BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 947

By: Patrick

Homeland Security & Public Safety

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Currently, there are a number of different types of federal agents, officers, and investigators who perform federal law enforcement duties in Texas.  Many federal officers work hand-in-hand with local law enforcement and witness violations of state law while performing their duties.  These officers are, in many cases, uniformed and armed, and the public often expects them to take action if a crime is committed or a disturbance occurs in their presence. However, current statute limits the arrest, search, and seizure authority of specified federal officers to felony offenses and contains outdated references to the officers' applicable employing federal entities and employee titles.  S.B. 947 seeks to clarify the limited investigative and arrest authority of federal criminal investigators and law enforcement personnel who are performing duties in Texas and to update references to conform to the current names and titles used by the federal government.

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

S.B. 947 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to add law enforcement officers of the United States Secret Service, with certain exceptions, and special agents of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration to the list of criminal investigators of the United States who are not deemed peace officers but who have the powers of arrest, search, and seizure under the laws of Texas as to felony offenses only.  The bill removes from that list inspectors of the Internal Security Division of the Internal Revenue Service and special agents of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

S.B. 947 establishes that an officer or agent designated by the Secretary of Homeland Security under federal law for duty in connection with the protection of property owned or occupied by the federal government and persons on the property, rather than a person designated as a special policeman by the Federal Protective Services division of the General Services Administration under federal law, is not a peace officer but has the powers of arrest and search and seizure as to any offense under the laws of Texas.  The bill grants a Customs and Border Protection Officer or Border Patrol Agent of the United States Customs and Border Protection or an immigration enforcement agent or deportation officer of the Department of Homeland Security  the powers of arrest, search, and seizure under the laws of Texas as to felony offenses.  The bill grants a commissioned law enforcement officer of the National Park Service and a special agent or law enforcement officer of the United States Forest Service the powers of arrest, search, and seizure under the laws of Texas as to felony offenses committed in Texas. The bill makes nonsubstantive and conforming changes.

EFFECTIVE DATE

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