Gov. Abbott’s border war has led to $88M in contracts with little oversight. Some say he’s abusing his powers
after sitting in jail for weeks without being formally charged or appointed an attorney, both apparent violations of state law that defense attorneys said were continuing as of last month.to soldiers stationed at the border, among numerous other issues that culminated in Abbott’s move last month to replace the head of the military department.
By January, as state officials were gearing up to expand the “catch-and-jail” operation farther south, TDEM enlisted Gothams to build and operate a second processing center an hour east of Laredo in Hebbronville — the main population center in sparsely populated Jim Hogg County. Global Justice Solutions was one of two firms that helped build and set up the Val Verde processing center but failed to secure any work on the Jim Hogg facility. TDEM said Gothams was the only vendor to submit a proposal that met specifications from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.In most cases, state law requires agencies to purchase goods and services by soliciting bids, then awarding the contract to the vendor who provides “the best value” for Texas.
“You’re going to get the best price for your quantity, for the services you’re needing, because you’re not just going out to anybody who’s available to provide a service for you. There’s multiple competitors,” Dopslauf said. “A lot of times on the emergency declaration, the price won’t be as effective as it would be when you’re going through a competitive bid process.”
Curative Inc. is still providing tests and testing services, including in Texas, but not with the discontinued test it developed at the outset of the pandemic, the company says. Democratic state Sen. Nathan Johnson of Dallas criticized the use of emergency powers to allocate dollars that lawmakers approved spending months ago.
But less than five months after he signed the spending bill into law, Abbott — with joint approval from four other state leaders — was forced to transfer about $480 million from the Department of Criminal Justice and two other agencies to support the continued cost of keeping thousands of National Guard soldiers stationed along the border.