Amend CSSB 11 by adding the following appropriately numbered
SECTIONS to the bill and renumbering existing SECTIONS of the bill
accordingly:
SECTION ____. Section 51.212, Education Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 51.212. PEACE [SECURITY] OFFICERS AT PRIVATE
INSTITUTIONS. (a) The governing boards of private institutions of
higher education, including private junior colleges, are
authorized to employ and commission peace officers [campus security
personnel] for the purpose of enforcing:
(1) state law [the law of this state] on the campuses
of private institutions of higher education; and
(2) state and local law, including applicable
municipal ordinances, at other locations, as permitted by
Subsection (b) or Section 51.2125.
(b) Any officer commissioned under the provisions of this
section is vested with all the powers, privileges, and immunities
of peace officers if the officer:
(1) is [while] on the property under the control and
jurisdiction of the respective private institution of higher
education or is otherwise performing [in the performance of his
assigned] duties assigned to the officer by the institution,
regardless of whether the officer is on property under the control
and jurisdiction of the institution; or
(2) to the extent authorized by Section 51.2125, is:
(A) requested by another law enforcement agency
to provide assistance in enforcing state or local law, including a
municipal ordinance, and is acting in response to that request; or
(B) otherwise assisting another law enforcement
agency in enforcing a law described by Paragraph (A).
(c) Any officer assigned to duty and commissioned shall take
and file the oath required of peace officers, and shall execute and
file a good and sufficient bond in the sum of $1,000, payable to the
governor, with two or more good and sufficient sureties,
conditioned that the officer [he] will fairly, impartially, and
faithfully perform the duties as may be required of the officer
[him] by law. The bond may be sued on from time to time in the name
of the person injured until the whole amount is recovered.
(d) [(b)] The governing boards of private institutions of
higher education are authorized to hire and pay on a regular basis
peace [law-enforcement] officers commissioned by an incorporated
city. The officers shall be under the supervision of the hiring
institution, but shall be subject to dismissal and disciplinary
action by the city. An incorporated city is authorized to contract
with a private institution of higher education for the use and
employment of its commissioned officers in any manner agreed to,
provided that there is no expense incurred by the city.
(e) [(c)] In this section, "private institution of higher
education" means a private or independent institution of higher
education as defined [has the meaning assigned] by Section 61.003
[61.003(15) of this code].
SECTION ____. Subchapter E, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
amended by adding Sections 51.2125 and 51.2126 to read as follows:
Sec. 51.2125. PRIVATE INSTITUTIONS: AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO
MUTUAL ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT. (a) This section applies only to a
private institution of higher education, as defined by Section
61.003, with a fall head count enrollment of more than 10,000
students.
(b) If the institution has under its control and
jurisdiction property that is contiguous to, or located in any part
within the boundaries of, a municipality with a population of more
than one million, in addition to exercising the authority provided
under Section 51.212(d), the governing board of a private
institution of higher education to which this section applies and
the governing body of each municipality, regardless of the
municipality's population, that is contiguous to, or the boundaries
of which contain any part of, property under the control and
jurisdiction of the private institution of higher education may
enter into a written mutual assistance agreement in which peace
officers commissioned by the institution or the applicable
municipality serve the public interest by assisting, without any
form of additional compensation or other financial benefit, the
peace officers of the other party to the agreement in enforcing
state or local law, including applicable municipal ordinances. The
agreement must be reviewed at least annually by the institution and
the municipality and may be modified at that time by a written
agreement signed by each party. The agreement may be terminated at
any time by a party to the agreement on the provision of reasonable
notice to the other party to the agreement.
(c) A mutual assistance agreement authorized by this
section may designate the geographic area in which the campus peace
officers are authorized to provide assistance to the peace officers
of the municipality.
(d) This section does not affect a municipality's duty to
provide law enforcement services to any location within the
boundaries of the municipality.
(e) A peace officer providing assistance under a mutual
assistance agreement authorized by this section may make arrests
and exercise all other authority given to peace officers under
other state law. The municipal law enforcement agency has
exclusive authority to supervise any campus peace officer operating
under the agreement to assist the peace officers of the
municipality. A municipal peace officer operating under the
agreement to assist the campus peace officers remains under the
supervision of the municipal law enforcement agency.
