Texas House OKs $1.8B in border security spending

Dems say governor given a blank check

AUSTIN, Texas — A bill that would more than double state spending on border security initiatives is advancing through the Legislature over objections from some Democrats, who argue that the proposal gives Gov. Greg Abbott a blank check to build a wall along the Texas-Mexico border with limited oversight.

The Texas House gave final approval to House Bill 9 on Monday, signing off on a nearly $1.8 billion proposal to deploy more state law enforcement to the border, increase prosecutions of migrants arrested for misdemeanor offenses and direct $1 billion to Abbott’s office for border security grants, including construction of physical border barriers.

That spending would be in addition to the $1 billion approved by lawmakers earlier this year for border security efforts and the $250 million in state funding that Abbott redirected from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in June to kick-start his border wall.

The bill passed 85-36 over intense objections from some Democrats, who argued it grants Abbott too much leeway in allocating state dollars and that an investment of this proportion should not go toward an issue largely under federal jurisdiction when the state is facing other challenges.

But four Democrats — Reps. Harold Dutton of Houston, Oscar Longoria of Mission, Eddie Lucio III of Brownsville and Eddie Morales Jr. of Eagle Pass — joined all Republicans in voting in favor of the bill.

Abbott and Republican supporters of the bill say there is a border crisis demanding immediate action and that the federal government is failing to fulfill its duties.

The bill now heads to the state Senate for consideration. The Senate Finance Committee on Monday heard public testimony on its version of the bill, which would send $301 million to the Texas Military Department to deploy more National Guard soldiers to the border and includes $154.8 million in overtime pay for state troopers. It also includes $32.5 million for the Office of Court Administration to provide indigent defense services and courtroom interpreters for people accused of state crimes.

But more than $1 billion of the funding would go to Abbott’s office, of which the lion’s share would be used to build physical barriers along the Texas-Mexico border.

Abbott announced his intention to construct a state-sponsored border wall in June and said it would be funded in part by private donors and that it would be constructed only on private property volunteered by landowners.

The House approved an amendment to HB 9 that would prohibit the state from using eminent domain to obtain private property for construction of the wall. Eminent domain is the legal authority governments have to force private landowners to sell their property for public use.

Former President Donald Trump built 453 miles of primary and secondary walls along the U.S.-Mexico border. Only about 17 of those miles were constructed in Texas, all within the Rio Grande Valley sector. The effort in part was stymied by protracted legal battles with private land owners who opposed using their land for a barrier.