Current situation
While results are unofficial, Galveston County election results show Fullen, a Republican, won the race for sheriff over Democrat Mark Salinas. Fullen, as of the last update Nov. 5, earned nearly 62% of the vote.
Results come from 100% of vote centers reporting but are unofficial until canvassed in the weeks after the election.
If the win holds, Fullen will be sworn in early next year as sheriff, according to county documents. That will be followed later in the year by a hearing that will recommend whether or not to revoke his peace officer license, officials said.
However, legal questions surround the upcoming hearing, officials said. Texas code states that the license of an elected official, such as a sheriff, can't be revoked except for criminal matters.
Fullen did not respond to requests for comment after the election.
How we got here
In June, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, TCOLE, filed a petition to begin the process of revoking Fullen’s license. In filings, officials stated he failed to disclose information, gave false information or omitted information based on:
- His job experience
- Being disciplined at work
- Accusations of discrimination
- Having written complaints about him at work
- Failing to disclose prior arrests
Fullen has since appealed the decision and will have a hearing with the Texas State Office of Administrative Hearings, or SOAH. The hearing was originally scheduled for Jan. 14 but parties in the case requested to move it back in October, according to filings from SOAH. The parties have until Dec. 6 to come up with agreed dates.
Explained
Texas code states “a person is not eligible to serve as sheriff unless the person ... holds an active permanent peace officer license."
However, that is complicated by statutes in the state's occupation code, which states TCOLE can revoke the license of an elected officer "only if the officer is convicted of ... a felony; or ... a criminal offense directly involving the person's duties as an officer."
With these statutes, questions remain about whether Fullen could have his license revoked under the statute, since the case is an administrative one and not criminal, said Gretchen Grigsby, director of the office of government relations for TCOLE.
Grigsby described this as “uncharted territory.”
“We've got a lot that would need to play out,” Grisby said. “This is an unprecedented situation.”
However, even if Fullen's license could not be revoked, a lesser penalty, such as a suspension, is still possible, Grigsby said. However, suspension would not remove an official from office, nor would it affect their authority.
Grigsby also said it's common for these kinds of hearings to be negotiated down from revocation to suspension or maybe other disciplinary action.
Stay tuned
Once the SOAH hearing is done, the judge presiding over the case will come back with a proposal for decision, which amounts to a recommendation, within 60 days, SOAH General Counsel Shane Linkous said.
After a series of other processes, the next step will be consideration of the proposal by the TCOLE commission. The date it does so will depend on how quickly the case can move through SOAH. Depending on TCOLE's decision, the case could eventually end up in the courts, Linkous said.
Editor's note: This story was corrected to clarify the laws affecting what cases an elected officer can have his license revoked is not a new law.
