RICHMOND, Texas (Covering Katy News) — Fort Bend County Auditor Ed Sturdivant says he will pay a law firm's overdue redistricting bill after being threatened with the possibility of criminal charges by two county commissioners and the county attorney who warned him not to process the payment — claims that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has since determined were wrong.
The heavy-handed tactics by Democratic elected officials left two county employees intimidated and a law firm unpaid for weeks despite a valid 3-2 vote by Commissioners Court authorizing the payment. (See video of comments below.)
Attorney General Ken Paxton rules in favor of Commissioners Court
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's Nov. 19 opinion cleared the way for Sturdivant to pay Rogers, Morris & Grover, settling a dispute over who has authority to hire outside legal counsel for redistricting work.
Rogers, Morris & Grover recently sent the county a demand letter for the overdue bill.
Paxton's opinion was requested by state Rep. Gary Gates, who chairs the House Committee on Land and Resource Management.
The attorney general's opinion cited more than a century of precedent allowing commissioners courts to employ outside counsel and clarified that redistricting is a legislative function, not a judicial one.
Also Read: Attorney General Rules Against Fort Bend County Attorney in Redistricting Power Struggle
Commissioners McCoy and Prestage threaten criminal charges at October meeting
During an Oct. 23, 2025, Commissioners Court meeting, Commissioner Dexter McCoy threatened county staff with the possibility of criminal charges if they processed payment to Rogers, Morris & Grover LLP, which served as outside counsel for redistricting matters. County Attorney Bridgette Smith-Lawson had claimed that Commissioners Court could not legally hire outside counsel without her approval of that firm, a claim the Texas attorney general overruled in an opinion issued Tuesday.
Smith-Lawson and Commissioner Grady Prestage directed their statements to Commissioners Court with Sturdivant and County Purchasing Agent Brooke Lindemann both at the meeting, monitoring the discussion.
"There are criminal implications to paying for a service that is not legally obtained, period. I read that in the AG's opinion," Democrat McCoy said during the meeting, according to a video transcript reviewed by Covering Katy News.
Prestage issued his own warning:
"I don't want to see any one of y'all on the witness stand. But if you go on the witness stand, you'll be dead meat, on the witness stand," the Democrat Precinct 2 Commissioner said.
The threats came after Commissioners Court voted 3-2 to pay Rogers, Morris & Grover for redistricting services. McCoy and Prestage, both voted against the payment.
When RepublicanCommissioner Andy Meyers questioned whether McCoy's statement constituted a threat, McCoy responded: "That is a statement of fact!"
County Judge K.P. George attempted to restore order, stating "Good, we are moving on!" and "Commissioner, you are on the record." McCoy repeated: "That's a statement of fact, on the record!"
County Attorney Bridgette Smith-Lawson pressured staff not to pay bill
Smith-Lawson revealed during the Oct. 23, 2025, meeting that she had already warned Sturdivant and Lindemann not to pay the bill.
"The County Auditor and the Purchasing Agent, Brooke Lindemann, have also been, advised offline," Smith-Lawson said."
To date, Rogers, Morris & Grover has not received payment. Both Sturdivant and Lindemann remained too intimidated to authorize payment despite the court's 3-2 vote, but following the Attorney General's ruling, Sturdivant confirmed that payment will be made on or before next Wednesday.
Smith-Lawson's claim of exclusive authority rejected by AG
At the Oct. 23, 2025, meeting, Smith-Lawson challenged the court's authority to pay the Rogers, Morris & Grover bill and to hire any outside legal counsel, declaring: "My authority is being clearly stated to the court many times stated on memos and even some of the information we've shared with the court before."
Smith-Lawson had asserted that her office had exclusive authority to select legal counsel for the redistricting project, arguing that her statutory duty to represent the county in civil matters pending before courts gave her that power.
However, Paxton's opinion dismantled that reasoning by clarifying that Commissioners Court is not a judicial court.
"The commissioners court is an administrative body without substantial judicial functions" that often acts as "a court in name only," Paxton wrote.
The opinion stated that while county attorneys have exclusive authority to represent counties in civil matters pending before courts, redistricting is a legislative function, not a judicial one.
The attorney general's opinion makes clear that Smith-Lawson's position would interfere with the commissioners court's authority rather than protect her own.
"A law firm hired to assist with redistricting would be helping the commissioners court with its legislative duties, not representing the court in a judicial proceeding," the opinion states.
The opinion also ruled that Smith-Lawson could not unilaterally contract with a law firm of her choice to assist with redistricting. A county official has no authority to make contracts that are binding on the county, except where specially authorized to do so by statute, according to the opinion.
Fort Bend County redistricting dispute began in February
The controversy arose after state Rep. Matt Morgan, R-Richmond, alerted commissioners in February that the county had failed to review and redistrict election precincts in accordance with state law, resulting in 38 precincts falling outside required population limits.
The Republican-majority commissioners court voted to redraw precinct maps and allocated funds for the work.
In October, commissioners approved new precinct boundaries in a contentious 3-2 party-line vote, with Republican commissioners Andy Meyers and Vincent Morales, along with George, voting for the new map.
The owners of Covering Katy News, Dennis Spellman, is employed by the Fort Bend County Precinct 3 Commissioners Office.