The Texas Commissioners Court is the governing body of each of the state’s 254 counties. Despite the name, it functions mostly as a legislature and executive board rather than a courtroom: it adopts the county budget, sets the property tax rate, maintains roads, oversees county departments, and makes most of the local government decisions that affect people living outside city limits. Five people sit on it — the county judge and four commissioners — and for most Texans it is the local body whose choices show up most directly in their tax bill and their neighborhood.
Who Sits on the Court
Article V, Section 18 of the Texas Constitution sets the structure. One county judge is elected countywide. Four commissioners are each elected from a geographic precinct within the county. All five serve four-year terms, staggered so that roughly half the court faces voters every two years, which keeps the whole body from turning over at once.1State of Texas. Texas Constitution – Article V – Judicial Department
To run for commissioner, a candidate must be a U.S. citizen, at least 18 by the first day of the term, a Texas resident for at least 12 months, and a resident of the precinct for at least six months. The candidate must also be a registered voter in that precinct.2Texas Secretary of State. Qualifications for All Public Offices The county judge faces the same age and residency rules but runs countywide.
After each federal census, the court itself must redraw commissioner precinct lines to keep the four districts roughly equal in population.3Texas Secretary of State. Precincts, Polling Places and Redistricting
How the Court Makes Decisions
Three of the five members are a quorum for most county business, so the court can act with two members absent. The exception is levying a county tax, which requires at least four members present and voting.4State of Texas. Texas Local Government Code 81.006 – Quorum The county judge presides at meetings and votes as a full member of the body.
Local Government Code Chapter 81 gives the court broad jurisdiction over “all county business.” In practice, that means the court sets policy for county departments, decides staffing levels, and establishes terms of employment for the county workforce.
Filling Vacancies in Other County Offices
When an elected county office falls vacant between elections — a sheriff who resigns, a county clerk who dies in office, a justice of the peace who is removed — the commissioners court fills the seat by majority vote. The appointee serves until the next general election, when voters choose a permanent successor.5State of Texas. Texas Local Government Code 87.041 – Vacancies Filled by Appointment of Commissioners Court Offices the court can fill this way include the county judge, county clerk, sheriff, county attorney, treasurer, tax assessor-collector, justices of the peace, and constables.
Setting Salaries for Elected Officials
During annual budget work, the court sets salaries, expenses, and allowances for every elected county and precinct officer. Before raising anyone’s pay, it must publish notice in a local newspaper at least 10 days before the vote, listing the salaries going up and by how much. Each elected officer must also receive written notice of their allocated salary and expenses before the final budget is filed with the county clerk.6State of Texas. Texas Local Government Code 152.013 – Procedure for Setting Amounts for Elected Officers
Budget, Property Taxes, and Debt
The court’s financial authority is its most far-reaching power. Under Local Government Code Chapter 111, the court must adopt an annual budget covering every county department, from the sheriff’s office to the district attorney to road crews. The process includes public hearings where residents can review proposed spending before the final vote.7Justia. Texas Local Government Code Chapter 111 – County Budget
Property taxes, formally called ad valorem taxes, are the largest revenue source for most Texas counties. The court sets the annual rate using the certified appraisal roll from the county’s central appraisal district. That power has a ceiling. Under Tax Code Chapter 26, if the court proposes a maintenance-and-operations rate more than 3.5 percent above the “no-new-revenue rate,” the increase automatically goes to a voter-approval election.8State of Texas. Texas Tax Code 26.042 – Calculation and Adoption of Voter-Approval Tax Rate The no-new-revenue rate is the rate that would raise the same revenue as the previous year on properties already on the roll.
The court can also grant an optional local homestead exemption, typically up to 20 percent of a home’s appraised value, reducing the taxable value for owner-occupied residences. Whether a county offers this exemption is entirely the court’s call.
For large capital projects — new courthouses, jails, major infrastructure — the court can authorize long-term debt. General obligation bonds require voter approval. Certificates of obligation do not, but the court must publish newspaper notice more than 30 days before issuance and again a week later, giving residents an opportunity to petition against the debt.9Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts. Certificates of Obligation – A Flexible Funding Tool for Local Projects
Roads and Infrastructure
Roads, bridges, and drainage are core work for the court. Each commissioner typically oversees construction and maintenance within their own precinct, so a rural farm-to-market repair and a suburban drainage fix are usually driven by the local commissioner rather than the full body.
