Harris County Commissioners Court approved a motion Oct. 3 to appoint Cindy Garcia, the county auditor, as the county's Title VI coordinator to comply with requirements tied to a current Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) grant.

Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 bars discrimination based on race, color and national origin in programs that receive federal financial assistance. The coordinator will oversee Title VI compliance, maintain documentation for TxDOT and serve as a contact for the public and TxDOT, court members were told.

County Auditor Cindy Garcia told the court that because Harris County receives funds from TxDOT it "is required to comply with federal nondiscriminatory, laws under text the title 6 of the Civil Rights Act of 1964." She said the county is finalizing a Title VI plan with the county judge's office and intends to submit a preliminary plan to TxDOT for review before filing an official plan.

Garcia described the coordinator's duties as maintaining required documentation and ensuring the county remains eligible for current and future transportation funding. She said complaint forms must be available in English and Spanish and that the county must keep the public informed and able to participate. "To temp to demonstrate compliance, TxDOT requires every subrecipient, which would be us, of funding to formally assign a, title 6 coordinator," Garcia said.

During the meeting a motion was made and seconded to appoint Garcia; the court approved the appointment by voice vote. The transcript records the clerk asking for "all in favor" and members responding "aye," after which the presiding officer declared the motion carried.

The court did not adopt the Title VI plan at the Oct. 3 meeting. Garcia said the plan is "in the works" and will be returned to court for formal adoption after TxDOT reviews the preliminary submission. She stated a submission timing that she recalled as "November 6," but did not state a year; the transcript records that date as the auditor's recollection rather than a finalized deadline.

Next steps recorded in the meeting: the county will finalize the Title VI plan, submit the preliminary draft to TxDOT for review, and return a finalized plan to Commissioners Court for formal adoption. The appointment of a coordinator enables the county to send the preliminary plan to TxDOT.

No formal vote tally by member name or roll call appears in the transcript; the court recorded the action as approved by voice vote.