TITLE: Commemorating the bicentennial of the Texas Rangers.

SUMMARY: Commemorating the bicentennial of the Texas Rangers.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, The Texas Rangers celebrated its bicentennial on January 13, 2023; and WHEREAS, The oldest state law enforcement agency in the United States, the group known as the Texas Rangers was created in 1823 by Stephen F. Austin to provide protection for colonists, and in 1835, the organization was formally established by a resolution of Austin's Permanent Council; following the Texas Revolution, the Congress of the Republic of Texas passed a law granting a battalion of mounted riflemen to protect the frontier, principally against Native Americans; and WHEREAS, The Rangers achieved worldwide fame as a fighting force during the Mexican War in 1846, and in the 1870s, they were dispatched to subdue feuding and banditry and to help restore order in areas along the Rio Grande; over the next several decades, the need for frontier law enforcement waned, but after a series of reforms in the 1920s, the Rangers were called upon to patrol for smugglers, cattle rustlers, and other offenders, and they prevented injury and property damage during demonstrations and tamed a number of lawless oil boomtowns; and WHEREAS, When the Texas Department of Public Safety was created in 1935, the Texas Rangers joined a much larger law enforcement team and became a highly effective state police force, complete with a highway patrol, detectives, and a modern scientific laboratory, and during World War II, they instructed civilians and local police in the latest defense techniques for protecting critical infrastructure from sabotage; today, the agency conducts investigations in such areas as major violent crime, public corruption, cold cases, and officer-involved shootings, and it oversees the DPS border security operations, as well as the department's tactical and crisis negotiation programs; and WHEREAS, Over the last 200 years, this renowned organization has secured its place in the colorful history of the Lone Star State, and the dedicated men and women of the Texas Rangers continue to play an instrumental role in ensuring the safety and security of their fellow citizens; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas Legislature hereby commemorate the bicentennial of the Texas Rangers and extend to the agency's members sincere best wishes for continued success in their important work; and, be it further RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for the Texas Rangers as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. Geren Phelan Guerra Murr Allen Guillen Neave Criado Allison Harless Noble Anch a Harris of Anderson Oliverson Anderson Harris of Williamson Ordaz Ashby Harrison Orr Bailes Hayes Ortega Bell of Kaufman Hefner Patterson Bell of Montgomery Hernandez Paul Bernal Herrero Perez Bhojani Hinojosa Plesa Bonnen Holland Price Bowers Howard Ramos Bryant Hull Raney Buckley Hunter Raymond Bucy Isaac Reynolds Bumgarner Jetton Rogers Burns Johnson of Dallas Romero, Jr. Burrows A. Johnson of Harris Rose Button J. Johnson of Harris Rosenthal Cain Jones of Dallas Schaefer Campos Jones of Harris Schatzline Canales Kacal Schofield Capriglione King of Hemphill Shaheen Clardy King of Uvalde Sherman, Sr. Cole Kitzman Shine Collier Klick Slaton Cook Kuempel Slawson Cortez Lalani Smith Craddick Lambert Smithee Cunningham Landgraf Spiller Darby Leach Stucky Davis Leo-Wilson Swanson Dean Longoria Talarico DeAyala Lopez of Bexar Tepper Dorazio Lopez of Cameron Thierry Dutton Lozano Thimesch Flores Lujan Thompson of Brazoria Frank Manuel Thompson of Harris Frazier Martinez Tinderholt Gamez Martinez Fischer Toth Garcia Metcalf Troxclair Gates Meyer Turner Gerdes Meza VanDeaver Geren Moody Vasut Gervin-Hawkins Morales of Harris Vo Goldman Morales of Maverick Walle Gonz lez of Dallas Morales Shaw Wilson Gonz lez of El Paso Morrison Wu Goodwin Mu oz, Jr. Zwiener Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 116 was adopted by the House on February 14, 2023, by a non-record vote. Chief Clerk of the House