By:  Burnam                                                       H.B. No. 3391



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to civil service for city marshals of certain cities.                
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Chapter 143, Local Government Code, is amended 
by adding Sec. 143.021 to read as follows:
	Sec. 143.021.  MUNICIPAL MARSHAL'S CIVIL SERVICE ACT.  (a)  
This section shall only apply to municipalities with a population 
between 500,000 and 550,000.
	(b)  A peace officer employed by a municipal department in 
which the peace officer performs duties in a specialized police 
division, including a person employed as a municipal marshal, is 
entitled to civil service status under this chapter.  The governing 
body of the municipality employing a peace officer in a specialized 
police division shall classify the officer in accordance with 
Section 143.021 and the duties performed by the peace officer.
	(c)  Except for positions classified in the communication or 
technical class, the governing body of the municipality employing a 
peace officer in a specialized police division shall classify a 
position in the division in the same class as a police officer 
position that is not in a specialized police division.  A member of 
a particular division is eligible for promotion or lateral 
crossover to a position outside that division.  The head of the 
police department, assistant chiefs of police, and deputy chiefs of 
police, or their equivalent, regardless of name or title, may 
exercise the full sanctions, powers, and duties of their respective 
offices in the supervision, management, and control of the members 
of those classes and divisions, subject to the decisions of the 
department head regarding the chain of command in the department.
	(d)  In departments in which a collective bargaining 
agreement or a meet-and-confer agreement exists, Subsection (c) 
must be approved by the collective bargaining agent, 
meet-and-confer agent, or entity representing the sworn officers of 
the department.  This subsection does not apply to the transfer of 
police officers.
	(e)  Each applicable provision of this chapter, including 
the provisions relating to eligibility lists, examinations, 
promotions, appointments, educational incentive pay, longevity or 
seniority pay, certification pay, assignment pay, salary, vacation 
leave, and disciplinary appeals, applies to a peace officer 
employed by the municipality in a specialized police division as 
provided by this section.
	(f)  Each municipal marshal who has been in the service of 
the municipality for more than six months at the time this chapter 
is adopted and who is entitled to civil service classification has 
the status of a civil service employee and is not required to take a 
competitive examination to remain in the position the person 
occupies at the time of the adoption.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives 
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as 
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this 
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this 
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.