AUSTIN (KXAN) – Texas lawmakers moved one step closer to lowering the population threshold for requiring a county to switch from a justice of the peace system for death investigations to a medical examiner’s office, according to a vote Tuesday at the Capitol. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound, and J oan Huffman, R-Houston, co-authored Senate Bill 1370, which would require a county to create a medical examiner office if its population reaches 1 million people – that would be a decrease from the current trigger point of 2.5 million. The Senate Committee on Criminal Justice voted 6-0 to pass the bill on for the full Senate to consider. Read the full story ...read more read less