Director's Update - June 29, 2011

Special Session Closes:

I hope this finds you well.  

The 82nd Regular Session of the Texas Legislature closed out as of May 30, 2011, and a Special Session was opened on May 31, 2011, which has now also closed. 

The appropriations bill, as originally authored, "zeroed out" the current $2 million/year budget that has supported tobacco enforcement grants for local law enforcement and school-based police since the passage of Senate Bill #55 during the 75th Legislature in 1997.  Funding was not restored during either session this year.

Without this funding the State of Texas will be forced to eliminate these grant programs that have supported many of your local agencies' tobacco enforcement efforts across the state.  More than 400 local law enforcement agencies and over 280 school-based police agencies have benefited from this funding since it's inception.

I am sorry to see this path taken by the Legislature, as much good work has been accomplished by these grant programs to reduce illegal tobacco sales to youth, and in reducing youth access to tobacco products.  Within this grant funded statewide initiative, the illegal sale of tobacco to youth has dropped from about 75% when SB #55 (75R-1997) was originally passed, to about 5% currently.

Additionally, Law enforcement’s work in these areas has been essential in keeping the State of Texas in compliance with the federal Synar Amendment, which requires that states reduce the annual “illegal sales rate” to below 20% by enacting and enforcing laws prohibiting the sale or distribution of tobacco products to persons under the age of 18.  

Failure to comply with this amendment could cost the state up to 40% of its federal Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) block grant, or about $56 million annually, which brings us back to the $2 million the state had previously invested to keep this funding intact.  By not funding this relatively inexpensive statewide initiative, the legislature may actually be endangering its own constituency as well as adding to the state's budget problems.

The potential loss of this funding for drug prevention and rehabilitation programs ultimately impacts all of us.  It will result in increases in community crime rates due to many of those people who abuse drugs no longer having an avenue to assistance, or to receiving help in eliminating their addiction.  Therefore, many will turn back to their old ways, including their old ways of financing their addiction, through violent crimes against our citizens and property.

A cascading impact of this increase in crime is incarceration rates will rise as well, along with the extraordinary cost associated with housing, medical care and feeding a rising prison population.

It is my hope that these hard lessons don't have to be re-learned before the funds for law enforcement programs are restored, however, it does appear that the wheel will have to be re-invented!