Op-Ed: The Legislature Must Prioritize Texas’s Public Safety Personnel This Session

Texans have always proudly supported law enforcement, but our state’s public safety resources are stretched thin and in many ways getting thinner. Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) troopers and employees are seriously understaffed, underpaid, and overworked in the field and in the office. Retirees who spent a career keeping us all safe are struggling to make ends meet.

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How did it come to this, and what do we do about it?

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The Texas State Troopers Association (TSTA) has been fighting for our members for 40 years, and this year, we’ve expanded our membership to include non-commissioned employees of DPS. TSTA exists to serve and to advocate for better lives and working conditions for all those protecting our state.

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To that end, the TSTA Board of Directors recently approved our legislative priorities for the 89th Session of the Texas Legislature that starts in January 2025.

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It is critical for the continued safety of Texans that the Texas House and Senate address these pressing issues and support a robust, well-funded Department of Public Safety.

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As we have done in the past, TSTA is again urging the Legislature to provide a Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) or 13th Check to DPS retirees.

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Retired State Troopers are barely scraping by on retirement earnings that haven’t been adjusted since 2001 — 23 years of inflation ago. What used to cost retirees $100 now costs $180 due to the weakening of the dollar.1 This is simply not sustainable any longer.

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DPS’s current employees, too, need to see that the state cares for its retirees in order to retain brave and talented commissioned officers and staff. And retention is a serious problem as it is.

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A January 2024 report by State Auditor Lisa R. Collier found that the Texas Department of Public Safety was one of only three agencies with 1,000 or more employees whose turnover rate increased from FY22 to FY23, rising from 8.9% to 9.7%. Meanwhile, the number of separations in the department increased and the average headcount decreased.

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Breaking down the turnover rate shows that the percentage of employees who voluntarily left DPS positions for reasons other than retirement was almost twice the percentage of those who left because they were retiring (6.3% versus 2.9%).

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Texas could be facing a public safety crisis if the Legislature does not immediately address the vacancies and woeful pay within the ranks of Texas State Troopers and DPS employees.

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With that in mind, TSTA has honed in on legislative priorities surrounding retention, and by extension, recruitment.

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We will promote legislation to eliminate practices that create unnecessary hurdles in the hiring process to help make certan DPS has enough law enforcement officers. For instance, we’ll advocate for laws that would make it easier to hire out-of-state commissioned officers who want to move into Texas and become state troopers.

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For the officers who already work for the agency, TSTA will press for legislation to ensure state troopers are provided with the best equipment, including life-saving anti-choking devices, and the best training, such as how best to respond to the all-too-real possibilities of active shooter, hostage, and terrorist situations.

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We will also advocate to increase salaries and benefits for all DPS employees alongside stipend pay for all DPS commissioned officers.

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TSTA invites all state troopers and non-commissioned employees, active and retired, to join us as we ramp up for the legislative battles ahead. With greater numbers, we have greater strength. That’s why, in celebration of our 40th anniversary, we are giving new members one free year of membership if they join before October 1.

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Together with our members, we can improve DPS, rebuild the ranks, respect our retirees, and preserve public safety in Texas.

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This article was written by Rohnnie Shaw, TSTA Executive Director, and first appeared in the Dallas Express. Click the link below to view the publication.