BILL ANALYSIS |
H.B. 2168 |
By: Chavez |
Public Safety |
Committee Report (Unamended) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Currently, a sheriff's department in a county with a population of 500,000 or more may adopt a sheriff's department civil service system. Under such a civil service system, an employee of the department may appeal a disciplinary action to a civil service commission, which has the power to appeal, sustain, reduce, or overturn the action based on evidence presented at a hearing. It is generally accepted that a civil service commission may not increase a disciplinary action and may only sustain or reduce the action. However, because the law regarding a sheriff's department civil service system does not explicitly prohibit a commission from increasing an action, some employees have been threatened by a civil service commission with the possibility of being fired if the employee does not accept the disciplinary action issued by the department.
H.B. 2168 authorizes a sheriff's civil service commission to only sustain, overturn, or reduce a disciplinary action received by an employee and prohibits the commission from enhancing the action.
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RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
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ANALYSIS
H.B. 2168 amends the Local Government Code to authorize a sheriff's department civil service commission in rendering a final decision regarding a disciplinary action by the sheriff's department, to only sustain, overturn, or reduce the disciplinary action and to prohibit the commission from enhancing a disciplinary action by the department.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2009.
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