Primary Department: Institute of Forensic Sciences
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Luis A. Sanchez, M.D., Executive Director & Chief Medical Examiner
Secondary Department: N/A
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Supplemental RCA
Type of Request: Grant - Application
Project ID (if applicable):
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): Texas Office of the Governor/Public Safety Office
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable)
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable):
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: N/A - Goal not applicable to request
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): 0%
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): Grantor does not allow indirect cost capture
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request by the Institute of Forensic Sciences for approval to submit an application to the Office of the Governor/Public Safety Office for grant funds in the amount of $500,000, with no required match, for the FY26 Crime Laboratory Portal Records Grant Program.
end
Background and Discussion:
Texas Government Code Section 411.162 authorizes the Department of Public Safety (DPS) to establish and maintain a central computerized portal for the state's crime laboratories to facilitate the request of crime lab records. This portal is a central repository for crime laboratory records and is used to provide defense counsel with access to records subject to discovery under Article 39.14 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. The goal of this project is to provide assistance to crime laboratories for costs associated with establishing and maintaining a computerized crime laboratory portal, in accordance with Government Code, Section 411.162.
Expected Impact:
Funds may be used for costs associated with the transfer of crime laboratory records using the crime laboratory portal established under Section 411.162 of the Government Code. Allowable costs include, but are not limited to: IT infrastructure, Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for integration, servers; and digitization of records, to include scanners, software, and personnel.
Alternative Options:
There are few, if any, alternative options for this type of program.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 1. Make Harris County safer and more just.
County Strategic Plan Objective: B: Reduce criminal legal system exposure that does not advance public safety.
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): N/A
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): N/A
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): N/A
Health Initiative (Goal 4): N/A
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): N/A
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): N/A
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
Prior Court Action (if any):
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Location:
Address (if applicable): 1861 Old Spanish Trail, Houston, TX 77054
Precinct(s): Countywide
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FY26 Crime Laboratory Portal Records Grant Program |
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1 |
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Grant Funds Applied for/Awarded (Total) |
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$500,000.00 |
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Personnel (Fill out section only if requesting new PCNs) |
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Current Position Count for Service |
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Additional Positions Request |
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Total Personnel |
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Anticipated Court Date: 10/30/2025
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): 3/1/2026
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Wendi Welch, Budget Manager
Attachments (if applicable): Notice of Funding Opportunity