BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2680

By: Bonnen, Greg

Homeland Security & Public Safety

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interested parties note that telecommunicators licensed by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) are currently ineligible for the continuing education funding from the law enforcement standards and education fund for which other persons licensed by TCOLE are eligible. These parties recognize a need to provide for the continuing education of these essential components of Texas' public safety measures. C.S.H.B. 2680 seeks to address this need.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

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

C.S.H.B. 2680 amends the Occupations Code to include a person who is licensed under statutory provisions relating to law enforcement officers, works as a telecommunicator on the average of at least 32 hours a week, is paid at least the minimum wage by a political subdivision of the state, and is entitled to all employee benefits offered to a telecommunicator by the political subdivision among the categories of persons whose continuing education is funded through the proportional allocation to all local law enforcement agencies in Texas of 80 percent of the money deposited in the general revenue fund to the credit of the law enforcement officer standards and education fund account.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2015.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 2680 differs from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways.