneys for the court to quash the felony indictment, which was handed down by a grand jury in March. George’s attorneys argue in their motion that the original indictments, which were scant in detail, were overly vague and did not state an underlying criminal act to justify a charge of money laundering. At a status hearing last Thursday (the day after prosecutors filed their response), the attorneys agreed on a trial date on February 3, 2026. A hearing on the defense’s motion to quash is set for October 27 in the 458th District Court. In the response to the defense attorneys’ motion, Assistant District Attorney Charann Thompson, head of the public integrity division of the prosecutor’s office, writes that in January 2019, George “filed a campaign finance report for the period October 28, 2018, to December 31, 2018. In it, the Defendant (George) reported under oath that his balance as of December 31, 2018, was $399. His actual campaign account balance was $37,128.94.” Two weeks later, according to prosecutors, George transferred $30,000 from his campaign account to his personal account, Photo by Ken Fountain
SEE GEORGE PAGE 2
Fort Bend County Judge KP George, accompanied by defense attorneys Jared Woodfill and Terry Yates, leaves a courtroom after a status conference in his felony money laundering cases. A trial date of February 3 has been set in the case.
Fort Bend County Libraries to launch new computer systems after attack Staff Reports Six months after suffering a targeted breach of its computer systems, Fort Bend County Libraries last week announced that it will launch its “new, state-of-the-art online network, catalog, and computer/Internet access” for library users starting September 2. According to a press release, library users will once again have access to computers, Internet, and printing, as well as digital collections
and traditional services and materials. We e k s after the breach, Fort Bend County Commissioners Court voted unanimously to hire the services of several information technology firms and a law firm to deal with the attack, at a then-cost of more than $2.6 million. The Fort Bend District Attorney’s Office is investigating the attack, but has offered no details about the investigation up to this point. Below is the text of the
system’s press release. The library system experienced a network outage that began on February 24 that impacted its online catalog and computer/internet access for six months. The outage affected the online catalog, the email system, some phone service, and computer/printing access for library users. While no library-user information was found to be compromised, the network outage provided an unparallelled opportunity to upgrade and enhance network ser-
vices that was long overdue. A completely new infrastructure is in place, with all new replacement servers, modern network hardware and software, and advanced security tools. A transformation of this magnitude has involved lengthy hardware installations throughout the library system, thorough security testing, and meticulous data validations that have been necessary to ensure a safe, resilient, and stronger library system that library users can feel confi-
dent in enjoying for many years to come. The new online catalog is now fully cloud-based, providing stronger security, faster updates, and the ability to add new features more quickly. The replacement of computers and printing services at all locations will be ongoing, so computer stations may be limited until the project is complete, but each library now offers computers, printing, and Internet for those library users who depend
on the library for computer access. WiFi service has been available for several months, and it will continue to be offered free to the public. The self-check stations will also be operational once again. In addition to the new computer system and online catalog, the library system is introducing an app that will enable library users to access many features from the convenience of their mo-
SEE LIBRARY PAGE 4