78R8104 T

By:  Naishtat                                                     H.B. No. 2082



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to hours of labor worked by commissioned officers of the 
Department of Public Safety.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 411, Government Code, is 
amended by adding Section 411.0079 to read as follows:
	Sec. 411.0079.  HOURS OF LABOR FOR COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.  
(a)  A commissioned officer of the department may not, except as 
provided by subsection (b) or (d), be required to work more hours 
during a calendar week than the number of hours in the normal work 
of the majority of the employees of the department other than 
commissioned officers.
	(b)  In the event of an emergency, a commissioned officer may 
be required to work more hours than permitted by Subsection (a).  An 
emergency is an unexpected happening or event or an unforeseen 
situation or crisis that calls for immediate action and requires 
the director or his designee to order a commissioned officer to work 
overtime.
	(c)  A commissioned officer required to work overtime in an 
emergency is entitled to be compensated for the overtime at a rate 
equal to 1-1/2 times the compensation paid to the officer for 
regular hours unless the officer elects, with the approval of the 
director, to accept compensatory time equal to 1-1/2 times the 
number of overtime hours.  For purposes of the subsection, 
compensable hours of work include all hours during which a 
commissioned officer is:
		(1)  on duty at the officer's prescribed workplace or 
required or permitted to work for the department, including 
preshift and postshift activities that are:
			(A)  an integral part of the officer's principal 
activity; or       
			(B)  closely related to the performance of the 
principal activity; and
		(2)  away from the premise of the officers workplace 
under conditions that are so circumscribed that the officer is 
restricted from effectively using the time for personal pursuits.
	(c)  Bona fide meal periods are not counted as hours worked.  
For a bona fide meal period, which does not include coffee breaks or 
time for snacks, a commissioned officer must be completely relieved 
from duty.  Ordinarily, 30 minutes or more is long enough for a bona 
fide meal period.  A period shorter than 30 minutes may be long 
enough for a bona fide meal period under special conditions.  A 
commissioned officer is not relieved from duty if the officer is 
required to perform any duties, whether active or inactive, during 
the meal period.
	(d)  With the approval of the commissioned officer, the 
department may adopt a work schedule that requires the commissioned 
officer to work more hours than permitted by subsection (a), 
however the officer is entitled to overtime pay if the officer works 
more hours during a calendar month than the number of hours in the 
normal work month of the majority of the employees of the department 
other than commissioned officers.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.