On Thursday, the House State Affairs Committee held a hearing to discuss the Liberty County subdivision without considering any specific legislation.
Gov. Greg Abbott named Colony Ridge a top state priority when he placed it on the third special legislative session agenda — heeding calls by right-wing media to crack down on the fast-growing Liberty County subdivision that had become a haven for organized crime and illegal immigrants from Latin America.
Local officials refuted claims made by right-wing media and Republican elected officials including Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton that Colony Ridge had become too dangerous for law enforcement to effectively police and had overwhelmed local government resources. That sheriff, Bobby Rader, testified that while Colony Ridge has more incidents of crime than other parts of Liberty County, that was to be expected given its high population density. He said he was thankful that Colony Ridge property owners association pays for 10 contract deputies to patrol the area, though he would benefit from additional funding for his department.
Colony Ridge has recently become another issue that has divided Republicans as they increasingly fall into hard-right and establishment camps. The establishment wing, led by House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, has clashed with the hard-right faction led by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Attorney General Ken Paxton.
“The scale of the Colony Ridge development has proved unmanageable for effective law enforcement and other key standards of acceptable governance,” Paxton wrote. “Violent crime, drug trafficking, environmental deterioration, public disturbances, infrastructure overuse, and other problems have plagued the area and nearby towns.”
He said the inability of commissioners courts to regulate development in unincorporated areas can be problematic when huge developments, like Colony Ridge, spring up there. He said he first raised concerns about this with the Legislature eight years ago.
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