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.
