Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1357 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R5847 JCG-F
2	2	By: Harris H.B. No. 1357
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the appointment, powers, duties, rights, and privileges
8	8	of special Texas constables.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Chapter 2, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
11	11	amended by adding Article 2.128 to read as follows:
12	12	Art. 2.128. SPECIAL TEXAS CONSTABLE. (a) In this article,
13	13	"department" means the Department of Public Safety.
14	14	(b) The department may appoint as a special Texas constable
15	15	an honorably retired peace officer, as defined by Section
16	16	614.121(2), Government Code, who:
17	17	(1) served as:
18	18	(A) an elected or appointed constable in this
19	19	state; or
20	20	(B) a chief deputy constable in the office of an
21	21	elected or appointed constable in this state;
22	22	(2) was employed full-time as a peace officer by the
23	23	state or a political subdivision of the state for at least 20 years;
24	24	(3) held a master proficiency certificate issued by
25	25	the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement upon retirement; and
26	26	(4) has reactivated the officer's license as provided
27	27	by Section 1701.3161, Occupations Code.
28	28	(c) A special Texas constable:
29	29	(1) is subject to orders of the Public Safety
30	30	Commission and the governor for special duty to the same extent as
31	31	other peace officers commissioned under Chapter 411, Government
32	32	Code;
33	33	(2) subject to Subdivision (3), has the same rights
34	34	and privileges as any other peace officer of this state; and
35	35	(3) may enforce only:
36	36	(A) provisions of the Penal Code; and
37	37	(B) other state laws intended to protect life or
38	38	property.
39	39	(d) A special Texas constable may:
40	40	(1) serve civil or criminal process and retain a fee
41	41	from that service; and
42	42	(2) engage in off-duty employment, except at:
43	43	(A) an establishment licensed or permitted under
44	44	the Alcoholic Beverage Code; or
45	45	(B) a business that allows a person to bring and
46	46	consume on the premises of that business an alcoholic beverage.
47	47	(e) A special Texas constable is not connected to any
48	48	elected or appointed constable's office.
49	49	(f) An application for a special Texas constable
50	50	appointment must be filed with the department and include a
51	51	high-quality photograph of the applicant wearing a suit, tie, and
52	52	silver belly western felt hat.
53	53	(g) On appointment of a special Texas constable, the
54	54	department shall provide the constable an identification card that
55	55	bears:
56	56	(1) a high-quality photograph of the constable wearing
57	57	a suit, tie, and silver belly western felt hat;
58	58	(2) the words: "I hereby certify that (name of
59	59	officer) has been appointed a special Texas constable by the
60	60	Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas effective (date of
61	61	appointment)."; and
62	62	(3) following the words required by Subdivision (2),
63	63	the public safety director's name and signature.
64	64	(h) Except as provided by Subsection (i), while engaging in
65	65	any activity described by Subsection (d) or providing services
66	66	under order of the Public Safety Commission or the governor, a
67	67	special Texas constable must wear:
68	68	(1) pressed or starched western clothing, including a
69	69	silver belly western felt or high-quality straw hat; and
70	70	(2) boots.
71	71	(i) A special Texas constable is not required to wear the
72	72	clothing or boots described by Subsection (h) if:
73	73	(1) wearing the clothing or boots is not feasible; or
74	74	(2) a physician licensed under Subtitle B, Title 3,
75	75	Occupations Code, recommends to the constable in writing against
76	76	wearing the clothing or boots.
77	77	(j) On arrest of an individual by a special Texas constable:
78	78	(1) the constable shall as soon as practicable after
79	79	the arrest notify a local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction
80	80	over the location where the arrest was made; and
81	81	(2) the law enforcement agency shall:
82	82	(A) take custody of the arrested person and take
83	83	that person before a magistrate as required under Article 14.06;
84	84	and
85	85	(B) take custody of any property seized during or
86	86	after the arrest as if that property had been seized by a peace
87	87	officer of that agency.