(f) In the same manner and to the same extent as a
municipality is liable for an act or omission of a peace officer
employed by the municipality, a private institution of higher
education is liable for an act or omission of a campus peace officer
operating under a mutual assistance agreement authorized by this
section at a location other than property under the control and
jurisdiction of the institution.
(g) This section does not limit the authority of a campus
peace officer to make a warrantless arrest outside the officer's
jurisdiction as described by Article 14.03(d), Code of Criminal
Procedure.
Sec. 51.2126. APPEAL BY CAMPUS PEACE OFFICER OF
DISCIPLINARY ACTION OR PROMOTIONAL BYPASS RELATED TO PROVISION OF
ASSISTANCE UNDER MUTUAL ASSISTANCE AGREEMENT. (a) A campus peace
officer acting under a mutual assistance agreement authorized by
Section 51.2125 who is demoted, suspended, or terminated by the
applicable private institution of higher education or who
experiences a promotional bypass by the institution may elect to
appeal the institution's action to an independent third party
hearing examiner under this section.
(b) To elect to appeal to an independent third party hearing
examiner under this section, the campus peace officer must submit
to the head of the institution's law enforcement agency not later
than the 30th day after the date of the action being appealed a
written request stating the officer's decision to appeal to such a
hearing examiner.
(c) The hearing examiner's decision is final and binding on
all parties. If a campus peace officer elects to appeal the
institution's action to an independent third party hearing examiner
under this section, the officer or institution may appeal the
examiner's decision to a district court only as provided by
Subsection (j).
(d) If a campus peace officer elects to appeal to a hearing
examiner, the officer and the head of the institution's law
enforcement agency or their designees shall attempt to agree on the
selection of an impartial hearing examiner. If the parties do not
agree on the selection of a hearing examiner before the 10th day
after the date the appeal is filed, the parties immediately shall
request a list of seven qualified neutral arbitrators from the
American Arbitration Association or the Federal Mediation and
Conciliation Service, or their successors in function. The officer
and the agency head or their designees may agree on one of the seven
neutral arbitrators on the list. If the parties do not agree before
the fifth business day after the date the parties receive the list,
the parties or their designees shall alternate striking a name from
the list, and the single name remaining after all other names have
been struck is selected as the hearing examiner. The parties or
their designees shall agree on a date for the hearing.
(e) The appeal hearing must begin as soon as an appearance
by the hearing examiner can be scheduled. If the hearing examiner
cannot begin the hearing before the 45th day after the date of
selection, the campus peace officer may, within 48 hours after
learning of that fact, call for the selection of a new hearing
examiner using the procedure prescribed by Subsection (d).
(f) In a hearing conducted under this section, the hearing
examiner has the same duties and powers that a civil service
commission has in conducting a hearing or hearing an appeal under
Chapter 143, Local Government Code, including the right to issue
subpoenas. The hearing examiner may:
(1) order that the campus peace officer be reinstated
to the same position or status in which the officer was employed
immediately before the demotion, suspension, or termination or, in
the case of a promotional bypass, to the position or status with
respect to which the officer experienced the bypass; and
(2) award the officer lost wages and any other
compensation lost as a result of the disciplinary action or
promotional bypass, as applicable.
(g) In a hearing conducted under this section, the parties
may agree to an expedited hearing procedure. Unless otherwise
agreed by the parties, in an expedited procedure the hearing
examiner shall issue a decision on the appeal not later than the
10th day after the date the hearing is completed.
(h) In an appeal that does not involve an expedited hearing
procedure, the hearing examiner shall make a reasonable effort to
issue a decision on the appeal not later than the 30th day after the
later of the date the hearing is completed or the briefs are filed.
The hearing examiner's inability to meet the time requirements
imposed by this section does not affect the hearing examiner's
jurisdiction, the validity of the disciplinary action or
promotional bypass, or the hearing examiner's final decision.
(i) The hearing examiner's fees and expenses shall be paid
in equal amounts by the parties. The costs of a witness shall be
paid by the party who calls the witness.
(j) A district court may hear an appeal of a hearing
examiner's decision only on the grounds that the hearing examiner
was without jurisdiction or exceeded the examiner's jurisdiction or
that the decision was procured by fraud, collusion, or other
unlawful means. An appeal must be brought in the district court
having jurisdiction in the municipality in which the institution is
located.