As part of the top assembly’s efforts to ensure the implementation of new rules before the next parliamentary session begins in January, the Texas Senate’s Committee on Border Security heard evidence from state and local authorities about their border police work on Tuesday night.
Among important questions on existing priorities and the efficiency of new laws, senators probed the conservation of Operation Lone Star – Texas ‘ punitive efforts to patrol the border, fortify barriers, and stop state troops in what they describe as negligence from the Biden administration. The project has cost more than$ 11 billion.
State Senator Brian Birdwell, the chairman of the Senate Border Security Committee, questioned Steve McCraw, director of the Texas Department of Public Safety, “if we keep funding this program and make sure the administration in Washington stays the same.”
” We’ll do it as long as we’re instructed to do, plain and simple”, McCraw responded.
McCraw testified to Nexstar in which case he claimed that his department will need to employ more troopers to keep up with the state’s unique public safety requirements and the demand for Operation Lone Star.
The bottom line is that wherever you put a trooper, it’s safer. And everywhere you take a trooper from is going to be less safe… it’s Law Enforcement Physics 101″, he said. We need more troopers because our state is constantly expanding, with 287, 000 square miles to cover, and 313,000 miles of roads to travel. We require more Texas Rangers and special agents.
” A lot of it has to do with money”, Birdwell said. He made reference to the possibility of a state budget reduction, stating that, in connection with Operation Lone Star,” the legislature will have some very difficult decisions.” The conclusion is that in the end, lawmakers will need to reduce the operation or seek funding elsewhere.
Jessie Fuentes, an Eagle Pass native who sued Governor Greg Abbott last year over the state’s buoy barriers in the Rio Grande, testified against the state’s actions.
It’s a mistaken policy, they say. And how much? We do n’t have access to our park. There is currently an 80-acre military base there, Fuentes told Nexstar. Millions of dollars are being invested, but I prefer to spend it on infrastructure. I’d rather spend on health care, on education, on learning institutions, instead of housing soldiers”.
Lt. Governor The committee made up of three Republicans and two Democrats, and Dan Patrick assigned three broad interim charges:
- ” Securing the Texas- Mexico Border”:  , Reviewing state and local agencies ‘ participation in border security, examining the impact of organized crime, and making recommendations to” combat criminal enterprises”.
- ” Support for Border Security Personnel”: examining how Operation Lone Star has affected the well-being of border patrol officers and national guard personnel.
- Monitor the specific legislation that was passed in the 88th Congress last year, including the creation of a border operations training program for local police and a program to pay damages to property owners for damage brought on by border-related criminal activity.
The committee will meet again to review the implementation of more legislation and consider recommendations for the next session, which will begin in January.
Allred calls for a partisan approach to border security.
In the upcoming election, Texas Democrats will also be concerned about border security. The state party held its convention earlier this month in El Paso. The keynote address was delivered by Congressman Colin Allred. When we spoke with him afterward, he emphasized the need for a bipartisan approach to addressing border security.
The Dallas Democrat is challenging Senator Ted Cruz in the upcoming U. S. Senate election. Allred asserts that revisiting the Senate Border Security Bill, which was previously rejected by Cruz, would be a crucial step in ensuring border security.
” I hope we can come back to that because for Texas, we ca n’t just kick this can down the road,” Allred said. ” We have to have a secure border now”.
Allred points to benefits for Texas in the bill, including more immigration judges, more immigration judges, and more administrative staff to handle the rise in migrants.
Texas would benefit more than any other state, Allred claimed.
A key part of a potential solution, in Allred’s mind, is to hire more immigration judges to adjudicate asylum claims more quickly. He thinks that processing asylum claims more quickly would send a message to the majority of those who are currently attempting to apply for asylum.
The asylum system is not the way to go if you want to come here for a better life or for economic opportunity. That’s the legal immigration system, and we have methods for you to try and come in that way”, Allred said. I want to see people en route to legal services. Instead of trying to enter through an asylum system that was” not designed for these numbers” or” for the reasons a lot of these people are coming,”
” I think there there is nothing more important for safety and security in Texas than securing the border”, Senator Cruz told State of Texas host Josh Hinkle in a May interview. He attributes Democrats ‘ recent rises of migrant crossings as a cause.
