Harris County Commissioners Meet Thursday on Harvey Recovery Money, a New AI Policy, 24 Violence-Prevention Jobs and the Election Canvass
Nine years after Harvey, six federally funded recovery projects are still racing a spending clock. Thursday's court also takes up how the county itself may use artificial intelligence - and makes the Nov. 3 results official.
Harris County Commissioners Court meets Thursday, November 12, with a docket that reaches from the county's oldest unfinished business to its newest technology: the Hurricane Harvey recovery projects that are still open nine years after the storm.
After delaying the presentation last month, commissioners are expected to discuss an extension for the federally funded disaster recovery and flood mitigation projects managed by the Harris County Flood Control District. The Community Development Block Grants were awarded after Harvey hit the Houston area in 2017. In September, the Texas General Land Office granted a one-year spending extension, moving the deadlines to February 2028 for recovery projects and March 2029 for mitigation projects - relief that mattered because six recovery projects had been at risk of missing the original February 2027 deadline, Community Impact reported.
The court is also expected to discuss, and potentially act on, a new county policy for artificial intelligence. The county's existing AI policy was approved on November 12, 2024; Universal Services recommends implementing the new one in May 2027 so departments have time for the training needed to use it properly.
Two public-safety items round out the meeting: the court will consider adding 24 jobs to support the county's two violence prevention and interruption programs, the Holistic Assistance Response Teams (HART) and Relentless Interrupters Serving Everyone (RISE). And the court is expected to adopt the official canvassed results from the November 3 general election - the procedural step that makes last week's outcomes, including the county judge's race, final. The court convenes at 9 a.m. at the county administration building, 1001 Preston Street in downtown Houston.
