Freestone County removes Texas Star from investment policy pending state bill

Freestone County commissioners voted to adopt the countyinvestment policy on a motion that removes "Texas Star" as an authorized option pending state action.

The change, approved unanimously during the meeting, follows staff discussion that the county currently lists multiple investment pools but can formally use only those included in the countyinvestment policy.

Speaker 1, a county official, asked during deliberations that the county remove Texas Star from the policy for now because the board had not yet approved it: "So since we haven't approved it, I think we should take it off today." Speaker 4, a county official, explained the practical constraint: "We only adopt the investment policy once a year. So once it's adopted, I can't do a new one." Speaker 1 and Speaker 2 also discussed the role of state monitoring; Speaker 2 said a new bill has been introduced that could require all county governments to use the Texas pool because it "is monitored by the state. It's the only one that's monitored by the state." Speaker 1 noted the other pools are private.

After the discussion, Speaker 3 moved to approve the investment policy with the amendment removing Texas Star and Speaker 2 seconded. The meeting record shows the board voted in favor; the clerk recorded "Aye" and the presiding official announced, "Motion carried."

Why it matters: commissioners said the amendment keeps the countypolicy aligned with current approvals while the legislature considers a bill that could change permitted investments statewide. Staff also noted that because the investment policy is adopted annually, adding a new pool would otherwise not be available until the next adoption unless the board amends the policy.

The board left final decisions about re-adding any pool to a future meeting pending the outcome of the state legislation and staff follow-up.