BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 1321

By: Hagenbuch

Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Schedule C is a classification for various law enforcement positions under the Position Classification Act, including for certain Department of Public Safety positions and commissioned officers of other state agencies. The bill sponsor has informed the committee that the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) has identified certain positions on its staff that would benefit from being placed in the Schedule C classification. S.B. 1321 seeks to align the salaries of certain TCOLE officers to other comparable law enforcement positions and improve TCOLE's recruitment and retention efforts by classifying TCOLE-commissioned peace officers as Schedule C positions and by entitling such officers to receive hazardous duty pay and injury leave.

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. 1321 amends the Government Code to entitle a commissioned law enforcement officer (LEO) of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) to receive state hazardous duty pay. The bill includes a peace officer who is commissioned by TCOLE as a LEO or an agent, including a ranger, among the peace officers entitled to receive the special injury leave for qualifying peace officers, applicable only with respect to an injury that occurs on or after the bill's effective date.

S.B. 1321 amends the Occupations Code to require TCOLE to ensure a peace officer commissioned as an investigator employed by TCOLE for the purpose of assisting TCOLE in administering state law governing LEOs 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 a commissioned peace officer employed by TCOLE as a Schedule C position under the position classification plan maintained under the Position Classification Act beginning with the 2026-2027 state fiscal biennium and sets this requirement to expire September 1, 2027.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.