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.

Border security and Operation Lone Star dominated part of the hearing. LBB and DPS described ongoing state deployments and costs; major figures presented to the committee included large state expenditures for Operation Lone Star to date and a governor’s request for federal reimbursement. Texas Military Department leaders and DPS testified about coordination with federal partners and the unclear near‑term funding picture from Washington following a change in federal administration. Committee members asked whether state operations will shift to Title 32 or federal status and how reimbursement could be distributed if the federal government agrees to repay state costs. Agency witnesses emphasized uncertainty and said offices would work with the legislature if federal guidance is issued.

The committee also reviewed the LBB’s population projections and budget recommendations for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). LBB presented updated adult incarceration, parole and community supervision projections that show an upward trend in the prison population compared with the post‑COVID trough. TDCJ officials told senators the monthly incarcerated population had climbed into the mid‑130,000s and that the department plans to reopen idled units, add dormitory capacity in some regions and bring additional beds on line. TDCJ requested pay increases for correctional officers and parole officers to address retention and vacancies; the LBB recommended a set of pay actions for correctional and parole staff. The panel also discussed correctional managed health care costs and an outstanding supplemental need tied to hospital and specialty care that has grown substantially in recent years.

Committee members asked TDCJ leaders to explain the drivers of the growth in care costs and to justify capital and operating requests. TDCJ said part of the trend reflects an aging and higher‑acuity incarcerated population and that more inpatient and specialty care needs have moved outside the department’s hospital capacity, increasing reliance on off‑site private care. Members raised the importance of oversight and value for the medical contracts that TDCJ uses and asked for data breaking down costs per inmate, and the split between the system’s hospital provider and external providers.

The Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) review focused on juvenile population projections, facility capacity and the department’s reforms following the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) findings. LBB presented projections showing stable but still‑elevated juvenile residential populations and a persistent waiting list for state placements. TJJD leaders told the committee they have reduced the wait list from prior highs, are recruiting more juvenile correctional officers, and are actively seeking two new facilities intended for youth with high mental‑health and violence risks. Senators asked about siting, staffing and the feasibility study TJJD completed to locate new secure beds where they can be safely staffed. Members discussed the need to balance community proximity (family contact) with staffing and safety considerations.

The committee also took short LBB presentations and heard agency testimony on the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the Texas Military Department (including STAR armory and Camp Bowie projects), the Texas Commission on Fire Protection, Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (sunset implementation and training oversight), and the Commission on Jail Standards. Agency witnesses requested a mix of staff, pay, information‑technology and targeted capital funding.

Public testimony included advocates asking the committee to sustain or increase funding for crime‑victim services (Office of the Attorney General grants, trauma‑recovery centers and local crisis programs), domestic violence batterer‑intervention funding, and juvenile‑services investments. Testimony from departmental employee associations asked the legislature to protect and extend pay and support programs for frontline staff, and private providers and local probation officials urged maintaining contracted beds and local program funding. Several witnesses urged continued and accelerated heat‑mitigation and life‑safety investments at correctional facilities.

What’s next: Committee members signaled that they will weigh LBB recommendations, agency exceptional items and public testimony as they craft the senate’s budget priorities. Senators repeatedly emphasized the need for better data on program outcomes (e.g., recidivism, medical cost drivers, and call‑center performance) before approving large recurring increases. Several members asked agencies to return with more granular, regional and per‑capita cost detail to support staffing and capital requests.

Ending: The committee recessed until the next scheduled session. The oversight hearing combined large agency budget requests with pointed line‑item and policy questions from senators on performance metrics, medical spending, facility siting and staffing, and the costs and future of Operation Lone Star.