By Junell, Culberson, et al. H.B. No. 2464
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the provision at certain retail establishments of
1-3 security measures and devices to protect employees and customers.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Title 4, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
1-6 amended by adding Chapter 96 to read as follows:
1-7 CHAPTER 96. SECURITY MEASURES AND DEVICES
1-8 AT CERTAIN RETAIL ESTABLISHMENTS
1-9 Sec. 96.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
1-10 (1) "Convenience store" means a retail establishment
1-11 that:
1-12 (A) is primarily engaged in the retail sale of
1-13 groceries as well as other products and services, which may
1-14 include:
1-15 (i) prepared foods;
1-16 (ii) household items and toiletries; and
1-17 (iii) gasoline and services;
1-18 (B) is not primarily a restaurant; and
1-19 (C) contains less than 6,000 square feet of
1-20 leasable area for retail purposes.
1-21 (2) "Department" means the Department of Public Safety
1-22 of the State of Texas.
1-23 (3) "Mall hours" means the period of the day during
2-1 which at least 25 percent of the leasable area of mall stores is
2-2 open for business with the public.
2-3 (4) "Mall store" means a store operating in and with
2-4 direct storefront access to a multilevel shopping mall.
2-5 (5) "Multilevel shopping mall" means an enclosed
2-6 multilevel retail center, including its exterior grounds, surface
2-7 parking lots, multilevel parking garages, office buildings, and
2-8 other associated structures and premises, that:
2-9 (A) contains more than 1,200,000 square feet of
2-10 gross leasable area for retail purposes; and
2-11 (B) includes one or more multilevel parking
2-12 garages.
2-13 A mall contained within a special improvement district
2-14 created by Chapter 289, Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular
2-15 Session, 1993, is also considered a multilevel shopping mall for
2-16 the purposes of this chapter.
2-17 (6) "Owner or operator of a multilevel shopping mall"
2-18 means the owner or operator of a multilevel shopping mall and the
2-19 agents and employees of the owner or operator of a multilevel
2-20 shopping mall.
2-21 (7) "Peace officer" means a person listed under
2-22 Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure.
2-23 (8) "Security hours" means the period of the day
2-24 beginning two hours before the beginning of mall hours and ending
2-25 two hours after the later of:
3-1 (A) the end of mall hours; or
3-2 (B) if there is a movie theater with direct
3-3 storefront access to the mall, the time that the last movie of the
3-4 theater's business day ends.
3-5 (9) "Security officer" has the meaning assigned by
3-6 Section 2, Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies Act
3-7 (Article 4413(29bb), Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes).
3-8 Sec. 96.002. SECURITY MEASURES AND DEVICES. (a) An
3-9 employer of personnel at a convenience store may provide the
3-10 following measures and devices for the security of employees and
3-11 customers:
3-12 (1) video surveillance equipment that is maintained in
3-13 working order and operated continuously during the hours of
3-14 operation of the store;
3-15 (2) a sign, with lettering at least three-fourths inch
3-16 in height, posted in the store's window stating that the cash
3-17 register contains less than $75;
3-18 (3) a drop-safe or time-release safe maintained at the
3-19 store that is bolted to the floor, is installed in the floor, or
3-20 weighs 350 pounds or more;
3-21 (4) a sign, with lettering at least three-fourths inch
3-22 in height, posted in the store's window stating that there is a
3-23 safe in the store and that the safe is not accessible to the
3-24 store's employees or, if store employees have access to a
3-25 time-release safe, that employees have access to a limited amount
4-1 of cash only at time-delayed intervals;
4-2 (5) interior and exterior lighting in each area of the
4-3 premises that is intended for customer access and controlled by the
4-4 employer, with an illumination intensity maintained at at least two
4-5 foot-candles for each square foot at 36 inches above the surface of
4-6 the lighted area; and
4-7 (6) markers at the entrance of the store that can
4-8 indicate the height of a person entering the store.
4-9 (b) An employer of personnel at a convenience store who
4-10 elects to comply with the security measures and devices described
4-11 by Subsection (a) shall conduct business in the convenience store
4-12 in a manner that provides full visibility from the street of the
4-13 clerk and customer during a sales transaction at the cash register
4-14 or checkout counter.
4-15 (c) An employer of personnel at a convenience store shall
4-16 maintain a video surveillance recording until at least the 30th day
4-17 after the date of the recording of an event unless, before that
4-18 date, the recording is taken by a law enforcement agent in
4-19 connection with a criminal investigation.
