Relating to peace officers, including reserve peace officers, and the employment activities of those officers.

89(R) HB 3846 - House Committee Report version - Bill Text

89R23901 MZM-F

By: Louderback

H.B. No. 3846

Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3846:

By: Hefner

C.S.H.B. No. 3846

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to peace officers, including reserve peace officers, and

the employment activities of those officers.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 85.004(b), Local Government Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(b) A reserve deputy serves at the discretion of the sheriff

and may be called into service if the sheriff considers it necessary

to have additional officers to preserve the peace and enforce the

law. The sheriff may authorize a reserve deputy [
who is a peace

officer as described by Article 2A.001, Code of Criminal

Procedure,
] to carry a weapon or act as a peace officer at all

times, regardless of whether the reserve deputy is engaged in the

actual discharge of official duties, or may limit the authority of

the reserve deputy to carry a weapon or act as a peace officer to

only those times during which the reserve deputy is engaged in the

actual discharge of official duties. A reserve deputy [
who is not a

peace officer as described by Article 2A.001, Code of Criminal

Procedure, may act as a peace officer only during the actual

discharge of official duties. A reserve deputy, regardless of

whether the reserve deputy is a peace officer as described by

Article 2A.001, Code of Criminal Procedure,
] is not:

(1) eligible for participation in any program provided

by the county that is normally considered a financial benefit of

full-time employment or for any pension fund created by statute for

the benefit of full-time paid peace officers; or

(2) exempt from Chapter 1702, Occupations Code.

SECTION 2. Section 86.012(b), Local Government Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(b) A reserve deputy constable serves at the discretion of

the constable and may be called into service at any time that the

constable considers it necessary to have additional officers to

preserve the peace and enforce the law. The constable may authorize

a reserve deputy constable [
who is a peace officer as described by

Article 2A.001, Code of Criminal Procedure,
] to carry a weapon or

act as a peace officer at all times, regardless of whether the

reserve deputy constable is engaged in the actual discharge of

official duties, or may limit the authority of the reserve deputy

constable to carry a weapon or act as a peace officer to only those

times during which the reserve deputy constable is engaged in the

actual discharge of official duties. A reserve deputy constable

[
who is not a peace officer as described by Article 2A.001, Code of

Criminal Procedure, may act as a peace officer only during the

actual discharge of official duties. A reserve deputy constable,

regardless of whether the reserve deputy constable is a peace

officer as described by Article 2A.001, Code of Criminal

Procedure,
] is not:

(1) eligible for participation in any program provided

by the county that is normally considered a financial benefit of

full-time employment or for any pension fund created by statute for

the benefit of full-time paid peace officers; or

(2) exempt from Chapter 1702, Occupations Code.

SECTION 3. Sections 341.012(g) and (h), Local Government

Code, are amended to read as follows:

(g) An appointment to the reserve force must be approved by

the governing body before the person appointed may carry a weapon or

otherwise act as a peace officer. [
On approval of the appointment

of a member who is not a peace officer as described by Article

2A.001, Code of Criminal Procedure, the person appointed may carry

a weapon only when authorized to do so by the chief of police and

only when discharging official duties as a peace officer.
]

(h) Reserve police officers may act only in a supplementary

capacity to the regular police force and may not assume the

full-time duties of regular police officers without complying with

the requirements for regular police officers. On approval of the

appointment of a member [
who is a peace officer as described by

Article 2A.001, Code of Criminal Procedure
], the chief of police

may authorize the person appointed to carry a weapon or act as a

peace officer at all times, regardless of whether the person is

engaged in the actual discharge of official duties, or may limit the

authority of the person to carry a weapon or act as a peace officer

to only those times during which the person is engaged in the actual

discharge of official duties. A reserve police officer[
,

regardless of whether the reserve police officer is a peace officer

as described by Article 2A.001, Code of Criminal Procedure,
] is

not:

(1) eligible for participation in any program provided

by the governing body that is normally considered a financial

benefit of full-time employment or for any pension fund created by

statute for the benefit of full-time paid peace officers; or

(2) exempt from Chapter 1702, Occupations Code.

SECTION 4. Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, is amended by

adding Subchapter P to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER P. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR NON-FULL-TIME OFFICERS

Sec.

1701.721.

REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR NON-FULL-TIME

OFFICERS.

(a)

This section applies to a law enforcement agency

that appoints a person as a non-full-time officer under:

(1) Chapter 85, Local Government Code;

(2) Chapter 86, Local Government Code;

(3) Chapter 341, Local Government Code; or

(4) Chapter 49 or 60, Water Code.

(b)

At the interval prescribed by commission rule, the chief

administrative officer of a law enforcement agency to which this

section applies or the chief administrative officer's designee

shall submit a report to the commission on the employment

activities of an officer described by Subsection (a) who for

compensation provides security services or similar services for or

to a person, other than the law enforcement agency that appointed

the officer.

The report must include, with respect to the officers:

(1) the number of officers appointed by the agency;

(2)

if applicable, the number of officers the agency

is authorized to appoint by the governing body of the agency;

(3)

for each officer appointed by the agency, the

number of hours the officer provided services for or to:

(A)

the law enforcement agency that appointed the

officer; and

(B) any other person; and

(4)

the counties in which the officer provided

services described by Subdivision (3)(B) and, if those services

required travel through multiple counties, the county in which the

work began and ended.

(c)

The reporting requirement under Subsection (b)(4) does

not apply to services provided entirely in the county or counties in

which the appointing law enforcement agency is located.

(d)

The commission shall adopt rules necessary to implement

this section.

(e)

Not later than September 1, 2026, the commission shall

submit to the speaker of the house of representatives, the chair of

the committee in the house of representatives with primary

jurisdiction over homeland security, the lieutenant governor, and

the chair of the senate committee with primary jurisdiction over

criminal justice a report summarizing the reports received by the

commission under this section.

The report must not contain any

identifying information on officers.

This subsection expires on

September 1, 2035.

SECTION 5. Sections 60.0775(f), (g), and (i), Water Code,

are amended to read as follows:

(f) A reserve force member [
who is not a peace officer as

described by Article 2A.001, Code of Criminal Procedure, may act as

a peace officer only during the discharge of official duties. A

reserve force member who is a peace officer under that article
] must

hold a permanent peace officer license issued under Chapter 1701,

Occupations Code.

(g) The commission must approve an appointment to the

reserve force before the person appointed may carry a weapon or

otherwise act as a peace officer. [
On approval of the appointment

of a person who is not a peace officer as described by Article

2A.001, Code of Criminal Procedure, the person appointed may carry

a weapon only when authorized to do so by the chief of police and

only when discharging official duties as a peace officer.
] On

approval of the appointment of a person [
who is a peace officer as

described by Article 2A.001, Code of Criminal Procedure
], the chief

of police may:

(1) authorize the person appointed to carry a weapon

or act as a peace officer at all times, regardless of whether the

person is engaged in the discharge of official duties; or

(2) limit the person's authority to carry a weapon or

act as a peace officer to only those times during which the person

is engaged in the discharge of official duties.

(i) A reserve police officer[
, regardless of whether the

reserve police officer is a peace officer as described by Article

2A.001, Code of Criminal Procedure,
] is not:

(1) eligible for participation in:

(A) a program provided by the commission that is

normally considered a financial benefit of full-time employment; or

(B) a pension fund created by statute for the

benefit of full-time paid peace officers; or

(2) exempt from Chapter 1702, Occupations Code.

SECTION 6. Section 341.012(f), Local Government Code, is

repealed.

SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives

a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as

provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this

Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this

Act takes effect September 1, 2025.