LEGISLATIVE UPDATES

BORDER SECURITY


June, 2015

H.B. 11 by Rep. Bonnen contains the following provisions:

  • Keeps the national guard on the border until DPS has the personnel to fully secure the border region without the assistance of the Texas National Guard.
  • Adds aggravated promotion of prostitution and compelling prostitution as an enumerated offense in the state wiretap statute.
  • Requires the attorney general to establish a transnational and organized crime divisions to address matters related to border security and organized crime.
  • Directs DPS to periodically review the department's existing information technology system and to make any necessary improvements.
  • Authorizes DPS, at the time a commissioned officer is hired, to elect to credit up to four years of experience as a peace officer in Texas as years of services for the purpose of calculating the officer's salary under Schedule C.
  • Authorizes DPS to implement a 10-hour workday and 50-hour workweek statewide for all commissioner officers.
  • Creates a new multiagency crime information center in the Rio Grande Valley that will be operated by local law enforcement and DPS called the Texas Transnational Intelligence Center. The bill requires DPS to assist the county sheriff's department and the municipal police department in the establishment and operation of the center. It requires each law enforcement agency in a county located along the Texas-Mexico border, a county with a federal checkpoint, the Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission (TABC), and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) to report certain criminal activity to the center. The information reported to the center must be made available to each law enforcement agency in Texas, as well as to TABC and TPWD.
  • Creates a DPS Officer Reserve Corps comprised of retired DPS officers who will assist with background investigations, sex offender compliance checks and other duties.
  • Requires DPS to assist federal authorities in setting up southbound check points.
  • Ensures uniformity and transparency of crime data between law enforcement agencies through the adoption of the National Incident Based Reporting System (NIBRS) for certain law enforcement agencies.
  • Authorizes the Texas Facilities Commission (TFC) to build a multi-use training facility to be used by DPS, county and municipal law enforcement agencies, and any other military or law enforcement agency, including agencies of the federal government, for training purposes.
  • The bill reiterates that the criminal justice division shall administer a competitive grant program to support regional, multidisciplinary approaches to combat gang violence through the coordination of gang prevention, intervention, and suppression activities. It also reiterates that it should be a priority of the state to issue these grants to regions that have demonstrably high levels of gang violence.