88R20938 KBB-D
By: Allison, Cortez, Lujan, Bernal, H.B. No. 2566
Lopez of Bexar, et al.
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2566:
By: Schatzline C.S.H.B. No. 2566
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the number of peace officers required to be employed by
a sheriff's department in certain counties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 351, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 351.905 to read as follows:
Sec. 351.905. MINIMUM NUMBER OF SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT PEACE
OFFICERS. (a) In this section, "peace officer" means an officer
whose duties include patrolling an assigned area, conducting
traffic stops, responding to calls, and carrying out general
investigative and law enforcement duties. The term does not
include an officer whose duties include the safekeeping of
prisoners or the security of a jail operated by the county, or
serving as a bailiff at a county courthouse.
(b) This section applies only to a county with a population
of more than 1.5 million in which more than 70 percent of the
population lives in a single municipality.
(c) The sheriff of a county shall employ and retain at all
times at least 1.8 peace officers for every 1,000 residents of the
total unincorporated area of the county, as determined by the state
demographer in accordance with Section 468.004, Government Code.
SECTION 2. Section 468.004, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 468.004. POWERS AND DUTIES. The state demographer
shall:
(1) disseminate demographic and related socioeconomic
data to the public, with emphasis on data that may be useful to
public policymakers;
(2) provide annual population estimates for all
counties and municipalities in the state, including an estimate for
the total unincorporated area of the county;
(3) provide biennial population projections for the
state and all counties of the state;
(4) adhere to current standards of practice when
determining which racial/ethnic groups to include in estimates and
projections;
(5) provide information by request which justifies the
omission of any particular racial/ethnic group from estimates and
projections, including limitations of data and methodology;
(6) provide information to the legislature relating to
the impact that demographic and socioeconomic changes in the
population of the state have on the demand for state services; and
(7) evaluate the type and quality of data needed to:
(A) adequately monitor demographic and
socioeconomic changes in the population of the state; and
(B) assess the effectiveness of delivery of state
services.
SECTION 3. The sheriff of a county to which Section 351.905,
Local Government Code, as added by this Act, applies shall comply
with the requirement of that section as soon as practicable but not
later than September 1, 2028.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.