Posted: Monday, May 18, 2015 6:21 pm
Sky Chadde



A state subcommittee held out on sending House Bill 11, the sweeping border security legislation, to the Senate Monday so legislators could determine who will have oversight over the bill’s implementation, lawmakers said.

The subcommittee — consisting of state Sens. Brian Birdwell, R-Granbury; Bob Hall, R-Edgewood; and Eddie Lucio Jr., D-Brownsville — left the bill pending, meaning they could pass it on to the Senate the next time they consider it. A date hasn’t been set yet, but the last day to consider bills is June 1.

Who will oversee the measures outlined in the bill — most notably, a law enforcement intelligence center in Hidalgo County, 50-hour work weeks for Department of Public Safety troopers and a provision for human smuggling — is still up in the air.

The HB 11 version the House passed in March created an operations oversight committee of five senators, five representatives and one governor-appointed member. Members would give progress reports to the Legislature to “ensure transparency,” according to the bill’s language.

The bill’s companion that passed the Senate — SB 3 — in April didn’t have any provisions for an oversight committee.

At Monday’s hearing, Birdwell said the bill the subcommittee members considered was a “hybrid” of the two bills, but the oversight committee provision had been removed, at least for the time being.

OTHER MEASURES

Several other measures were included in the subcommittee’s version, Birdwell said.

The first required a 50-hour work week for all DPS troopers in the state. Originally, the House bill required such hours only for border troopers.

It would also allow the state to build a training facility for DPS, sheriff’s offices and local police departments. Birdwell said the facility could be used for “any other military or law enforcement agency including those of the federal government for training purposes.” He didn’t say where it would be located.

These two measures make up for the large discrepancy in the House and Senate’s budgets, Birdwell said. The House’s version would cost the state about $40 million, while the Senate’s would cost about $310 million.

To pay for the increased trooper hours, House researchers predict it would cost about $13 million a year, but that figure only takes into account border troopers. To cover all troopers, Senate researchers estimate it would cost about $70 million a year.

For the training facility, it would cost the state more than $150 million, according to Senate researchers.

Another measure considered was requiring all local law enforcement agencies use the National Incident-Based Reporting System — the FBI uses it — to create uniformity in crime statistics across the state by Sept. 1, 2019.

The bill would also create a “real-time” intelligence center in Hidalgo County called the Texas Transnational Intelligence Center. According to House researchers, the Sheriff’s Office and the McAllen Police Department would operate it.

Agencies already share information on crimes through the Edinburg-based Joint Operations Intelligence Center, but House researchers say the center wouldn’t be redundant.

http://www.themonitor.com/news/local...98af4a497.html