BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1241

By: Zedler

Homeland Security & Public Safety

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Current statute requires a county clerk to execute a surety bond to cover one deputy clerk or a schedule surety bond or a blanket surety bond to cover multiple deputy clerks serving the county clerk.  In lieu of those bonds, counties have the authority to self-insure against losses that would have been covered by the bonds.  Interested parties argue that the provisions relating to reserve deputy constables are inadequate.

H.B. 1241 seeks to make the bonding provisions relating to reserve county constables similar to those of deputy clerks.

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.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 1241 amends the Local Government Code to authorize a constable who appoints more than one reserve deputy constable to execute a blanket surety bond to cover the reserve deputy constables, in exception to the requirement that a reserve deputy constable execute a $2,000 bond payable to the constable. The bill authorizes a county, as an alternative to a reserve deputy constable executing an individual bond or the constable executing a blanket surety bond, to self-insure against losses that would have been covered by the bond.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2011.