AUSTIN — The Texas House Committee on May 28, 2026, held a hearing focused on police standards and policy, during which the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) addressed questions about its interest in encouraging consolidation among the state’s numerous law enforcement agencies. TCOLE Deputy Chief TJ Vineyard testified that the agency is “starting to look now at encouraging the consolidation of agencies.”

TCOLE Executive Director Gregory Stevens emphasized that the commission is not removing officers from the streets. When asked by the committee chair, “We're not taking police off the street?”, Stevens replied, “One hundred percent.” He added, “We're making sure that we have qualified people that are equipped and trained.”

Stevens acknowledged inefficiencies in Texas’ current law enforcement structure, noting, “There is a lot of duplicative coverage. Overlapping coverage. When it comes to resources, it can be inefficient.” According to TCOLE, Texas has more than 2,700 accredited law enforcement agencies and approximately 83,000 peace officers—more agencies than the next four largest U.S. states combined. Harris County alone is home to more than 60 law enforcement agencies.

Stevens sought to clarify misconceptions about TCOLE’s intentions. “Some of the things that are out there surfing out across social media and on other platforms is that TCOLE wants to shut down small agencies and let sheriff's offices take over, and that's absolutely not true. It couldn't be further from what we're doing,” he said.

TCOLE stated it aims for all departments, regardless of size, to comply with higher standards implemented in 2023. Jennifer Szimanski, representing the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT), told ABC13 that “consolidation is not the legislative intent for TCOLE” and that the focus should be on “raising standards.” A 2018 study by Rice University’s Kinder Institute found that consolidation in Harris County could address inefficiencies.