Washington County renews interlocal agreements with DPS for drug analysis and lab payment sharing with neighboring counties

Washington County Commissioners Court approved two interlocal items with the Texas Department of Public Safety on April 14: a renewal of the county's contract for DPS analysis of seized drugs and an interlocal payment agreement allocating crime-lab costs among Austin, Fayette, Lee and Washington counties.

County staff described the seized-drug-analysis contract as a renewal of a successful program that has helped move cases more quickly through the system. According to staff remarks, the share of cases disposed within 90 days rose from under 25% in 2019 to close to 40% in 2024 after the county began using DPS lab services under the interlocal agreement. "We've been able to move cases a lot faster, just by virtue of getting our lab results in within 30 to 45 days," staff said.

Staff also explained that costs have increased since the earlier contract due to higher analyst salaries and licensing fees. The payment interlocal among four counties was presented as the mechanism to share those costs; staff said the contract ends April 30 and final yearly submission numbers were not yet available.

Both items were moved, seconded and approved by voice vote. The court did not record changes to evidence-handling procedures or new performance commitments in the transcript; staff noted the agreement remains the same in structure though costs have risen.

County staff said they would collect assessments from the other participating counties as part of the payment arrangement. No individual vote tallies were recorded in the public transcript.