BILL ANALYSIS


                                                        H.B. 2614
                                            By: Oakley (Luna, G.)
                                                    State Affairs
                                                          5-24-95
                              Senate Committee Report (Unamended)
BACKGROUND

Currently, it is the duty of every peace officer to preserve the
peace within the officer's jurisdiction.  However, the jurisdiction
of peace officers differs with the agency that they work for.  The
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has changed its interpretation of
"jurisdiction" several times in the past 20 years.  Officers
currently shed their official police power when they cross out of
their jurisdiction.

Every officer has the jurisdiction to arrest a person anywhere,
anytime, for a felony in progress.  However, an officer outside the
officer's jurisdiction cannot currently arrest a person for a
misdemeanor in progress.  In practice, this limitation has hampered
police officers in their attempts to thwart criminal activities
outside of their jurisdiction.

PURPOSE

As proposed, H.B. 2614 authorizes certain peace officers to arrest
a person for a misdemeanor offense, except for traffic violations,
anywhere in the state.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

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

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Article 14.03, Code of Criminal Procedure, by
adding Subsection (g), to authorize a peace officer who is listed
in Subdivision (1), (2), (3), or (4), Article 2.12, is licensed
under Chapter 415, Government Code, and is outside of the officer's
jurisdiction to arrest without a warrant a person who commits any
offense within the officer's presence of view, with an exception. 
Requires a peace officer making an arrest under this subsection, as
soon as practicable after making the arrest, to notify a law
enforcement agency having jurisdiction where the arrest is made. 
Requires the law enforcement agency to then take custody of the
person committing the offense and take the person before a
magistrate in compliance with Article 14.06.

SECTION 2. Amends Section 341.001(e), Local Government Code, to
provide that a police officer has the powers, rights, duties, and
jurisdiction granted to or imposed on a peace officer by the Code
of Criminal Procedure, among other powers and duties.

SECTION 3. Amends Section 341.021(e), Local Government Code, to
provide that the marshal has the same power and jurisdiction as a
peace officer has under the Code of Criminal Procedure, rather than
as the county sheriff.

SECTION 4. Emergency clause.
           Effective date: upon passage.