Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas House Bill HB3805 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Gonzales (Senate Sponsor - Schwertner) H.B. No. 3805
2	2	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 8, 2013;
3	3	May 9, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
4	4	Justice; May 17, 2013, reported favorably by the following vote:
5	5	Yeas 6, Nays 1; May 17, 2013, sent to printer.)
6	6
7	7
8	8	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
9	9	AN ACT
10	10	relating to the discharge of an officer or employee of the
11	11	Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Section 411.007, Government Code, is amended by
14	14	amending Subsections (e) and (f) and adding Subsections (e-1),
15	15	(e-2), and (g) to read as follows:
16	16	(e) An officer or employee of the department may not be
17	17	discharged without just cause. The director shall determine
18	18	whether an officer or employee is to be discharged. A commissioned
19	19	[An] officer [or employee] ordered discharged may appeal to the
20	20	commission, and during the appeal the officer [or employee] shall
21	21	be suspended without pay.
22	22	(e-1) Except as provided by Subsection (g) [(f)], the
23	23	department may not discharge, suspend, or demote a commissioned
24	24	officer except for the violation of a specific commission rule. If
25	25	the department discharges, suspends, or demotes the [an] officer,
26	26	the department shall deliver to the officer a written statement
27	27	giving the reasons for the action taken. The written statement must
28	28	point out each commission rule alleged to have been violated by the
29	29	officer and must describe the alleged acts of the officer that the
30	30	department contends are in violation of the commission rules.
31	31	(e-2) [(f)] The commission shall establish necessary
32	32	policies and procedures for the appointment, promotion, reduction,
33	33	suspension, and discharge of all employees.
34	34	(f) A discharged commissioned officer [or employee] is
35	35	entitled, on application to the commission, to a public hearing
36	36	before the commission, who shall affirm or set aside the discharge.
37	37	The commission shall affirm or set aside a discharge on the basis of
38	38	the evidence presented. If the commission affirms the discharge,
39	39	the discharged officer may seek judicial review, not later than the
40	40	90th day after the date the commission affirms the discharge, in a
41	41	district court under the substantial evidence standard of review,
42	42	and the officer remains suspended without pay while the case is
43	43	under judicial review.
44	44	(g) A noncommissioned employee inducted into the service of
45	45	the department is on probation for the first one year of service,
46	46	and an officer is on probation from the date the officer [person] is
47	47	inducted into the service of the department until the anniversary
48	48	of the date the officer [person] is commissioned. At any time
49	49	during the probationary period, an officer or employee [a person]
50	50	may be discharged [without the public hearing provided for by this
51	51	subsection] if the director, with the advice and consent of the
52	52	commission, finds the officer or employee [person] to be unsuitable
53	53	for the work.
54	54	SECTION 2. Section 411.007, Government Code, as amended by
55	55	this Act, applies only to an officer or employee of the Department
56	56	of Public Safety of the State of Texas who is discharged on or after
57	57	the effective date of this Act. An officer or employee discharged
58	58	before that date is governed by the law in effect immediately before
59	59	the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect
60	60	for that purpose.
61	61	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
62	62	* * * * *