DRUG TASK FORCE SEES LITTLE EFFECT FROM NEW LAW

Limit To Unit's Range Is Result, Lawmaker Says

AUSTIN - In months after the passage of a drug task force law, not too much
has changed, law enforcement officials said.

The law by Sen. Juan "Chuy" Hinojosa, D-McAllen, and Rep. Terri Hodge,
D-Dallas, said proceeds from any forfeited contraband seized by that task
force must go to the state's general fund unless a task force complies with
Texas Department of Public Safety policies and procedures.

The law took effect in June, but so far, drug task forces across the state
have been pretty much operating as they always have, without guidance from
DPS, according to task forces commanders.

Jaime Garza, commander of the South Texas Specialized Crime and Narcotics
Task Force, said since the law passed, it has been "business as usual" and
there has been "nothing as far as big, massive changes."

The South Texas Specialized Crime and Narcotics Task Force had operated in
several South Texas counties, but Garza said it is now focused on just
Kleberg County, so the legislation that relates only to multi-county task
forces would not apply to Garza's unit.

"We're local," he said, adding a promise to follow the rules.

Garza also said he plans on changing the name of the South Texas
Specialized Crime and Narcotics Task Force to something more focused on
Kleberg County.

Hinojosa responded by saying that the law had an effect by limiting the
range of the South Texas task force to Kleberg County and by providing
stricter standards for DPS.

DPS officials working on the task force issue could not be reached.

According to testimony during the legislative process, the law was intended
to hobble rogue task forces. A House report had questioned the
effectiveness task forces and some agents' methods. The report specifically
mentioned allegations of racially motivated arrests in Tulia by a North
Texas task force.

Following the report, Hinojosa filed a bill to eliminate
multi-jurisdictional task forces. Later, the bill was scaled back, and its
language was included in Hodge's bill, which became law.

During the process, Hinojosa said an officer with the South Texas
Specialized Crime and Narcotics Task Force unjustly pulled him over for
overly tinted windows.

Hinojosa said he was profiled, which task force officials denied. Hinojosa
has said his bill was not in retaliation for anything, but the timing
seemed questionable to the leaders of the South Texas task force.

On Wednesday, Hinojosa said, "We cannot allow law enforcement officers to
be out on the highway just stopping anybody without probable cause, pretty
much in effect committing highway robbery by just looking for money and
cash from people who have no drugs, who haven't broken the law, who are
just using our transportation system. And this type of harassment of
law-abiding citizens is unacceptable in our democracy."

Leaders at the state ACLU office, who supported the bill as it made its way
into law, could not be reached.