By Lucio S.B. No. 1640
74R9515 DLF-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the provision by employers of security measures to
1-3 protect employees and customers at certain retail establishments.
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. EMPLOYER-PROVIDED
1-8 SECURITY MEASURES 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 and other products and services, including:
1-14 (i) prepared foods;
1-15 (ii) household items and toiletries; and
1-16 (iii) gasoline and services;
1-17 (B) is regularly open for business between the
1-18 hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.; and
1-19 (C) is not primarily a restaurant.
1-20 (2) "Department" means the Department of Public Safety
1-21 of the State of Texas.
1-22 Sec. 96.002. SECURITY MEASURES. (a) An employer of
1-23 personnel at a convenience store may provide the following measures
1-24 for the security of employees and customers:
2-1 (1) video surveillance equipment that is maintained in
2-2 working order and operated continuously during the hours of
2-3 operation of the store;
2-4 (2) a sign, with lettering at least three-fourths inch
2-5 in height, posted in the store's window stating that the cash
2-6 register contains less than $50;
2-7 (3) a drop-safe or time-release safe maintained at the
2-8 store that is bolted to the floor, is installed in the floor, or
2-9 weighs 500 pounds or more;
2-10 (4) a sign, with lettering at least three-fourths inch
2-11 in height, posted in the store's window stating that there is a
2-12 safe in the store and stating:
2-13 (A) that the safe is not accessible to the
2-14 store's employees; or
2-15 (B) if the safe is a time-release safe and store
2-16 employees have access to the safe at time-delayed intervals, that
2-17 employees have access to limited amounts of cash only at
2-18 time-delayed intervals;
2-19 (5) interior and exterior lighting in each area of the
2-20 premises that is intended for customer access and controlled by the
2-21 employer, with an illumination intensity maintained at at least two
2-22 foot-candles per square foot at 36 inches above the surface of the
2-23 lighted area; and
2-24 (6) markers at the entrance of the store that indicate
2-25 the height of a person entering the store.
2-26 (b) An employer who elects to comply with the security
2-27 measures described by Subsection (a) shall conduct business in the
3-1 convenience store in a manner that provides clear visibility into
3-2 the store from the street and shall locate the sales area of the
3-3 store in a manner that provides full visibility from the street of
3-4 the clerk and customer during a sales transaction at the cash
3-5 register or checkout counter.
3-6 Sec. 96.003. TRAINING PROGRAM; DEPARTMENT APPROVAL. (a) An
3-7 employer who elects to comply with the security measures described
3-8 by Subsection (a) shall instruct each employee in security
3-9 techniques in a training program conducted by the employer that is
3-10 approved by the department under Subsection (b). The employer
3-11 shall instruct a new employee not later than the 30th day after the
3-12 date on which the person begins the employment.
3-13 (b) An employer may apply to the department, in the manner
3-14 prescribed by the department, for evaluation of the employer's
3-15 training program. The department may assess a $25 fee for
3-16 evaluation of a training program under this section. The
3-17 department shall notify the employer whether the program is
3-18 approved by the department not later than the 14th day after the
3-19 date on which the application is received by the department.
3-20 (c) An approval by the department of an employer's training
3-21 program is effective until the second anniversary of the date on
3-22 which the approval is granted unless the department finds that the
3-23 employer has not complied with the conditions on which the approval
3-24 was granted.
3-25 (d) The department shall provide an employer whose training
3-26 program is approved with a sign that may be posted at the
3-27 convenience store that indicates that the store's employees are
4-1 instructed and trained in security techniques.
4-2 Sec. 96.004. AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSE: EVIDENCE OF SAFETY
4-3 MEASURES. It is an affirmative defense in a cause of action that
4-4 alleges that a person failed to provide adequate safety measures
4-5 for the convenience store's customers and employees that, at the
4-6 time of the incident that is the basis for the cause of action:
4-7 (1) all of the security measures described by Section
4-8 96.002 were in place at the store; and
4-9 (2) the employees of the store had been instructed in
4-10 security techniques in a training program approved by the
4-11 department under this chapter.
4-12 Sec. 96.005. RESTRICTIONS ON APPLICATION. (a) This chapter
4-13 does not apply to a cause of action based on product liability.
4-14 (b) This chapter does not apply to an action brought by an
4-15 employee or a legal beneficiary of an employee under Subtitle A,
4-16 Title 5, Labor Code (Texas Workers' Compensation Act).
4-17 Sec. 96.006. STATEWIDE APPLICATION. This chapter
4-18 establishes a statewide policy for security programs in convenience
4-19 stores for the protection of employees and customers. A political
4-20 subdivision of this state may not limit or expand the requirements
4-21 for those security programs in a manner that affects the
4-22 affirmative defense accorded to employers who comply with the
4-23 requirements of this chapter.
4-24 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995, and
4-25 Chapter 96, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as added by this Act,
4-26 applies only to a cause of action that accrues on or after January
4-27 1, 1996. A cause of action that accrues before that date is
5-1 governed by the law in effect on the date that the cause accrued,
5-2 and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
5-3 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
5-4 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-5 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-6 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-7 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.