{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://doggett.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/travis-county-catches-judicial-break", "Travis County Catches a Judicial Break", "2016-12-29", "2016", "2016-12", "Democrat", "House", "TX", "Lloyd Doggett", "D000399", "doggett.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "By Michael King\n\u00a0\n\u201cAnybody need a courthouse?\u201d was not exactly the question posed by the\u00a0U.S. General Services Administration, but the U.S. government's (technically, the National Park Service) disused 1936 courthouse just happened to match the pressing needs of the\u00a0Travis County\u00a0justice system. This morning, the transfer was completed.\n\u201cI am thrilled by the opportunity to partner with the federal government on the preservation of this historic public building by maintaining it as a courthouse,\u201d said Travis County Judge\u00a0Sarah Eckhardt. \u201cAlthough this gift from our federal partners does not solve our overall court capacity issues in the long-term, it is a great reliever of our current overcrowding at the nearby\u00a0Heman Marion Sweatt Courthouse, another historic public building. The reuse plan for the historic federal courthouse enables Travis County to meet current and future Travis County Probate Court needs through 2035.\u201d\nThe morning press conference, on the courthouse steps at 200 West 8th Street, featured officials from the federal judiciary, Travis County, and U.S. Rep.\u00a0Lloyd Doggett, whom federal Judge\u00a0Lee Yeakel\u00a0and Eckhardt each credited for his \u201cdogged\u201d work to get the transaction done. After the\u00a0November 2014 defeat\u00a0of a bond to underwrite a new civil courthouse, Travis County had been left without a certain alternative to its overcrowded and increasingly dilapidated\u00a0Heman Marion Sweatt Courthouse, and Commissioners Court had been searching for other solutions. Said Eckhardt, \u201cAlthough this gift from our federal partners does not solve our overall court capacity issues in the long-term, it is a great reliever of our current overcrowding at the nearby Heman Marion Sweatt Courthouse, another historic public building. The reuse plan for the historic federal courthouse enables Travis County to meet current and future Travis County Probate Court needs through 2035.\u201d\nDoggett was credited with monitoring and wrangling the various agencies with interest in the exchange \u2013 the\u00a0General Services Administration, the\u00a0National Park Service, the federal judiciary, and Travis County \u2013 and said with a smile, \u201cFrom good words, today we proceed to good deeds\u201d (obliquely referring to the literal transfer of the courthouse deed). \u201cThis success was the result of several levels of federal and county government working together,\u201d Doggett said, \u201cto ensure the building would remain a place where justice, and its historic architecture, are preserved.\u201d\nThe courthouse, built in 1935 and notable for its Art Deco and Art Moderne\u00a0architectural details, has been vacant since the 2012 opening of the new federal courthouse on West Fifth St., and will need major renovations. Eckhardt said that Commissioners Court has budgeted $28 million from reserves and certificates of obligation to complete the renovations \u2013 to restore the interior and bring it up to current building codes will cost about $20 million, she said, with $8 million necessary specifically to adapt the structure for use by the County\u2019s probate courts. That move will also relieve some of the overcrowding at the Heman Sweatt venue, Eckhardt said, adding, \u201cTravis County will ensure that the historic federal courthouse continues to bear witness to our civic history. The County will undertake design, construction, and contingencies to prepare the building to meet code requirements and County occupancy by 2020.\u201d\nDoggett particularly thanked Judge Eckhardt, Judge Yeakel, and GSA Administrator Sylvia Hernandez for their work to make the transfer possible, and concluded: \u201cThis deed ensures that the historic features of this landmark, inside and out, are preserved, and that it continues in the role originally envisioned as a home for justice\u2014an old home for justice is now becoming a new home of justice. This building is more than its cream-colored limestone; it is built on more than its Texas gray granite base. It embodies the fundamental American belief that we are a nation of laws. Through the cooperation of many, today we ensure that the important work of justice continues here.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://doggett.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/travis-county-catches-judicial-break"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.494772732257843, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}