HBA-MSH H.B. 1121 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1121 By: Turner, Bob Public Safety 2/22/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education (commission) is required to set minimum standards for a person to enroll in a training program for peace officers and county jailers. The commission currently requires an applicant to be a high school graduate, have passed a general educational development test, or have 12 semester hours credit from an accredited college or university. Requiring all applicants with a high school equivalency certificate to complete 12 semester hours from a college or university prior to enrolling in a peace officer training program will raise the educational level of the peace officer applicant pool. House Bill 1121 prohibits a person from enrolling in a peace officer training program unless the person has received a high school diploma or has received a high school equivalency certificate and has completed 12 hours of college or university credit with a specified grade point average. 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. ANALYSIS House Bill 1121 amends the Occupations Code to prohibit a person from enrolling in a peace officer training program unless the person has received a high school diploma or has received a high school equivalency certificate and has completed at least 12 hours at an institution of higher education with at least a 2.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.