AUSTIN, Texas — Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan indicated Monday that he wants to wait on a proposal from Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick calling for $50 million to outfit police with bulletproof shields to combat mass shootings.
In a statement to The Dallas Morning News, Phelan looked poised to place on Patrick’s request for the money on hold for now. Patrick had requested that the Legislative Budget Board reallocate $50 million in the current state budget to begin outfitting thousands of police officers with shields to prevent school shootings.
Phelan did not completely rule out the idea, but he indicated that the House would wait until the completion of various investigations and hearings, including an investigative committee he formed last week to examine the police response to the Robb Elementary School shooting. The committee is set to hold its first hearing Thursday.
“While discussions are already underway in the Texas House about how to respond to the school shooting in Uvalde, there are also ongoing investigations into the details of this horrific event — and we will be utilizing those findings to determine how state resources should be allocated if we are to prevent another tragedy like this from occurring,” Phelan said.
Patrick had asked Phelan to join Senate leaders in signing off on a budget transfer that would have moved millions to either the governor’s office or the Texas Department of Public Safety to being buying bulletproof shields.
Patrick’s office did not immediately return a message seeking comment Monday.
Phelan said shields could be part of the response to the shooting.
“While providing bulletproof shields for school law enforcement is likely to be part of that solution, the House will be taking additional school safety strategies into account, such as the enhancing of school ‘hardening’ measures and increasing the number of officers at schools,” he said.
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