BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

 

C.S.H.B. 1487

By: Gerdes

County Affairs

Committee Report (Substituted)

 

 

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

 

Rural law enforcement agencies across Texas are strapped for financial resources, lack proper staffing, and are increasingly taking on a greater role in the community. The state needs to step in and provide more assistance in regard to county law enforcement funding. C.S.H.B. 1487 seeks to provide this funding assistance by creating a grant program that allows for a sheriff's or constable's office in a county with less than 275,000 people to pay for things like salaries and wages for personnel, training and recruitment costs, and purchasing or leasing of equipment.

 

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 rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the comptroller of public accounts in SECTION 1 of this bill.

 

ANALYSIS

 

C.S.H.B. 1487 amends the Government Code to require the comptroller of public accounts to establish and administer a grant program through which a rural county law enforcement agency, defined by the bill as the sheriff's office or constable's office of a county with a population of 275,000 or less, may apply for a grant that may be used to pay for the following:

·         the salaries of sheriffs, sheriff's deputies, jailers, or office support staff, including the hiring of additional deputies, jailers, and office support staff;

·         the salaries of constables and deputy constables, including the hiring of additional deputies;

·         any costs for the recruitment of staff;

·         the purchase, lease, or maintenance of equipment, vehicles, office technology services and hardware, and office infrastructure and related facilities; and

·         any costs for personnel training and related office expenses, including training to obtain or maintain an accreditation related to the position of the person undergoing the training.

 

C.S.H.B. 1487 requires the comptroller to award a grant to an agency that applies for the grant using money appropriated to the comptroller for that purpose and establishes the following caps on the amount of the grants made:

·         $250,000, if the applicant is located in a county with a population of less than 10,000;

·         $350,000, if the applicant is located in a county with a population of 10,000 or more but less than 50,000; or

·         $500,000, if the applicant is located in a county with a population of 50,000 or more but not more than 275,000.

An agency may apply for a grant not more than once each fiscal year of the county in which the agency is located. The bill requires an agency to obtain written approval to use grant money for a particular authorized purpose from the county commissioners court before using money for that purpose and requires an agency that is awarded a grant to return any unspent money awarded under that grant to the comptroller not later than the second anniversary of the date on which the money was disbursed to the agency.

 

C.S.H.B. 1487 requires the comptroller to establish rules to administer the program, including rules establishing the following:

·         eligibility criteria for grant applicants;

·         grant application procedures;

·         guidelines relating to grant amounts;

·         procedures for evaluating grant applications; and

·         procedures for monitoring the use of a grant awarded under the program and ensuring compliance with any conditions of a grant.

The bill requires the comptroller to submit a report on the results and performance of the grant program to the legislature not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year.

 

EFFECTIVE DATE

 

January 1, 2024.

 

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

 

While C.S.H.B. 1487 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

 

With respect to the rural law enforcement grant program established by the bill, the substitute does the following:

·         changes the entity responsible for establishing and administering the program from the criminal justice division in the governor's office, as in the introduced, to the comptroller and changes the funding source for the grant program from any funds available to the division to money appropriated to the comptroller for that purpose;

·         makes eligible for a grant sheriff's and constable's offices in counties with a population of 275,000 or less, whereas the introduced limited the eligibility to offices in counties with a population of less than 125,000; and

·         includes provisions absent from the introduced that, as follows:

o   establish caps on the amount of money that may be awarded through a grant under the program based on county population;

o   limit the number of times an agency may apply for a grant;

o   require prior approval of the county commissioners court for the expenditure of grant money; and

o   establish an agency's duty to return any unspent grant money.

 

Whereas the introduced included among the authorized uses of the grant money paying for training for agency personnel, including training regarding mental health, the substitute includes instead an authorization to use the grant money to pay for personnel training and related office expenses, including training to obtain or maintain an accreditation related to the position of the person undergoing the training. In addition, whereas the introduced authorized grant money to be used to pay for the purchase or maintenance of equipment, the substitute authorizes grant money to be used to pay for the purchase, lease, or maintenance of equipment, vehicles, office technology services and hardware, and office infrastructure and related facilities.

 

Whereas the introduced provided for the results and performance of the grant program to be reported as part of the criminal justice division's biennial report, the substitute requires the comptroller instead to report this information to the legislature in a stand-alone biennial report due each even-numbered year.

 

The substitute includes a requirement for the comptroller to adopt rules to administer the grant program, but the introduced did not grant any rulemaking authority.

 

The substitute changes the bill's effective date from September 1, 2023, as in the introduced, to January 1, 2024.