Senate Border Security Committee to Take Up Hostile Drones, DPS’ New Homeland Security Division

The Texas Senate Select Committee on Homeland and Border Security will gavel in at 9 a.m. Aug. 12 to hear invited and public testimony on two interim charges — how the state should help defend Texas airspace against hostile drones, and how the Department of Public Safety is standing up the homeland security division lawmakers created last session. Witnesses should note the ground rules in the hearing notice: public testimony is limited to 2 minutes per witness, and written testimony requires seven copies for the clerk with the witness’s name on each.

Chaired by Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, the five-member select panel — established in September 2025 — counts four Republicans and one Democrat, with Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D-McAllen, serving as vice chair. Wednesday’s session is the first of two the committee has noticed on consecutive days; a second hearing is set for 9 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 13. Because the committee is meeting in the interim, it will take no votes on legislation.

The first charge, “Keeping Texas’ Skies Safe,” directs members to examine drones “as it relates to public safety,” study partnerships with the federal government and Mexico “that aid Texas agencies in defending against and disabling hostile drones,” and recommend which state agencies should assist in drone mitigation, which prohibitions should shield critical infrastructure and public events, and where penalties need strengthening, according to the official notice. The panel is wading into territory federal law still dominates: the authority to disable or seize a drone in flight rests with a short list of federal agencies, and Justice Department, FBI and Customs and Border Protection officials told a congressional committee in December 2024 that those counter-drone authorities are limited, while federal law enforcement leaders have pressed Congress to expand them. Texas’ own drone statute, Government Code Chapter 423, already restricts drone operations over critical infrastructure, correctional facilities and sports venues — leaving the committee to weigh what more the state can lawfully do.

The federal-state seam has produced friction close to home. In March, U.S. senators criticized the Pentagon, the Federal Aviation Administration and CBP after two counter-drone deployments in Texas, including high-energy laser systems fielded near El Paso and Fort Hancock, and Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., demanded federal agencies address coordination failures and aviation-safety risks from counter-drone activity. Those episodes frame the committee’s central question: where do Texas agencies fit in a contested federal framework?

The monitoring charge singles out Senate Bill 36, the 89th Legislature’s homeland security measure by Sen. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound — who sits on the select committee. The law, effective Sept. 1, 2025, established a Homeland Security Division inside DPS charged with coordinating border security operations, managing intelligence centers and protecting critical infrastructure, according to the bill analysis. The measure passed the Senate on April 10, 2025, and DPS announced the division’s creation after the session ended. Members will probe how the stand-up is progressing and whether the statute needs adjustment.

The committee’s four other interim charges — securing land ports of entry, policing oversize and overweight fuel-truck routes, shoring up export-fuel integrity and combating fuel-crime corruption — appear on the committee’s charge list but not on Wednesday’s notice. As with all interim hearings, no legislation will be voted on; the committee’s findings will shape the recommendations it sends to the 90th Legislature, which convenes in January 2027.

Meeting at a glance

Committee members

• Sen. Phil King, R–Weatherford (SD-10) — Chair
• Sen. Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa, D–McAllen (SD-20) — Vice Chair
• Sen. Bob Hall, R–Edgewood (SD-2)
• Sen. Tan Parker, R–Flower Mound (SD-12)
• Sen. Kevin Sparks, R–Midland (SD-31)