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89(R) HB 1896 - Engrossed version - Bill Text
By: Cole, Plesa
H.B. No. 1896
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a mental health leave policy for certain public safety
employees.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 614.015, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 614.015. MENTAL HEALTH LEAVE FOR
PUBLIC SAFETY
EMPLOYEES
[
PEACE OFFICERS AND TELECOMMUNICATORS
]. (a) In this
section
, "public safety employee" means a peace officer, fire
fighter, detention officer, county jailer, or emergency medical
services employee of this state or a political subdivision of this
state. The term includes a person
[
:
[
(1)
"Law enforcement agency" means an agency of the
state or of a political subdivision of the state authorized by law
to employ peace officers.
[
(2) "Telecommunicator" means a person
] authorized to
act as a telecommunicator under Section 1701.405, Occupations Code
,
or a person acting in a similar capacity under Chapter 773, Health
and Safety Code
.
(b) Each
entity
[
law enforcement agency, and each agency
] of
the state or of a political subdivision of the state that employs a
public safety employee
[
full-time telecommunicator,
] shall develop
and adopt a policy allowing the use of mental health leave by the
public safety employees
[
peace officers and full-time
telecommunicators, as applicable,
] employed by the
entity
[
agency
]
who experience a traumatic event in the scope of that employment.
(c) A mental health leave policy adopted under this section
must:
(1) provide clear and objective guidelines
establishing the circumstances under which a
public safety employee
[
peace officer or telecommunicator
] is granted and may use mental
health leave;
(2) entitle a
public safety employee
[
peace officer or
telecommunicator
] to mental health leave without a deduction in
salary or other compensation;
(3) enumerate the number of mental health leave days
available to a
public safety employee
[
peace officer or
telecommunicator
]; and
(4) detail the level of anonymity for a
public safety
employee
[
peace officer or telecommunicator
] who takes mental
health leave.
(d) A mental health leave policy adopted under this section
may provide a list of mental health services available to
public
safety employees
[
peace officers and telecommunicators
] in the area
of the [
law enforcement or
] employing
entity
[
agency
].
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.