4-20 (d) An owner or operator of a multilevel shopping mall may
4-21 establish and implement a security plan that provides for the
4-22 following measures and devices for the protection of employees,
4-23 invitees, tenants, and customers at the multilevel shopping mall:
4-24 (1) one peace officer on duty during security hours;
4-25 (2) one security officer for each 600,000 square feet
5-1 of gross leasable area on duty during security hours;
5-2 (3) one security officer for each 1,000 parking spaces
5-3 that are contained in the parking facilities maintained at the
5-4 multilevel shopping mall who is on duty during security hours;
5-5 (4) one security vehicle patrolling during security
5-6 hours each 2,500 parking spaces that are contained in the parking
5-7 facilities maintained at the multilevel shopping mall subject to
5-8 allowing reasonable breaks for the vehicle patrol officer;
5-9 (5) a communications system in effect 24 hours a day,
5-10 seven days a week;
5-11 (6) security escorts available:
5-12 (A) during security hours; and
5-13 (B) as necessary when requested in advance by a
5-14 tenant to provide security escorts to employees of the multilevel
5-15 shopping mall who are working after security hours; and
5-16 (7) a security advisory newsletter, designed to
5-17 communicate safety and security advice to tenants, invitees, and
5-18 customers, to be distributed to the tenants and posted in a manner
5-19 to be visible to invitees and customers at least once in each
5-20 three-month period by the owner or operator of the multilevel
5-21 shopping mall, unless a more frequent distribution and posting is
5-22 necessary because of extraordinary circumstances affecting the
5-23 health, safety, or welfare of tenants, invitees, and customers.
5-24 (e) An owner or operator of a multilevel shopping mall that
5-25 establishes a security plan under this section shall file a copy of
6-1 the plan with the chief of police of any municipality in which the
6-2 mall is located and the sheriff of the county in which the mall is
6-3 located. A filing under this subsection is proof of the
6-4 establishment of a security plan for purposes of this chapter.
6-5 Sec. 96.003. TRAINING PROGRAM FOR CONVENIENCE STORES;
6-6 DEPARTMENT APPROVAL. (a) An employer of personnel at a
6-7 convenience store who elects to comply with the security measures
6-8 described by Section 96.002(a) shall instruct each employee who
6-9 serves as a clerk or manager in the store in security techniques in
6-10 a training program conducted by the employer that is approved by
6-11 the department under Subsection (b). The employer shall require
6-12 the instruction of a new employee subject to this subsection not
6-13 later than the 30th day after the date on which the person begins
6-14 the employment.
6-15 (b) An employer of personnel at a convenience store may
6-16 apply to the department, in the manner prescribed by the
6-17 department, for evaluation of the employer's training program. The
6-18 department may assess a $25 fee for evaluation of a training
6-19 program under this subsection. The department shall notify the
6-20 employer whether the program is approved by the department not
6-21 later than the 14th day after the date on which the application is
6-22 received by the department.
6-23 (c) An employer of personnel at a convenience store whose
6-24 training program is approved by the department shall post a sign at
6-25 the convenience store that indicates that the store's employees are
7-1 instructed and trained in security techniques. An approval by the
7-2 department of an employer's training program is effective for 24
7-3 months unless the department finds that the employer has not
7-4 complied with the conditions upon which the approval was granted.
7-5 Sec. 96.004. AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE FOR CONVENIENCE STORES;
7-6 EVIDENCE OF SAFETY MEASURES. It is an affirmative defense in a
7-7 cause of action that alleges the liability for damages of a
7-8 convenience store because of the failure of the store to provide
7-9 adequate safety measures for the store's customers and employees
7-10 that, at the time of the incident that is the basis for the cause
7-11 of action:
7-12 (1) the security measures and devices described by
7-13 Sections 96.002(a) and (b) were in place at the store and in
7-14 operation; and
7-15 (2) the employees of the store had been instructed in
7-16 security techniques in a training program approved by the
7-17 department under this chapter.
7-18 Sec. 96.005. AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE FOR MULTILEVEL SHOPPING
7-19 MALLS; EVIDENCE OF SAFETY MEASURES. It is an affirmative defense
7-20 in a cause of action that alleges that the owner or operator of a
7-21 multilevel shopping mall is liable for failure to provide adequate
7-22 security measures or devices that, at the time of the incident that
7-23 is the basis for the cause of action, the owner or operator of the
7-24 multilevel shopping mall had established and substantially
7-25 implemented the security plan described by Section 96.002(d) at the
8-1 multilevel shopping mall.
8-2 Sec. 96.006. RESTRICTIONS ON APPLICATION. (a) This chapter
8-3 does not apply to a cause of action based on product liability.
8-4 (b) This chapter does not apply to an action brought by an
8-5 employee or the legal beneficiary of an employee under Subtitle A,
8-6 Title 5, Labor Code.
8-7 (c) No portion of this chapter shall be mentioned, alluded
8-8 to, referenced, or used in any manner by any party or witness in a
8-9 court of law where the defendant or any party who might be liable
8-10 to another in tort or contract is not asserting a defense based on
8-11 this chapter.
8-12 (d) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to impose an
8-13 obligation on a property owner or operator to adopt certain
8-14 measures of security or to adhere to certain standards relating to
8-15 security.
8-16 SECTION 2. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
8-17 (b) Section 96.004, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as
8-18 added by this Act, applies only to a cause of action that accrues
8-19 on or after January 1, 1996. A cause of action described by that
8-20 section that accrues before January 1, 1996, is governed by the law
8-21 in effect on the date the cause of action accrued, and the former
8-22 law is continued in effect for that purpose.
8-23 (c) Section 96.005, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as
8-24 added by this Act, applies only to a cause of action that accrues
8-25 on or after September 1, 1995. A cause of action described by that
9-1 section that accrues before September 1, 1995, is governed by the
9-2 law in effect on the date the cause of action accrued, and the
9-3 former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
9-4 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
9-5 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
9-6 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
9-7 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
9-8 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.