When a road project needs land the county does not own, the court can acquire right-of-way by purchase or, if negotiations fail, through condemnation. The court also reviews engineering reports and approves contracts with private firms for major construction. These infrastructure obligations consume a large share of most county budgets.
Health Care and Disaster Powers
Counties that lie outside the service area of a public hospital or hospital district must provide basic health care to low-income residents who have no other coverage. Under the Indigent Health Care and Treatment Act, the county is the payor of last resort, stepping in only after other public and private sources are exhausted. Required services include primary and preventive care, hospital services, lab work, family planning, and up to three prescription drugs a month. A county must spend at least 8 percent of its general revenue levy on indigent care to qualify for state assistance with those obligations.10State of Texas. Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 61 – Indigent Health Care and Treatment Act
During disasters, the county judge’s role shifts. Under Government Code Chapter 418, the judge is the county’s emergency management director and can declare a local state of disaster without waiting for the full court to convene. The declaration lasts up to seven days unless the commissioners court votes to extend it. While it is in effect, the judge can order evacuations, control movement in and out of the disaster area, and regulate occupancy of buildings within it. That authority reaches both incorporated cities and unincorporated areas, and if a city mayor issues a conflicting order, the county judge’s decision controls.11State of Texas. Texas Government Code 418.108 – Declaration of Local State of Disaster
What the Court Cannot Do: Zoning and Land Use
One boundary surprises residents often enough to state plainly. Unlike home-rule cities, Texas counties have almost no general power to pass local ordinances. A commissioners court cannot adopt zoning, building codes, or land-use restrictions across most of the county. The legislature has carved out narrow exceptions for specific lakefronts, military buffer zones, and a handful of named counties, but those are exceptions.12State of Texas. Texas Local Government Code Chapter 231 – County Zoning Authority In most unincorporated areas, the county cannot tell a property owner how to use their land, which also means neighbors have fewer tools against nuisance uses next door.
Public Meetings and How to Weigh In
The Texas Open Meetings Act requires the court to post notice of a public meeting at least three business days before it takes place. The notice must sit in a location the public can access at all times and must list every topic the court will discuss or act on.13State of Texas. Texas Government Code 551.043 – Time and Accessibility of Notice Minutes are kept as a permanent record and are open to public inspection.
Residents have a statutory right to address the court on any agenda item before or during its consideration. The court can set reasonable time limits, but it cannot prohibit criticism of its actions, policies, or programs. A speaker using a translator must get at least double the time allotted to other speakers.14State of Texas. Texas Government Code Chapter 551 – Open Meetings
Officials who knowingly hold an unauthorized closed meeting face criminal penalties, including fines and possible confinement in county jail, and any action taken in violation of the Act can be challenged and voided.
Accountability: Conflicts and Removal
A commissioner with a financial interest in a matter before the court cannot vote on it as a routine matter. Under Local Government Code Chapter 171, a local public official with a substantial interest in a business entity or in real property must file a sworn affidavit disclosing the interest before the vote and then abstain. If a majority of the court members share the same conflict on the same item and all file affidavits, none is required to abstain, because otherwise the body could not act. Knowingly violating these rules is a Class A misdemeanor, carrying up to a $4,000 fine and up to a year in county jail, and a vote can be voided if the conflicted member’s participation changed the outcome.
A commissioner can also be removed from office between elections. Under Local Government Code Chapter 87, the grounds are incompetency (gross ignorance of or carelessness in official duties), official misconduct (intentional unlawful conduct related to the job), or habitual intoxication from alcohol. The process starts with a written petition filed by a county resident in district court, and a judge from outside the county is assigned to avoid local conflicts. Removal itself requires a jury trial. A separate fast-track provision allows immediate removal on conviction for any felony or for a misdemeanor involving official misconduct.15State of Texas. Texas Local Government Code Chapter 87 – Removal of County Officers from Office