Rick Perry Wants Reinstatement of DPS Checkpoints

Asks Attorney General to issue an opinion on legality

From the KVUE newsroom Wed., Nov. 12, 2008

By Noelle Newton

By orders from the Governor's office, the chair of the Public Safety Commission sent a letter to Attorney General Greg Abbott asking for a legal opinion to allow DPS checkpoints. Before Abbott could respond, 15 lawmakers sent a letter urging him to deny the request.

(A report filed by KXAN - Austin, described Perry's request as "a statewide system for random driver checkpoints." Story link here )

KVUE News spoke by phone with State Representative Ruth Jones McClendon (D-San Antonio). She signed the letter.

"There are 31 senators and 130 house members and they make up the state legislature,” said McClendon. “They alone are the ones that have that authority to make that decision no one else and no other agency."

In a typical checkpoint, officers line up along a feeder road, or an exit to a highway, and they stop every driver checking for license, insurance and registration.

Governor Rick Perry's office released this statement: “Driver license checkpoints are an effective and efficient law enforcement tool that increases overall compliance with requirements to operate a motor vehicle."

McClendon and other representatives fear it may be used to target illegal immigrants.

"It's a privacy issue because they have no authority to do that," McClendon said.

It looks like she may get the chance to vote on the issue. If Abbott doesn't give DPS clearance to do checkpoints, Governor Perry's office says he will push the state legislature to approve it in the next session.

Abbott has 180 days to issue an opinion.