Speaker Phelan announces border security legislative package including a "Border Protection Unit"

House Bill 6 by Representative Goldman would impose severe and swift punishment for fentanyl-related crimes in Texas, increasing the penalty for manufacturing or delivering less than one gram of fentanyl to a third-degree felony that is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
House Bill 7 by Representative Guillen would establish the Legislative Border Safety Oversight Committee to provide recommendations guiding the state’s border safety policies and oversight over the Border Protection Unit, which would be created under House Bill 20 by Representative Schaefer. The 10-member oversight committee would consist of the lieutenant governor, speaker and four members from each chamber. House Bill 7 would also ensure that the state’s border operations, as outlined in House Bill 20, could receive the necessary funding and legal support by creating Regional Border Protection Court Programs that, if implemented, would handle border-related legal matters. House Bill 7 would also create multiple new grant programs for higher education institutions and local governments in the border region, as well as allow residents to be compensated for property damage related to border activities.
House Bill 17 by Representative Cook would ensure that criminal laws are enforced uniformly across the state by prohibiting district and county attorneys from announcing, adopting or implementing policies that prevent or materially limit the enforcement of certain criminal offenses in Texas. Under House Bill 17, this prohibition would be included in the state’s definition of “official misconduct” for purposes of petitioning a local court for removal of a district or county attorney.
House Bill 20 by Representative Schaefer would establish the Border Protection Unit, a new unit housed within the Texas Department of Public Safety and directed by a governor-appointed chief who reports directly to the Public Safety Commission, to provide a mission-oriented, locally-based response to the state’s ongoing border security operations. The Border Protection Unit would be headquartered along the border and prioritize the recruitment of individuals who are either residents of or have significant experience with border communities to staff the operation. In doing so, Texas National Guard soldiers, state troopers and game wardens that have been deployed along the border for weeks or months at a time would eventually be sent back home, returning them to their own core missions and communities.
House Bill 90 by Representative Patterson, also known as the Bishop Evans Act, would improve workers’ compensation and death benefits for Texas Military Forces on state active duty, allowing those service members the same access as officers who are killed in the line of duty.
House Bill 200 by Representative Leach would re-establish the Prosecuting Attorneys Coordinating Council, a state agency administratively attached to the Supreme Court of Texas with jurisdiction to review and resolve complaints involving incompetency and misconduct by prosecuting attorneys. The council, which would have the ability to conduct hearings, issue subpoenas and order depositions, could issue findings related to misconduct as well as file petitions for the removal of attorneys. House Bill 800 by Representative Guillen would crack down on human smuggling by increasing the mandatory minimum sentence for such convictions to 10 years in prison. House Bill 800 would also require a minimum of 5 years in prison for persons convicted of running a stash house — which are often used to facilitate human trafficking or drug smuggling — and create the ability to also charge that person with a third-degree felony punishable by up to 10 years for any additional offenses committed. House Bill 1600 by Representative Hefner would create a state penalty for persons trying to enter the state of Texas other than at an official port of entry.