Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HCR125 Compare Versions

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1	1	81R10461 BPG-D
2	2	By: Guillen H.C.R. No. 125
3	3
4	4
5	5	HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
6	6	WHEREAS, Crime presents a growing threat to communities along
7	7	the Texas-Mexico border, and especially to those in the South Texas
8	8	High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area identified by the National
9	9	Drug Intelligence Center; and
10	10	WHEREAS, The South Texas HIDTA region is a principal drug
11	11	smuggling corridor, and associated violence is an ever-present
12	12	threat for its 14 counties, which include Bexar, Cameron, Dimmit,
13	13	Hidalgo, Jim Hogg, Kinney, La Salle, Maverick, Starr, Val Verde,
14	14	Webb, Willacy, Zapata, and Zavala; in Mexico, entrenched drug
15	15	cartels have become increasingly brazen and dangerous, and United
16	16	States law enforcement authorities are deeply concerned about the
17	17	risk of this turmoil spilling over the border; and
18	18	WHEREAS, Criminal groups smuggle firearms as well as drugs
19	19	into Texas, and drug traffickers and gang members frequently commit
20	20	property and violent crimes to facilitate their activities and to
21	21	protect their operations from rivals; in addition, the ready
22	22	availability of narcotics in the South Texas HIDTA region presents
23	23	a public health threat, particularly to adolescents and young
24	24	adults; a recent survey conducted by the Texas Department of State
25	25	Health Services found that high school students in counties along
26	26	the border are more likely to experiment with or abuse cocaine than
27	27	their peers in other areas of Texas; and
28	28	WHEREAS, Gang members are migrating in increasing numbers
29	29	from urban areas to smaller communities, according to the NDIC's
30	30	2009 National Gang Threat Assessment; gangs in Mexico build
31	31	relationships with street gangs in the U.S. to expand their bases of
32	32	operation, recruiting from schools, prisons, and neighborhoods;
33	33	and
34	34	WHEREAS, Much of the South Texas HIDTA region is sparsely
35	35	populated, but influences more national-level drug trafficking and
36	36	drug availability than any other area along the U.S.-Mexico border;
37	37	such smaller border towns as Rio Grande City and Roma are
38	38	significant transshipment zones and distribution centers for
39	39	illicit cargo destined for drug markets in every region of the
40	40	country; and
41	41	WHEREAS, Smaller communities and less-populated counties in
42	42	this region do not have a tax base sufficient to support the level
43	43	of law enforcement necessary to effectively confront rising threats
44	44	to public safety; they have benefited, however, from federal grants
45	45	from the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) in
46	46	the Department of Justice; these grants have funded salaries for
47	47	additional police officers and sheriffs' deputies, allowed police
48	48	departments to add school resource officers, and enabled law
49	49	enforcement agencies to employ technology that enhances
50	50	efficiency, communication, and information sharing; and
51	51	WHEREAS, An increase in COPS grants to such communities in
52	52	the South Texas HIDTA region would greatly assist local efforts to
53	53	combat the threat of transnational gangs and the crime and violence
54	54	that accompanies large-scale drug smuggling operations; now,
55	55	therefore, be it
56	56	RESOLVED, That the 81st Legislature of the State of Texas
57	57	hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to increase
58	58	Community Oriented Policing Services grants to smaller communities
59	59	and less populated counties in the South Texas High Intensity Drug
60	60	Trafficking Area; and, be it further
61	61	RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
62	62	copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
63	63	the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the
64	64	senate of the United States Congress, to the attorney general of the
65	65	United States, and to all the members of the Texas delegation to
66	66	Congress with the request that this resolution be officially
67	67	entered in the Congressional Record as a memorial to the Congress of
68	68	the United States of America.