Senate Finance weighs public safety budgets: DPS driver license staffing, trooper recruitment and border operations; prison populations and health care; and TJD

The Senate Finance Committee on Feb. 19 received Legislative Budget Board briefings and agency presentations covering major public-safety spending proposals, recruitment and staffing shortfalls, and capital needs.

LBB summarized funding recommendations for the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS), noting a multi‑line package that included base funding changes for driver license services, trooper recruit schools, forensic laboratory work and facilities. LBB said the DPS driver license division continues to show long call wait times and in‑office delays; the agency requested major staff increases and automation funding, while the LBB recommendation included a smaller staffing addition and two new riders for the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame museum and for trooper funding. Kelsey Vela of the Legislative Budget Board presented the agency figures and answered senators’ questions about performance metrics and exceptional items.

Senators pressed DPS officials on driver license call‑center performance, phone abandonment and the volume of online renewals. Committee members repeatedly pressed for an independent efficiency or process study to address persistent long waits and high abandonment rates. LBB and DPS reported call‑answer rates below targets and average hold times in the tens of minutes; the panel discussed technology and appointment‑system improvements and the challenge of meeting federal REAL ID document requirements. The committee also reviewed DPS requests to fund additional troopers and support staff; DPS witnesses briefed the committee on recruit class plans and a new rider that would require reporting on the use of lapse funds for trooper training.

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