Gov. Abbott to sign border security bills in Houston; may visit Valley 'in near future'

Posted: Monday, June 8, 2015 2:14 pm
SKY CHADDE

Gov. Greg Abbott is scheduled to sign sweeping border security legislation into law in Houston Tuesday, officials say.

The most prominent border security bill this session was House Bill 11, which includes establishing a 50-hour work week for all state troopers and creating the Texas Transnational Intelligence Center that the McAllen Police Department and Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office will run to share “real-time” information about criminal activity with the myriad local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies on the U.S.-Mexico border.

The governor’s office didn’t say why Houston was chosen as the city to host the signing. When asked why a city on the border wasn’t chosen, Amelia Chasse, the governor’s spokeswoman, didn’t say.

“A safe and secure border will benefit communities across the state,” she wrote in an email. “Governor Abbott will be signing into law a comprehensive plan that includes measures extending beyond border security, including bills that will crack down on human trafficking and cartel and gang related activity that afflicts communities across Texas.”

Another bill Abbott could sign Tuesday is HB 10 that was coauthored by state Rep. Oscar Longoria, D-Peñitas. It aims to curb human and sex trafficking by making it easier to prosecute such criminals, according to House researchers.

The bill eliminates the 10-year statute of limitations for forcing minors into prostitution, and it seeks to compel traffickers to give up information in return for immunity related to that information, House researchers say. It also allows for trafficking convictions if suspects aren’t compelled to testify, according to the researchers.

In the statement, Chasse said Abbott would visit the region to possibly discuss the border security legislation.

“The Governor has and will continue to have a presence in the Rio Grande Valley,” she wrote, “and he will be visiting in the near future to discuss the legislative accomplishments of this session.”

HB 11, coauthored by state Rep. Eddie Lucio III, D-Brownsville, also seeks to crack down on human smuggling. Early on in the legislative session, critics attacked language in the bill they felt could ensnare innocent people with family members without documents. The language was changed.

http://www.themonitor.com/news/local...8df0f5925.html