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The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission has suspended its crackdown on drunks in bars while it investigates complaints from legislators and the public about how the program is run. The TABC stepped up arrests of intoxicated people in bars in September after the Legislature approved funding for 120 new TABC staff members, including 59 new agents, to help the agency decrease drunk driving. The idea was to keep people from being drunk in bars, which in turn would keep them from being drunk in cars. But Texans didn't warm to Operation Last Call, and neither did conventioneers who threatened to steer clear of the state.
Before you pop open that celebratory can of Schlitz, though, keep in mind that the TABC will still be doing its job during the suspension:
"We are not stopping arrests," Carolyn Beck, TABC's spokeswoman, said Thursday."We are stopping these particular operations. We will still be in the licensed establishments enforcing the laws, including public intoxication and sale to intoxicated persons. Routine inspections will continue, as will responses to complaints."
Complaints from legislators centered on potential violations of civil rights, while complaints from the public mostly dealt with what people felt were unfair arrests — for example, some said they had been arrested because they laughed too loudly in a bar and were considered drunk. There was also some disparity in the numbers: The Chronicle reported this weekend that most of the public intoxication arrests in bars between Sept. 1 and March 27 happened in towns with populations of 150,000 or less.
The Chronicle found that Victoria, a city of 61,454 that represents less than 1 percent of the state's DWI arrests, had the most public intoxication arrests in bars — 156.By comparison, Houston, had 37 TABC citations issued in bars. Nearly 11 percent of state DWI arrests in 2004 occurred in Harris County.
The TABC said it will re-evaluate Operation Last Call, and TABC officials will testify to a joint state House-Senate committee about the program next week.
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Hello,
Why is the idea of public transportation not as important as MADD??? Why don't they use their proceeds to benefit the public transportion???
Every other city I have visited has had a wonderful way of preventing drunken driving except for Texas and only a few select other unfortunate US states! If we could finally spend the tax payer's money on self sufficient means then maybe a problem could actually be solved. For example the subway system, light rail, etc...those all seem very beneficial to american citizens in the south states as all other states....Some one should think about it... for a darn change... I hope I'm paying my tax money wisely... so tired of wasting it.....