Today, Texas House Speaker Joe Straus created the Select Committee on the Fiscal Impact of Texas Border Support Operations, which will examine the short- and long-term budgetary effects of addressing increased activity along the Texas-Mexico border.
The committee will be comprised of: Speaker Pro Tempore Dennis Bonnen of Angleton (Chair), and Reps. Greg Bonnen of Friendswood, Myra Crownover of Denton, Drew Darby of San Angelo, Donna Howard of Austin, Oscar Longoria of Mission, Marisa Márquez of El Paso, Sergio Muñoz, Jr. of Palmview, John Otto of Dayton, Sylvester Turner of Houston and John Zerwas of Simonton.
The proclamation from Speaker Straus is below:
Pursuant to Rule 1, Section 16, House Rules, I, Joe Straus, Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives, create the House Select Committee on the Fiscal Impact of Texas Border Support Operations.
While the responsibility for securing the border rests exclusively on the federal government, failure to secure the border has resulted in a humanitarian issue that threatens the safety and economic stability of Texas citizens. To provide for the health and safety of its citizens, reduce crime, and support strained resources of local law enforcement and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the State of Texas has authorized the Texas Department of Public Safety to execute an operation of increased law enforcement in counties on the Texas-Mexico border. Recognizing that the next legislature will need to address the cost of this operation in a supplemental appropriations bill, this committee shall monitor the specific measures taken by the Department of Public Safety to support local and federal law enforcement on the border in order to determine the short and long-term impact of this operation on Texas’s economic resources and infrastructure. Additionally, the committee will provide information to the legislature to inform all Texas taxpayers of how the increased immigration will affect the state’s economy and the operations of state and local government and affiliated institutions. The committee will develop specific legislative proposals to address budgetary issues.
Further, the committee shall:
1. Monitor the state’s and local governments’ response to the increased influx of immigrants entering Texas through the Texas-Mexico border, including measures taken by Texas to provide security and human services and potential increases in budgetary costs resulting from these measures;
2. Review and evaluate support Texas has received from the federal government to address this issue, including the use of additional federal funds in Texas, if authorized by Congress;
3. Study the short and long-term budgetary impact of the increased influx of immigrants on the costs of Texas’s border security operations, economic resources, and infrastructure, including the short and long-term impact on operations of local and state governments and agencies; and
4. Determine potential long-term budgetary costs associated with ensuring the health and safety of Texas citizens and the Texas economy.