The latest Department of Public Safety news from The Texas Tribune.
Though Gov. Rick Perry's political fortunes on the presidential campaign trail have plummeted, the bills for his omnipresent security detail continue, costing Texas taxpayers as much as $400,000 a month. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/121711Perry006ET.JPG)
El Paso has the lowest crime rate of American cities with populations over 500,000, according to rankings assembled by the CQ Press and released earlier today. This is the second year in a row the border city has topped the list. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/El-Paso-Officer.jpg)
DAY 30 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: During a legislative session where hardly any services were spared the budget ax, funding for border security actually increased. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/103109-txdotseal-jv.jpg)
The state senator from McAllen sat down with the Tribune to talk border security, how Democrats move forward after voter ID and what he thinks the upper chamber will look like in 2013. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Chuy-Hinojosa.jpg)
DAY 12 of our month-long series on the effects of new state laws and budget cuts: applicants for driver's licenses and IDs must furnish proof of legal status. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/VoterID2.jpg)
It's not a sales pitch heard too often in the Rio Grande Valley, but farmers and ranchers here have a new, tax-deductible option for improving their businesses — and the company offering it promises to take a bullet for its client. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/NightVision-Border.jpg)
An Austin judge ruled this week that the Texas Department of Public Safety overstepped its authority when it enacted tougher requirements for immigrants trying to obtain driver's licenses, giving immigrants' rights groups and some business leaders a glimmer of hope. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Immigration.png)
The Texas Department of Public Safety said Monday it had preserved certain travel records associated with the cost of providing security to Gov. Rick Perry before 2008, contrary to information it provided on Friday. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/c7073d0b40f90a8b9daeecb6fb77c4ee/BD%20INC%20Perry%20Plane%2002%202011)
State officials said Friday they can’t reveal how much money taxpayers are spending to protect Gov. Rick Perry — and that records of security costs compiled before 2008 have been “purged.” Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/829ae2b77d704137c3f774bac1c7c5ff/BD%20INC%20Perry%20Points%20Serious%202010)
The tiny East Texas town of Alto recently made headlines when it furloughed its five-man police department. But Alto is hardly the only Texas city struggling to fund public safety in a tough economy. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/PoliceCuts_2.jpg)
The idea was to rein in the amount of unauthorized immigrants with IDs or driver's licenses. But steps lawmakers took in that direction have some concerned they cast too wide a net. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/US-Passport.jpg)
An amendment attached to SB 1 during the special session will require applicants for driver's licenses and other state-issued identification cards to produce government-issued documents affirming their legal status. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/ID_Card_cutout.jpg)
Just as Gov. Rick Perry steps out on the national stage, lawmakers back home are moving to limit public access to detailed records showing how much it’s costing to protect him during his travels. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/PerryRLC_fix.jpg)
A border lawmaker has written Gov. Rick Perry in the hopes of adding another item to the agenda for the current special session. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/_KCA5938.jpg)
A measure eyed by some lawmakers as a means to stop the flow of illicit cash and weapons into Mexico via the Texas border is on life support. Full Story
The Texas Senate approved a measure this evening that would ban texting and sending e-mails and instant messages while driving. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/texting-while-driving-2.jpg)
The Texas Department of Public Safety today announced the start of a program to help poor drivers pay off expensive surcharges and get their driver's licenses back. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/DriversLicenseResponsibility.jpg)
Legislation that would grant the state authority to erect southbound checkpoints near the Texas-Mexico border was successfully revived today after lawmakers attached it as an amendment to a bill concerning record sharing by the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/DPS130TTCMS.jpg)
The state Senate today approved a conference committee report on the voter identification bill that includes changes that would allow citizens to use a new form of documentation to cast their ballots. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/80d6d5e2c22fefab4618cc4b4f4212a7/BD%20INC%20Fraser%202011)
Some of the thousands of untested rape kits lining evidence storage room shelves statewide would finally get testing under a bill the Texas Senate approved today. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/RapeKit.jpg)