BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 1237

By: Flores

Homeland Security & Public Safety

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The State of Texas position classification plan is designed to ensure that state employees are classified appropriately and consistently according to their education, work experience, skills, and work performed, and that the salary ranges for positions are competitive with similar positions in the public and private sectors. The plan helps to promote salary parity for similar positions across agencies, allows agencies to recruit and retain employees, and provides salary administration guidelines for similar positions across agencies to make individual pay decisions. Each job classification in the plan corresponds to a salary schedule that provides the minimum and maximum salary rate. Additionally, each job classification has a corresponding salary group assignment appropriate for the type and level of work being performed. The plan includes three salary schedules: Salary Schedule A, which includes paraprofessional, administrative support, maintenance, service, and technician positions; Salary Schedule B, which includes mainly professional and managerial positions; and Salary Schedule C, which includes commissioned peace officers who are employed by the Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the Attorney General's Office, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the Department of Public Safety, and the Parks and Wildlife Department. Currently, commissioned peace officers employed by the comptroller of public accounts are in Salary Schedule B. The comptroller's peace officers enforce the state Tax Code in all 254 counties and make felony arrests relating to violations of the Tax Code. Adding these officers to Schedule C will provide salary parity to similar positions at other state agencies. S.B. 1237 seeks to provide such salary parity by requiring the comptroller to ensure that a security officer or investigator commissioned as a peace officer by the comptroller is compensated according to Schedule C of the position classification salary schedule.

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

S.B. 1237 amends the Government Code to require the comptroller of public accounts to ensure that a security officer or investigator commissioned as a peace officer by the comptroller is compensated according to Schedule C of the position classification salary schedule prescribed by the General Appropriations Act. The bill requires the classification officer in the state auditor's office to classify the position of commissioned peace officer employed by the comptroller as a Schedule C position under the position classification plan maintained under the Position Classification Act, applicable beginning with the 2024-2025 state fiscal biennium.

S.B. 1237 makes a peace officer commissioned by the comptroller as a law enforcement officer or agent eligible for the special injury leave for certain peace officers with respect to an injury that occurs on or after the bill's effective date.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.