Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick lays out rural Texas priorities

Palestine Herald-Press
Ali Linan CNHI Texas statehouse reporter
December 5, 2022

AUSTIN — Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has promised to help rural Texas by prioritizing law enforcement funding, mental health access and the nursing workforce in the next legislative session.

Patrick offered “concepts” more than concrete plans on how the state can address the needs of rural Texas during a news conference on Monday. He said he looks forward to working with lawmakers on bringing the concepts to fruition.

“Rural Texas … is the heart of our state; rural America is the heart of America,” Patrick said. “Rural Texas deserves everything that any other county deserves. … I’m going to work hard to be sure that we take care of rural Texas because we need to keep rural Texas growing.”

On law enforcement, Patrick said he would allocate $500,000 a year, or $1 million in the biennium, to help fund rural law enforcement agencies.

Patrick said low salaries make it difficult to recruit and retain law enforcement in rural parts of the state. He said the money could be used to increase wages, as well as fund additional positions and equipment.

While such agencies are usually funded by local budgets, Patrick said budgets are so tight, it is very difficult to keep officers on the streets.

“I met a lot of sheriffs that just didn't have the budget to do the job,” Patrick said.

On mental health, Patrick said the state is in desperate need of more hospital beds.

Currently the state has 2,500 mental health beds. However, about 1,000 beds remain offline due to low staffing, leaving approximately 1,500 beds available for 29 million Texans.

Patrick said his proposed program would add 1,000 to 1,500 beds, bringing the state total to as many as 4,000 beds.

To address the nursing shortage, Patrick said he is committed to establishing a nursing scholarship program that would help pay for the education of future nurses, as well as those willing to study psychology and psychiatry and work in rural communities.

He said he also wants to look into ways to expand telehealth in rural communities.

“We need (mental health professionals) all over the state, so that means we need to invest in more telehealth care,” he said.

Patrick also touched on other priorities he said would benefit the entire state, including fixing the state’s electric grid and addressing rising property taxes.

“These (priorities) help rural Texas but also all of Texas,” Patrick said.

The 88th legislative session begins in January.