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79R1157 KSD-D
By: Shapleigh S.B. No. 881
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the qualifications, powers, and duties of a special
ranger and a special Texas Ranger.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 411.023, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (b), (e), and (f) and adding Subsections
(b-1), (g), and (h) to read as follows:
(a) The commission may appoint as special rangers not more
than 300 honorably retired commissioned officers of the department
who received during their employment with the department
commendation through the department's recognition and awards
program for exceptionally meritorious service, heroism, or other
extraordinary acts [and not more than 300 other persons].
(b) A special ranger is subject to the orders of the
commission and the governor for special duty to the same extent as
[other] law enforcement officers provided for by this chapter,
except as follows. During a period in which a special ranger has
been specifically called to special duty by the commission or the
governor, [that] a special ranger may only [not] enforce a law
[except one] designed to protect life and property and may not
enforce a law regulating the use of a state highway by a motor
vehicle. During a period in which a special ranger has not been
specifically called to duty by the commission or the governor, a
special ranger may only enforce a law as provided by Subsection
(b-1) and may not use the Texas Law Enforcement Telecommunications
System to obtain criminal history information, driver's license
information, or any other information available through that
system. A special ranger is not connected with a ranger company or
uniformed unit of the department and may not wear a department
uniform.
(b-1) During a period in which a special ranger has not been
specifically called to duty by the commission or the governor, the
special ranger may only enforce:
(1) a law designed to protect life, if the special
ranger reasonably believes that an imminent threat to cause death
or serious bodily injury exists;
(2) a law designed to protect property, but only if the
property belongs to the special ranger; or
(3) in the manner provided by Chapter 14, Code of
Criminal Procedure, a law that a person who is not a peace officer
may enforce.
(e) A special ranger commission expires January 1 of the
first odd-numbered year after appointment. The director may revoke
a special ranger commission at any time for cause, including a
violation of this section. A special ranger's commission
terminates if the special ranger is:
(1) commissioned by another law enforcement agency;
(2) elected or appointed as a judge of a court in this
state; or
(3) employed by the department as a commissioned
officer.
(f) The commission shall authorize a special identification
card [badge] for persons appointed as special rangers under this
section that is distinct in appearance from the card [badge]
authorized for special Texas Rangers under Section 411.024 and from
any badge issued to a Texas Ranger. The special identification card
must include notice that a special ranger is not a peace officer and
is authorized by the commission to exercise only those powers and
perform only those duties prescribed by this section.
(g) The department shall include on the department's
website, and in any literature published by the department relating
to department officers, information regarding the qualifications,
powers, and duties prescribed by this section for a special ranger.
The department shall also include on the department's website
procedures by which a member of the public may file with the
department a complaint regarding a special ranger. The procedures
for a public complaint against a department employee prescribed by
Section 411.0195 apply to a complaint against a special ranger.
(h) To carry a firearm as a special ranger, a special ranger
must annually obtain a handgun proficiency certificate under
Section 411.189 or a weapons proficiency certificate under Section
1701.355, Occupations Code, and submit a copy of the certificate to
the commission. The commission shall adopt rules for the
administration of this subsection.
SECTION 2. Section 411.024, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (b), (e), and (f) and adding Subsections
(b-1), (g), and (h) to read as follows:
(a) The commission may appoint as a special Texas Ranger an
honorably retired or retiring commissioned officer of the
department who received during the officer's employment with the
department commendation through the department's recognition and
awards program for exceptionally meritorious service, heroism, or
other extraordinary acts and whose position immediately preceding
retirement is an officer of the Texas Rangers.
(b) A special Texas Ranger is subject to the orders of the
commission and the governor for special duty to the same extent as
[other] law enforcement officers provided for by this chapter,
except as follows. During a period in which a special Texas Ranger
has been specifically called to special duty by the commission or
the governor, [that] a special Texas Ranger may only [not] enforce a
law [except one] designed to protect life and property and may not
enforce a law regulating the use of a state highway by a motor
vehicle. During a period in which a special Texas Ranger has not
been specifically called to duty by the commission or the governor,
a special Texas Ranger may only enforce a law as provided by
Subsection (b-1) and may not use the Texas Law Enforcement
Telecommunications System to obtain criminal history information,
driver's license information, or any other information available
through that system. A special Texas Ranger is not connected with a
ranger company or uniformed unit of the department and may not wear
a department uniform.
(b-1) During a period in which a special Texas Ranger has
not been specifically called to duty by the commission or the
governor, the special Texas Ranger may only enforce:
(1) a law designed to protect life, if the special
Texas Ranger reasonably believes that an imminent threat to cause
death or serious bodily injury exists;
(2) a law designed to protect property, but only if the
property belongs to the special Texas Ranger; or
(3) in the manner provided by Chapter 14, Code of
Criminal Procedure, a law that a person who is not a peace officer
may enforce.
