AUSTIN, Texas — At the Texas Capitol on Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott signed several bills aimed at improving public safety across the state.
The bills covered a wide variety of topics, from cracking down on street racing, to punishing people who remove ankle monitors and holding district attorneys accountable if they won't prosecute certain cases. The bills will ensure communities across Texas have the resources needed to support law enforcement and increase penalties for crimes.
Abbott also signed a bill named after Harris County deputy Darren Almendarez. He was off-duty, grocery shopping with his wife, when he confronted three men trying to steal a catalytic converter from his truck. Police say the men killed Almendarez.
The bill the governor signed increases criminal penalties for offenses involving catalytic converters.
"These catalytic converter thefts have increased substantially over the past few years," Abbott said. "Catalytic converter theft has become an organized and often violent crime."
The governor also signed a bill allocating $330 million to help rural counties with law enforcement staffing.
Gov. Abbott was joined at the bill-signing ceremony by State Sens. Carol Alvarado, Paul Bettencourt, Brian Birdwell, Bob Hall, Joan Huffman and Drew Springer; Reps. David Cook, Frederick Frazier, Stan Gerdes, Ryan Guillen, Jeff Leach, Mihaela Plesa and Armando Walle; Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT) President Marvin Ryals, Texas Municipal Police Association (TMPA) Executive Director Kevin Lawrence, Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steve McCraw and other public safety advocates.
“The more than 32,000 law enforcement officers members of TMPA are thankful to the Legislature for passing these bills, and to Gov. Abbott for signing them into law," TMPA Executive Director Lawrence said. "These bills address six different issues, but they all have the same net effect. They will make our citizens, our communities, and our state safer.”