HBA-SEB C.S.S.B. 264 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.S.B. 264 By: Duncan Urban Affairs 5/6/1999 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, a person joining a law enforcement agency serves a one year probationary period, ending on the first anniversary of the date of hiring the officer. Most police departments now require five months or longer to complete police academy training before a new officer is commissioned, which consumes a considerable amount of time in the probationary period. C.S.S.B. 264 establishes that a person who is appointed to a beginning position in the police department in a municipality of less than 1.5 million and who has not been commissioned as a police officer before that appointment must serve an 18-month probationary period beginning on that person's date of employment as a police officer or academy trainee. 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 Section 143.027, Local Government Code, to provide an exception to the provision that a person appointed to a beginning position in the fire or police department must serve a one-year probationary period beginning on the person's date of employment. Establishes that a person who is appointed to a beginning position in the police department in a municipality of less than 1.5 million and who has not been commissioned as a police officer before that appointment must serve an 18-month probationary period beginning on that person's date of employment as a police officer or academy trainee. Redesignates Sections (b)-(d) to (c)-(e). Makes a conforming change. SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1999. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 3. Emergency clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE The substitute makes a conforming change in the caption. The substitute modifies the original in SECTION 1 to further amend Section 143.027, Local Government Code. The substitute establishes that a person who is appointed to a beginning position in the police department in a municipality of less that 1.5 million and who has not been commissioned as a police officer before that appointment must serve an 18-month, rather than one-year, probationary period beginning on that person's date of employment as a police officer or academy trainee. The original would have provided that this section (Probationary Period) does not apply to a city with a population of 1.5 million or more. The substitute modifies the original in SECTION 2 to make nonsubstantive changes.