(e) A special Texas Ranger commission expires January 1 of
the first odd-numbered year after appointment. The commission may
revoke the commission of a special Texas Ranger who commits a
violation of this section or of a rule of the department for which
an active officer of the Texas Rangers would be discharged. A
special Texas Ranger's commission terminates if the special Texas
Ranger is:
(1) commissioned by another law enforcement agency;
(2) elected or appointed as a judge of a court in this
state; or
(3) employed by the department as a commissioned
officer.
(f) The commission shall authorize a special identification
card [badge] for persons appointed as special Texas Rangers under
this section that is distinct in appearance from the card [badge]
authorized for special rangers under Section 411.023. The special
identification card must include notice that a special Texas Ranger
is not a peace officer and is authorized by the commission to
exercise only those powers and perform only those duties prescribed
by this section.
(g) The department shall include on the department's
website, and in any literature published by the department relating
to department officers, information regarding the qualifications,
powers, and duties prescribed by this section for a special Texas
Ranger. The department shall also include on the department's
website procedures by which a member of the public may file with the
department a complaint regarding a special Texas Ranger. The
procedures for a public complaint against a department employee
prescribed by Section 411.0195 apply to a complaint against a
special Texas Ranger.
(h) To carry a firearm as a special Texas Ranger, a special
Texas Ranger must annually obtain a handgun proficiency certificate
under Section 411.189 or a weapons proficiency certificate under
Section 1701.355, Occupations Code, and submit a copy of the
certificate to the commission. The commission shall adopt rules
for the administration of this subsection.
SECTION 3. Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, as
amended by Chapters 235, 474, and 930, Acts of the 78th Legislature,
Regular Session, 2003, is reenacted and amended to read as follows:
Art. 2.12. WHO ARE PEACE OFFICERS. The following are peace
officers:
(1) sheriffs, their deputies, and those reserve
deputies who hold a permanent peace officer license issued under
Chapter 1701, Occupations Code;
(2) constables, deputy constables, and those reserve
deputy constables who hold a permanent peace officer license issued
under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code;
(3) marshals or police officers of an incorporated
city, town, or village, and those reserve municipal police officers
who hold a permanent peace officer license issued under Chapter
1701, Occupations Code;
(4) rangers and officers commissioned by the Public
Safety Commission and the Director of the Department of Public
Safety, other than special rangers appointed under Section 411.023,
Government Code, and special Texas Rangers appointed under Section
411.024, Government Code;
(5) investigators of the district attorneys', criminal
district attorneys', and county attorneys' offices;
(6) law enforcement agents of the Texas Alcoholic
Beverage Commission;
(7) each member of an arson investigating unit
commissioned by a city, a county, or the state;
(8) officers commissioned under Section 37.081,
Education Code, or Subchapter E, Chapter 51, Education Code;
(9) officers commissioned by the General Services
Commission;
(10) law enforcement officers commissioned by the
Parks and Wildlife Commission;
(11) airport police officers commissioned by a city
with a population of more than 1.18 million that operates an airport
that serves commercial air carriers;
(12) airport security personnel commissioned as peace
officers by the governing body of any political subdivision of this
state, other than a city described by Subdivision (11), that
operates an airport that serves commercial air carriers;
(13) municipal park and recreational patrolmen and
security officers;
(14) security officers and investigators commissioned
as peace officers by the comptroller;
(15) officers commissioned by a water control and
improvement district under Section 49.216, Water Code;
(16) officers commissioned by a board of trustees
under Chapter 54, Transportation Code;
(17) investigators commissioned by the Texas State
Board of Medical Examiners;
(18) officers commissioned by the board of managers of
the Dallas County Hospital District, the Tarrant County Hospital
District, or the Bexar County Hospital District under Section
281.057, Health and Safety Code;
(19) county park rangers commissioned under
Subchapter E, Chapter 351, Local Government Code;
(20) investigators employed by the Texas Racing
Commission;
(21) officers commissioned under Chapter 554,
Occupations Code;
(22) officers commissioned by the governing body of a
metropolitan rapid transit authority under Section 451.108,
Transportation Code, or by a regional transportation authority
under Section 452.110, Transportation Code;
(23) investigators commissioned by the attorney
general under Section 402.009, Government Code;
(24) security officers and investigators commissioned
as peace officers under Chapter 466, Government Code;
(25) an officer employed by the Texas Department of
Health under Section 431.2471, Health and Safety Code;
(26) officers appointed by an appellate court under
Subchapter F, Chapter 53, Government Code;
(27) officers commissioned by the state fire marshal
under Chapter 417, Government Code;
(28) an investigator commissioned by the commissioner
of insurance under Article 1.10D, Insurance Code;
(29) apprehension specialists commissioned by the
Texas Youth Commission as officers under Section 61.0931, Human
Resources Code;
(30) officers appointed by the executive director of
the Texas Department of Criminal Justice under Section 493.019,
Government Code;
(31) investigators commissioned by the Commission on
Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education under Section
1701.160, Occupations Code;
(32) commission investigators commissioned by the
Texas Commission on Private Security under Section 1702.061(f),
Occupations Code;
(33) the fire marshal[,] and any officers, inspectors,
or investigators commissioned by an emergency services district [to
assist that fire marshal,] under [Subchapter F,] Chapter 775,
Health and Safety Code; and
(34) officers commissioned by the State Board of
Dental Examiners under Section 254.013, Occupations Code, subject
to the limitations imposed by that section.
