Posted on 06/06/2007 5:16:11 PM PDT by SwinneySwitch
EDINBURG, Texas — Flanked by South Texas sheriffs and local and state officials, Gov. Rick Perry signed a compromise homeland security bill on Wednesday that he said would continue the state's efforts to step in where the federal government has failed to secure the border.
"I don't suppose there is a greater defining issue of the recently concluded legislative session than this issue of homeland security," Perry told a room crowded with sheriff's deputies. "You can't have border security unless you empower the men and women that are in this audience, those individuals who wear the badge, wear the uniform."
Perry also signed the bill at an earlier event in San Antonio.
The new law is separate from the more than $100 million in the state budget that already is earmarked for homeland security.
It creates a Border Security Council appointed by the governor to assist in allocating funding, establishes a system for mutual aid during emergencies and expands law enforcement agencies' ability to use wiretapping.
Perry said the wiretapping would help bring down violent drug and human smuggling gangs.
He said the mutual aid system will help neighboring localities by setting up disaster districts and helping assisting municipalities get reimbursed.
"This bill removes bureaucratic hurdles when seconds count and lives are in the balance," he said.
The measure also calls for a registry of immunization and medication administered during a disaster, adds two members to the Department of Public Safety Commission and allows state officials with amateur radio licenses to assist in emergencies.
Provisions that did not make in into the law include requiring localities to enforce immigration laws, mention of a highly criticized homeland security database and limits on sales of prepaid cellular telephones.
Maverick County Sheriff Tomas Herrera, head of the Texas Border Sheriffs Coalition, praised Perry for "stepping up to the plate" when the federal government had given beleaguered border sheriffs the run-around. The sheriffs have said they cannot keep up with the increasing violence coming from across the border.
"We were fed up," he said. "We wanted to take back our counties to protect our citizens."
Perry pledged the vast majority of the state's homeland security funding would go to the region.
Perry got his biggest applause when he came out against the 700 miles of border fencing Congress passed into law last year. He said it was a waste of money and would be ineffective.
"If you build a 30-foot wall or fence, the 32-foot ladder business is going to get real good," he said.
Hell Yes Texan !
In first week of governing you’d fix 90% of our woes with memos and changes to SOP by all state employees.
Just making road crews a 10PM to 5AM 5 day a week operation would be a winner in Texas !
Make yer deer camp buddy Chief Cook and Bottle Washer at DPS and give me a short leash on the National Guard and we can at the very least “Secure Texas” with you as governor !
How about getting those Border Patrol agents out of jail?
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