Promoting Texas as the law and order state, Governor Greg Abbott has signed a string of public safety bills aimed to increase penalties for criminal activity and further supporting local law enforcement.

The Governor signed eight bills last week surrounded by members of DPS and law enforcement. “One thing that we all agree upon is providing resources that will make our communities safer, as well as supporting our law enforcement in the State of Texas,” said Governor Abbott. 

House Bill 17 was signed by the Governor, which would penalize prosecutors across the state for refusing to prosecute a whole category of Texas law such as drug misdemeanors and abortion. The law is not meant to make every prosecutor prosecute every case. They are given the discretion to pick and choose cases. This is for when it is evident prosecutors are intentionally ignoring whole categories of laws due to a political bias.

House Bill 28 increases the penalty for aggravated assault to a first-degree felony if the actor used a deadly weapon that resulted in brain or spine injury, or another injury that caused paralysis or put the victim in a vegetative state. 

House Bill 1442 gives resources to Texas law enforcement to combat street takeovers. The Governor launched a new task force back in February to combat street takeover events. According to a press release by the Governor’s office in February, the new task force comprises, “DPS’ Criminal Investigations Division, Texas Highway Patrol, Aviation Operations Division, and Intelligence and Counterterrorism Division, working in conjunction with local law enforcement agencies statewide.” The Governor and Texas DPS noted that these events have seen people attack law enforcement and cause a deadly environment for the public. 

House Bill 2899 states that people caught street racing will have their vehicle impounded and the violator is responsible for all the fees. “We will sign bills that rein in the rash of illegal street racing,” said Governor Abbott. “Law enforcement needs more and better tools to crack down on street racing in Texas communities.”

Senate Bill 22 is the Rural Sherriff Office Salary Assistance Grant Program. This is for sheriffs in counties with a population of 300,000 or less. Counties can submit applications to the Texas Comptroller. Counties with less than 10,000 residents will receive $250,000. A county with a population between 10,000–50,000 can receive $350,000. Counties with a population between 50,000–300,000 can receive $500,000. 

The grant is divided to increase minimum salary requirements for county sheriffs ($75,000), deputies who make regular vehicle stops ($45,000), and county jailers securing prisoners ($40,000). Additionally, the grants are to raise salaries, hire additional deputies and staff, and purchase vehicles, firearms, and equipment. 

Senate Bill 840 makes assault against hospital workers on duty a third-degree felony. This is everyone who works in a hospital while on duty. 

Senate Bill 1004 will make the penalty for tampering with an ankle monitor a state jail felony. However, if the parolee is in the super-intensive supervision unit, then their penalty is a third-degree felony. They will have this added to their sentence as well. Parolees will have to serve out the rest of their sentence either on parole or in prison if their parole is revoked. 

Senate Bill 224 increases the penalty for catalytic converter theft depending on the damages that the victim incurs. Catalytic converters have valuable metals, and so are coveted by criminals to resell. The new penalties can be anywhere from a misdemeanor for damages under $2,500, a state jail felony for damages under $30,000, or a felony if the damages are anywhere from $30,000 to over $300,000,” according to KHOU11. More reporting on this can be found here.