HBA-DMD H.B. 957 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 957
By: Uher
Public Safety
2/17/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current state law, reserve police officers, reserve deputies, and
reserve deputy constables in Texas are not classified as "peace officers,"
even though they have been required since 1989 to undergo the same amount
of training as regular, full-time officers, and are required to obtain
their peace officer license.  Therefore, these officers or deputies are
unable to assist on-duty officers in arrests and are unable to carry their
weapons while off-duty without being subject to prosecution for unlawfully
carrying a weapon.  H.B. 957 includes reserve police officers, reserve
deputies, and reserve deputy constables as peace officers.  The bill does
not exempt those officers or deputies from the Private Investigators and
Private Security Agencies Act or make them eligible for benefits that a
full-time peace officer receives. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, to include as
peace officers, reserve deputies; reserve deputy constables; and reserve
municipal police officers who are licensed under Chapter 415, Government
Code (Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education).
Makes conforming changes. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 85.004(b), Local Government Code, to specify
that a reserve deputy, regardless of whether the reserve deputy is a peace
officer as defined by Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, is not
eligible for participation in any county program that is normally
considered a financial benefit of full-time employment or for any pension
fund created by statute for the benefit of full-time paid peace officers;
or is not exempt from the Private Investigators and Private Security
Agencies Act (Article 4413 (29bb), V.T.C.S.). 

SECTION 3.Amends Section 86.012(b), Local Government Code, to make
conforming changes. 

SECTION 4.Amends Section 341.012(h), Local Government Code, to make
conforming changes. 

SECTION 5.Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 6.Emergency clause.