Senate bill targeting police shortage

A statewide law enforcement shortage is raising concerns in the Texas Legislature about slower response times, understaffed jails and low morale among overworked.

With time running out in the legislative session, lawmakers are scrambling to find ways to boost law enforcement salaries, relieve jail overcrowding and open up new avenues for recruiting officers.

“It’s a serious problem statewide,” said Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawthorne, who testified earlier this spring before both the Texas House and Senate.

Some rural areas such as Throckmorton County have no sheriff’s deputies at all. Others, including Tarrant County and Ector County, have had to send jail inmates to other lockups because they don’t have enough staff for their jails. And Bexar and Travis counties have been forced to rely heavily on overtime to keep proper staffing levels, straining their personnel and risking burnout.

The most serious attempt to address the problem, at least in rural areas, is Senate Bill 22, which could send more than $350 million to rural sheriff departments to help them raise salaries for deputies who in many counties are being paid less than $30,000 a year.

“It’s not only about holding onto the people they have, but it is to make sure we have the adequate level” of staffing, said State Sen. Drew Springer, a North Texas Republican and the lead sponsor of the legislation.

Springer said the focus is on smaller counties because they don’t have the tax base that bigger urban counties have and are losing deputies to those bigger counties or to police departments. Only counties with 300,000 people or less would qualify for grants aimed at assuring all patrol deputies make at least $45,000 a year and corrections officers make $40,000 a year.

“It gives a good little chunk of money to each county to try to help with the staffing shortages,” said State Rep. Ryan Guillen, a South Texas Republican who is pushing the bill in the Texas House.

In Throckmorton County — which has a population of 1,400 and is located between Abilene and Witchita Falls — Sheriff Doc Wigington said low pay is one of the reasons he’s had deputy positions open for 6 years and is left to patrol the county by himself.

“My backup on an emergency call is anywhere between 35 to 60 miles away, depending on where DPS troopers are on-call,” he said.

SB 22 has passed both the Senate and the House once, but there are differences in the bills that will require more negotiations before another round of votes that could send it to Gov. Greg Abbott for his signature and final adoption.

Another bill the Legislature is working on would allow honorably discharged military veterans who are not yet U.S. citizens to become licensed peace officers. Senate Bill 252 would give police and sheriffs an opportunity to hire those veterans, much as fire departments are already allowed to do.

Law enforcement groups have been pushing for the change for years.

Dave Batton, an attorney with the Harris County Deputies Organization, told the Senate State Affairs Committee last month that it makes no sense that the nation trusts these men and women to defend the country, but Texas isn’t allowing them to become licensed officers.

“Law enforcement is struggling right now to find qualified applicants,” Batton said.

Another way the Legislature is trying to relieve pressure on jails is by addressing mental health needs.

Lawmakers are weighing $3.4 billion in additional funding for state mental health programs, which includes creating more bed in mental health facilities to reduce the strain on jails.

State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, said because of a statewide mental health bed shortage, thousands of people who need mental health care are taking up space in jails.

Senate Bill 26, which has passed the Senate and is awaiting a vote in the Texas House, would provide at least 1,000 more mental health beds statewide.

Beyond boosting pay and throwing money at the problem, Springer said the Legislature is trying to send a message to law enforcment officers that the government is behind them and understands the pressures they face.

Springer said one example is Senate Bill 2593, which would provide better legal protection for police when they use nonlethal force in responding to dangerous situations. A series of bills is also aimed at ensuring protesters don’t endanger police during marches and rallies.

It’s a point Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick drove home during a recent speech to police officers and their families.

“We in the Legislature, and I’m proud to say, in a bipartisan way, we have your back, because you deserve it,” Patrick said. jeremy.wallace@houstonchronicle.com