AUSTIN, Texas _ The leaders of both chambers of the Texas Legislature announced Tuesday that they would create interim committees tasked with creating policies to help prevent mass gun violence and improve public safety after two mass shootings in Texas in the last month.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, both Republicans, said they each created a select committee in their chamber to study and recommend legislative solutions to mass gun violence. The announcement late Tuesday came less than 24 hours before Texas Democratic legislators are scheduled to hold news conferences in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, Austin and El Paso on Wednesday to address recent gun violence in the state.
Following the shooting in El Paso, in which the alleged gunman killed 22 people at a Walmart and targeted the city because of its majority Hispanic population, Gov. Greg Abbott announced the creation of task forces to combat domestic terrorism and improve public safety. The work of those task forces is ongoing, but some Democrats have urged Abbott to call a special session to address gun violence.
Another shooting in Midland and Odessa in West Texas on Saturday, in which a gunman killed seven people and injured nearly two dozen others, fueled the public call for action.
"Every time an act like this occurs, we as leaders call for action, understanding and change. We need more than another set of round tables and task forces; it's time to act," said state Sen. Borris Miles, D-Houston.
Abbott applauded the announcement of the select committees and said in conjunction with his task forces, they are "vital to our ongoing efforts to respond to these recent tragedies and protect innocent life."
"Texas will not stand by and allow violence to continue to rip apart our families and communities. As I said in Odessa, words alone are inadequate as we face this challenge. Words must be followed by meaningful action to prevent these senseless and devastating attacks," he said in a news release. "I applaud the House and Senate for establishing these committees, and Texas lawmakers have my full support as we work together to put an end to this violence."
The committee members, jurisdiction and policy-related charges were not yet available but will be announced later this week, according to a joint news release from Patrick and Bonnen. The committees will provide a final list of recommendations for the Legislature to act on in their next session, which will begin in January 2021 unless the governor calls a special session.
"Speaker Bonnen and I had previously agreed to study ways to combat domestic terrorism during the interim, but following the recent mass shootings in El Paso and Midland _ as well as Santa Fe and Dallas _ we have decided to appoint Select Committees this week to address these challenges," Patrick said in the news release.
"The heinous tragedies like those that occurred in El Paso, Midland and Odessa have become all too common in our state, and such a serious epidemic of violence should be met with meaningful solutions," Bonnen said. "These committees have difficult, important work before them, and the solutions they come up with will provide a roadmap for the Legislature's work over the interim and in the next session."
