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THE TEXAS DISPATCH

Under the Dome

Inside the Texas Legislature -- bills, votes, and committee action from the Texas House and Senate.

Latest Stories
July 8, 2026 at 8:20 am CDT

‘The best $2,000 my commissioners court has agreed to spend’: Texas jails carry the state’s mental health crisis, and sheriffs want out

A sheriff, a prosecutor, a defense lawyer and a probate judge sat at the same witness table Tuesday and told the Texas Senate Committee on Health and Human Services the same thing: county jails have become the state's default mental hospital, and the counties are paying for it.