SECTION 4. Section 46.15(a), Penal Code, is amended to read
as follows:
(a) Sections 46.02 and 46.03 do not apply to:
(1) peace officers, including commissioned peace
officers of a recognized state, or special investigators under
Article 2.122, Code of Criminal Procedure, and neither section
prohibits a peace officer or special investigator from carrying a
weapon in this state, including in an establishment in this state
serving the public, regardless of whether the peace officer or
special investigator is engaged in the actual discharge of the
officer's or investigator's duties while carrying the weapon;
(2) parole officers and neither section prohibits an
officer from carrying a weapon in this state if the officer is:
(A) engaged in the actual discharge of the
officer's duties while carrying the weapon; and
(B) in compliance with policies and procedures
adopted by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice regarding the
possession of a weapon by an officer while on duty;
(3) community supervision and corrections department
officers appointed or employed under Section 76.004, Government
Code, and neither section prohibits an officer from carrying a
weapon in this state if the officer is:
(A) engaged in the actual discharge of the
officer's duties while carrying the weapon; and
(B) authorized to carry a weapon under Section
76.0051, Government Code;
(4) a judge or justice of the supreme court, the court
of criminal appeals, a court of appeals, a district court, a
criminal district court, a constitutional county court, a statutory
county court, a justice court, or a municipal court who is licensed
to carry a concealed handgun under Subchapter H, Chapter 411,
Government Code; [or]
(5) an honorably retired peace officer or federal
criminal investigator who holds a certificate of proficiency issued
under Section 1701.357, Occupations Code, and is carrying a photo
identification that:
(A) verifies that the officer honorably retired
after not less than 20 years of service as a commissioned officer;
and
(B) is issued by the agency from which the peace
officer retired or, for a federal criminal investigator, by a state
law enforcement agency; or
(6) a special ranger appointed under Section 411.023,
Government Code, or a special Texas Ranger appointed under Section
411.024, Government Code, who holds a current handgun proficiency
certificate or weapons proficiency certificate as required by
Section 411.023 or 411.024, Government Code, as applicable, and who
is carrying the applicable special identification card issued under
Section 411.023 or 411.024, Government Code.
SECTION 5. Section 1701.356, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 1701.356. CERTAIN OFFICERS: REACTIVATION AND
CONTINUING EDUCATION NOT REQUIRED. A [(a) An honorably retired
commissioned officer of the Department of Public Safety who is a
special ranger under Section 411.023, Government Code, may not be
required to undergo training under Section 1701.352(b).
[(b) An honorably retired commissioned officer of the
Department of Public Safety who is a special ranger under Section
411.023, Government Code, or a] retired state employee [and] who
holds a permanent license issued before January 1981 [and] that was
current on January 1, 1995:
(1) has the same rights and privileges as any other
peace officer of this state;
(2) holds, notwithstanding Section 1701.316, an
active license unless the license is revoked, suspended, or
probated by the commission for a violation of this chapter; and
(3) is not subject to Section 1701.351.
SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act with regard
to eligibility for appointment as a special ranger or special Texas
Ranger apply only to a commission issued under Section 411.023 or
411.024, Government Code, on or after the effective date of this
Act. A commission issued under Section 411.023 or 411.024,
Government Code, before the effective date of this Act expires as
provided by law on January 1, 2007. However, the changes in law
made by this Act with regard to the powers and duties of a special
ranger or special Texas Ranger and with regard to all other matters
apply to existing special rangers and special Texas Rangers
beginning on the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 7. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
over another Act of the 79th Legislature, Regular Session, 2005,
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
codes.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.