They are unwilling to secure the border, according to Cruz, Joe Biden and Democrats, including Colin Allred, my opponent who has voted in favor of open borders repeatedly. He believes voters in November will elect Donald Trump for President as well as choose Republican majorities in the House and Senate. He thinks that will alter the border situation.
He said,” We will secure the border in January of next year, and it will happen like that,” snapping his fingers. ” And I can say that with confidence, because we did it before”.
Texas grid, AI, and Bitcoin: Lawmakers take action
Wednesday morning, the Senate Committee on Business and Commerce convened to evaluate the state of the electric grid, examine the effects of the energy investments made last year, and hear shocking information about the energy demands of the Bitcoin and artificial intelligence sectors.
ERCOT CEO Pablo Vegas told lawmakers that one graphics processing unit, a core technology for Artificial Intelligence ( AI), uses as much power as an average home uses in an entire year. He compared the energy demand of one AI company to the instantaneous re-connection of half a million homes.
The power required by hundreds of thousands of homes is the same as it is for the thousands of thousands of other Bitcoin mining sites, which stack thousands of computers together to produce the cryptocurrency.
The information elicited a telling admonishment of the growing industries from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who made reference to potential limitations and regulation.
” Those two industries need to be examined closely. They produce very few jobs compared to the incredible demands they place on our grid” , , he wrote on social media. Texans will ultimately foot the bill. Instead of working in very niche industries with high power demands and few jobs, I’m more interested in building the grid to serve customers in their homes, apartments, and regular businesses while keeping costs as low as possible.
Patrick tasked the committee with analyzing demands on the grid and future supply opportunities, as well as evaluating the implementation of laws passed last year to improve the grid.
The” Texas Energy Fund” was approved by lawmakers last session to encourage oil and gas producers to increase capacity. By the end of May, the Public Utilities Commission reported that almost$ 40 billion had been applied for a loan from 125 projects, which would bring almost 56, 000 megawatts onto the grid.
” This is a monumental step forward. And I think it marks the beginning of “new steel in the ground over the next three to four years,” Business and Commerce Chairman Charles Schwertner said.
The committee intends to conduct an analysis of the future electricity needs and put an emphasis on lowering the barriers to new power and infrastructure projects. Members will likely explore ways to streamline this process for future legislation and monitor the progress of ongoing projects and how they will affect electricity prices for consumers.  ,  ,
When the legislature is not in session, the Speaker of the House and the Lieutenant Governor give interim charges to the House and Senate committees. These tasks involve studying specific issues and suggesting solutions for the next session. In the hope that these issues will be addressed in upcoming sessions, advocates and stakeholders can also influence policy decisions during this time.  ,
‘ The world’s on fire right now,’ Rep. McCaul highlights concerns for foreign aid, defense decisions
House and Senate Republicans met with former president Donald Trump on Thursday in Washington. The visit was made as lawmakers prepared for the fall elections. But the former president’s influence could affect key policy decisions on defense and foreign aid.
House Foreign Affairs Committee chair Michael McCaul, a Texas congressman, is one of the most vocal advocates for aiding Ukraine in its conflict with Russia. Trump has criticized that assistance. McCaul says it’s important to keep backing Ukraine.
” We have to give them what they need to win this thing,” McCaul said, or at least push the Russians back far enough to reach a ceasefire and negotiated peace agreement. Because of Ukraine’s lack of leverage, that ca n’t happen at this time.
McCaul believes that leverage would be helpful to Trump, if he wins the White House in November.
According to McCaul, “my advice to him would be to give Ukraine everything they need to win this thing,” and then he could act as the deal-maker and work toward a better peace and security agreement.
” I have to tell you that the world is currently in flames due to two hot wars and a dangerous zone in the Pacific. And it worries me when I look at the situation today”, McCaul added.
Late last month, Congressman McCaul made an official trip to Taiwan, where he first-hand witnessed the tensions between China and the United States.
We were met with a blockade, a Chinese military blockade of naval ships and aircraft carriers. It’s quite disturbing, really, and it was what a prelude of what they would do in the event of an invasion of Taiwan”, McCaul said.
According to McCaul, the visit of a congressional delegation in the United States was special.
