88R9867 BHH-D
By: Geren H.R. No. 116
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The Texas Rangers celebrated its bicentennial on
January 13, 2023; and
WHEREAS, The oldest state law enforcement agency in the
United States, the group known as the Texas Rangers was created in
1823 by Stephen F. Austin to provide protection for colonists, and
in 1835, the organization was formally established by a resolution
of Austin's Permanent Council; following the Texas Revolution, the
Congress of the Republic of Texas passed a law granting a battalion
of mounted riflemen to protect the frontier, principally against
Native Americans; and
WHEREAS, The Rangers achieved worldwide fame as a fighting
force during the Mexican War in 1846, and in the 1870s, they were
dispatched to subdue feuding and banditry and to help restore order
in areas along the Rio Grande; over the next several decades, the
need for frontier law enforcement waned, but after a series of
reforms in the 1920s, the Rangers were called upon to patrol for
smugglers, cattle rustlers, and other offenders, and they prevented
injury and property damage during demonstrations and tamed a number
of lawless oil boomtowns; and
WHEREAS, When the Texas Department of Public Safety was
created in 1935, the Texas Rangers joined a much larger law
enforcement team and became a highly effective state police force,
complete with a highway patrol, detectives, and a modern scientific
laboratory, and during World War II, they instructed civilians and
local police in the latest defense techniques for protecting
critical infrastructure from sabotage; today, the agency conducts
investigations in such areas as major violent crime, public
corruption, cold cases, and officer-involved shootings, and it
oversees the DPS border security operations, as well as the
department's tactical and crisis negotiation programs; and
WHEREAS, Over the last 200 years, this renowned organization
has secured its place in the colorful history of the Lone Star
State, and the dedicated men and women of the Texas Rangers continue
to play an instrumental role in ensuring the safety and security of
their fellow citizens; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas
Legislature hereby commemorate the bicentennial of the Texas
Rangers and extend to the agency's members sincere best wishes for
continued success in their important work; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for the Texas Rangers as an expression of high regard by
the Texas House of Representatives.