BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1228

By: Leman

County Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Currently, certain emergency communication districts that are located in a county with a small population are required to have a licensed peace officer appointed by the county sheriff on its board of managers. It has been noted that having this peace officer as a board member enables a district to receive valuable input from an individual who has firsthand experience in responding to 9-1-1 calls, which is especially important in rural areas.

There are concerns, however, that due to population changes and a statutory population threshold certain counties may no longer be small enough in population to be allowed to have this appointed peace officer on a district's board. H.B. 1228 seeks to address these concerns by adjusting the applicable statutory population threshold in order to keep this appointed board position for districts in growing counties.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 1228 amends the Health and Safety Code to raise from less than 30,000 to less than 40,000 the maximum population threshold of a county for which statute prescribes the composition of the board of managers of an emergency communication district that meets the following qualifications:

· is subject to the Emergency Telephone Number Act; and    

· is located wholly in the county.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2021.