88	88	(k) Before appointment of a person as a special Texas
89	89	constable, the person shall enter into a good and sufficient bond
90	90	executed by a surety company authorized to do business in this state
91	91	in the amount of $5,000, approved by the department, and
92	92	indemnifying all persons against damages resulting from an unlawful
93	93	act of the person while serving as a special Texas constable.
94	94	(l) The department:
95	95	(1) may establish by rule standards governing the
96	96	conduct and duties of a special Texas constable;
97	97	(2) may revoke a special Texas constable appointment
98	98	for good cause and for failure of the constable to provide proof of
99	99	completion of a requirement described by Section
100	100	1701.356(d)(1)(A), (B), or (C), Occupations Code; and
101	101	(3) is not required to provide to a special Texas
102	102	constable a training program under Section 1701.352, Occupations
103	103	Code.
104	104	(m) A special Texas constable appointment expires on
105	105	January 15 of the fifth calendar year after the year in which the
106	106	appointment was made. On expiration of the appointment, a special
107	107	Texas constable is eligible for reappointment.
108	108	SECTION 2. Section 1701.356, Occupations Code, is amended
109	109	by adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read as follows:
110	110	(d) A special Texas constable appointed under Article
111	111	2.128, Code of Criminal Procedure, is exempt from the continuing
112	112	education requirements of this chapter, except that the constable:
113	113	(1) must:
114	114	(A) annually demonstrate weapons proficiency;
115	115	(B) every 24 months attend at least 20 hours of
116	116	instruction in civil process, as described by Section 1701.354;
117	117	(C) every 24 months complete a training and
118	118	education program that covers recent changes to the laws of this
119	119	state and of the United States pertaining to peace officers, as
120	120	described by Section 1701.351(a-1); and
121	121	(D) provide the Department of Public Safety proof
122	122	of completion of each requirement described by Paragraph (A), (B),
123	123	or (C) within 90 days of completing the requirement; and
124	124	(2) is eligible to attend any course offered in this
125	125	state that satisfies a requirement described by Subdivision (1).
126	126	(e) Notwithstanding Subsection (d), a special Texas
127	127	constable appointed under Article 2.128, Code of Criminal
128	128	Procedure, may be exempt from a requirement described by Subsection
129	129	(d)(1)(A), (B), or (C) if a physician licensed under Subtitle B,
130	130	Title 3, recommends in writing against the constable's
131	131	participation in that requirement. An exemption under this
132	132	subsection lasts for not more than 11 months from the date of the
133	133	recommendation.
134	134	SECTION 3. Section 1702.322, Occupations Code, is amended
135	135	to read as follows:
136	136	Sec. 1702.322. LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL. This chapter
137	137	does not apply to:
138	138	(1) a person who has full-time employment as a peace
139	139	officer and who receives compensation for private employment on an
140	140	individual or an independent contractor basis as a patrolman,
141	141	guard, extra job coordinator, or watchman if the officer:
142	142	(A) is employed in an employee-employer
143	143	relationship or employed on an individual contractual basis:
144	144	(i) directly by the recipient of the
145	145	services; or
146	146	(ii) by a company licensed under this
147	147	chapter;
148	148	(B) is not in the employ of another peace
149	149	officer;
150	150	(C) is not a reserve peace officer; and
151	151	(D) works as a peace officer on the average of at
152	152	least 32 hours a week, is compensated by the state or a political
153	153	subdivision of the state at least at the minimum wage, and is
154	154	entitled to all employee benefits offered to a peace officer by the
155	155	state or political subdivision;
156	156	(2) a reserve peace officer while the reserve officer
157	157	is performing guard, patrolman, or watchman duties for a county and
158	158	is being compensated solely by that county;
159	159	(3) a peace officer acting in an official capacity in
160	160	responding to a burglar alarm or detection device; [or]
161	161	(4) a person engaged in the business of electronic
162	162	monitoring of an individual as a condition of that individual's
163	163	community supervision, parole, mandatory supervision, or release
164	164	on bail, if the person does not perform any other service that
165	165	requires a license under this chapter; or
166	166	(5) a special Texas constable appointed under Article
167	167	2.128, Code of Criminal Procedure.
168	168	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.