The president adored the black Stetson hat, which is a kind of symbol of the West and, you know, the cowboy’s rugged strength and independence,” McCaul said. ” I think it was important to for them to see a bipartisan delegation showing that kind of support for Taiwan”,
McCaul believes that Taiwan’s support in the midst of tensions with China is a crucial deterrent that could stop war. He views backing Ukraine in the same light.
” People ask me, what keeps me up at night? He said,” I do n’t want to go through a world war like my father’s generation did.”
Austin man is the first person to face charges under the new crosswalk law.
It’s hard for Gina Torry to forget her nephew’s words. It’s something she’s carried with her for a long time.
Asking a 6-year-old why it is that someone could kill their mother without any consequences, without any law, is a difficult thing to do, said Torry.
The aunt did n’t have an answer.
In Fort Bend County, in the Houston area, in October 2017, Lisa Torry Smith was fatally struck while crossing the street with her son, in a crosswalk, and in a school zone. Torry claimed that her nephew had suffered severe injuries but remained unharmed.
Officials tell KXAN investigators the driver who hit and killed Smith was not charged. Torry claimed that she persisted in reflecting on it throughout her grief.
One of the reasons we pushed for a Texas crosswalk law is that it prevents kids from ever having to ask that question, she said.  ,
In a crosswalk in Texas, the Lisa Torry , Smith Act became law in September 2021, making it illegal to kill or harm a pedestrian, cyclist, or other vulnerable road user.
The Travis County District Attorney’s Office announced recently that it had just started prosecuting cases under the new law.
In March, Todre Anderson was sentenced to 18 months in , state jail. In November 2021, Anderson was charged with operating a red light, hitting and killing a 64-year-old pedestrian with his vehicle at Little Texas Lane and South Congress Avenue, according to court records.
Although Anderson was looking at his cell phone, the pedestrian was reported to have the walk sign to cross in court documents. Court records obtained by KXAN investigators show Anderson originally pleaded guilty and was given five years of probation, but that was  , revoked , after he failed to report to his supervision officer, and he did n’t pay court and other fees.
KXAN Investigators contacted Anderson’s attorney Alex Calhoun numerous times via phone and email, but he stated he had no comment on the situation.
According to Torry,” This sets an important precedent for the implementation of the Lisa Torry Smith Act and the rest of Texas.”
The law requires drivers to stop for a pedestrian or cyclist in a crosswalk. Drivers who break the law and cause serious harm or death could be held legally accountable. Before the new laws, drivers were only required to yield.
” Implementation is going very slowly”, Torry said. ” Of course, it takes time for millions of people in the state to become aware of a new law and to understand how it operates,” said one spokesman.
Citizens for Road Safety Texas, a nonprofit that ensures the law is upheld, was founded by her.
She was in Austin last month and spoke at a Texas Department of Transportation Commission meeting about the need for a grant to raise awareness.
” This would give us staff on the ground, based in Fort Bend County, the ability to create training materials for the new Texas crosswalk law, and to travel there to provide those trainings not just to Fort Bend County, but also to law enforcement, community groups, lawyers, so that we are helping to raise awareness of this new law, how it gets implemented, and how drivers can follow it,” she said.
The organization twice applied for funding before, but it was turned down. Torry is hoping they can team up with TxDOT this year. According to a spokesperson for the organization, TxDOT is working with the organization to understand its funding needs and that it is crucial to educate the public about safety issues throughout the state.
Torry explained that her organization is hearing from Texas-area families who require legal advice.
” The sad fact is that this crosswalk law is , not well known yet and its implementation. There is n’t enough legal precedent. And so we are attempting to assist those who come to us in putting the pieces together,” she continued.
Torry said the Anderson case out of Austin will be an example of how the law is implemented for other counties.
Two additional cases, according to a records request made to the Travis County District Attorney’s Office, have been filed under the alias of” collision involving pedestrians” (  , road user in a crosswalk ). According to the records, police have issued an arrest warrant for a man involved in a hit-and-run involving two pedestrians.
” Our office takes any death or injury resulting from reckless driving as seriously as any other act of violence. According to a statement from the Travis County District Attorney’s Office, drivers need to be well-versed in new laws that affect both pedestrians and cyclists.
