BILL ANALYSIS |
S.B. 2383 |
By: Bettencourt |
Homeland Security, Public Safety & Veterans' Affairs |
Committee Report (Unamended) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
The bill sponsor has informed the committee that approximately 750 commissioned officers with the Department of Public Safety (DPS) will be eligible for retirement over the next two years and that, given the time-intensive nature of recruiting, testing, training, and onboarding new officers, a significant gap in staffing may occur before these positions can be fully backfilled. The bill sponsor has further informed the committee that DPS, in considering this gap, has identified the hiring of retired DPS officers as a strategic retention tool that could help mitigate the vacancies until positions are filled with newly hired officers. S.B. 2383 seeks to encourage the hiring of retired DPS officers.
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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.
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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.
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ANALYSIS
S.B. 2383 amends the Government Code to make the following statutory provisions inapplicable to a retired commissioned officer who is employed by the Department of Public Safety (DPS) as a commissioned officer: · the provision prohibiting the discharge of an officer or employee of DPS without just cause; · the provision prohibiting the discharge, suspension, or demotion of a commissioned officer except for the violation of a specific Public Safety Commission rule; and · the provision entitling a discharged commissioned officer, on application to the Public Safety Commission, to a public hearing before the commission. The bill defines "retired commissioned officer" as a retiree of the Employees Retirement System of Texas whose last employment position held before retirement under that system was as a commissioned officer of DPS. The bill applies only to a person hired on or after the bill's effective date.
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EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2025.
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