By: Harless H.B. No. 4614
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the licensing and regulation of state correctional
officers; requiring an occupational license.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1701.001, Occupations Code, is amended
by adding Subdivision (6-a) to read as follows:
(6-a) "State correctional officer" means a person
employed by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and whose
primary responsibility is to supervise inmates within a
correctional facility.
SECTION 2. Section 1701.003(c), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) This chapter does not prevent an employing agency from
establishing qualifications and standards for hiring or training
officers, state correctional officers, county jailers, or
telecommunicators that exceed the commission's minimum standards.
SECTION 3. Section 1701.151, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 1701.151. GENERAL POWERS OF COMMISSION; RULEMAKING
AUTHORITY. The commission may:
(1) adopt rules for the administration of this chapter
and for the commission's internal management and control;
(2) establish minimum standards relating to
competence and reliability, including education, training,
physical, and mental standards, for licensing as an officer, state
correctional officer, county jailer, public security officer, or
telecommunicator;
(3) report to the governor and legislature on the
commission's activities, with recommendations on matters under the
commission's jurisdiction, and make other reports that the
commission considers desirable;
(4) require a state agency or a county, special
district, or municipality in this state that employs officers,
state correctional officers, telecommunicators, or county jailers
to submit reports and information;
(5) contract as the commission considers necessary for
services, facilities, studies, and reports required for:
(A) cooperation with municipal, county, special
district, state, and federal law enforcement agencies in training
programs; and
(B) performance of the commission's other
functions; and
(6) conduct research and stimulate research by public
and private agencies to improve law enforcement and police
administration.
SECTION 4. Section 1701.153(a), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The commission shall establish reporting standards and
procedures for:
(1) the appointment or employment and the termination
of officers, state correctional officers, county jailers, and
telecommunicators by law enforcement agencies;
(2) the activities of licensed training schools; and
(3) other matters the commission considers necessary
for the administration of this chapter.
SECTION 5. Section 1701.251, Occupations Code, is amended
by amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsection (d) to
read as follows:
(a) The commission shall establish and maintain training
programs for officers, state correctional officers, county
jailers, and telecommunicators. The training shall be conducted by
the commission staff or by other agencies and institutions the
commission considers appropriate.
(c) The commission may:
(1) issue or revoke the license of a school operated by
or for this state or a political subdivision of this state
specifically for training officers, state correctional officers,
county jailers, recruits, or telecommunicators;
(2) operate schools and conduct preparatory,
in-service, basic, and advanced courses in the schools, as the
commission determines appropriate, for officers, state
correctional officers, county jailers, recruits, and
telecommunicators;
(3) issue a license to a person to act as a qualified
instructor under conditions that the commission prescribes; and
(4) consult and cooperate with a municipality, county,
special district, state agency or other governmental agency, or a
university, college, junior college, or other institution,
concerning the development of schools and training programs for
officers, state correctional officers, county jailers, and
telecommunicators.
SECTION 6. Sections 1701.254(a) and (b), Occupations Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) The commission may visit and inspect a school conducting
a training course for officers, state correctional officers, county
jailers, telecommunicators, or recruits and make necessary
evaluations to determine if the school complies with this chapter
and commission rules.
(b) The commission shall develop a risk assessment method to
determine the relative performance of schools conducting training
courses for officers, state correctional officers, county jailers,
telecommunicators, or recruits. The commission shall base its
schedule for inspection of schools on the results of the risk
assessment.
SECTION 7. Section 1701.301, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 1701.301. LICENSE REQUIRED. Except as provided by
Sections 1701.310, 1701.311, and 1701.405, a person may not appoint
or employ a person to serve as an officer, state correctional
officer, county jailer, school marshal, public security officer, or
telecommunicator unless the person holds an appropriate license
issued by the commission.
SECTION 8. Subchapter G, Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Sections 1701.3072 and 1701.3096 to read as
follows:
Sec. 1701.3072. ISSUANCE OF STATE CORRECTIONAL OFFICER
LICENSE. The commission shall issue a state correctional officer
license to a person who:
(1) submits an application;
(2) completes the training required under Section
1701.3096;
(3) passes the required examination; and
(4) meets any other requirement of this chapter and
the rules prescribed by the commission to qualify as a state
correctional officer.
Sec. 1701.3096. MINIMUM ELIGIBILITY FOR STATE CORRECTIONAL
OFFICER LICENSE. (a) To be eligible for a state correctional
officer license, a person must:
(1) have completed not less than 240 hours of training
as determined by the commission;
(2) be at least 18 years old; and
(3) hold a high school diploma or high school
equivalency certificate.
(b) A state correctional officer who holds a permanent
appointment on September 1, 2026, is not required to meet the
requirements of Subsection (a) as a condition of continued
employment in that position.
(c) The commission shall issue a state correctional officer
license to a person who holds a permanent appointment with the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice as a state correctional officer if
the person:
(1) submits an application for a license to the
commission under this section before September 1, 2026; and
(2) holds that position on the date the person submits
the application.
(d) The commission and the Texas Department of Criminal
Justice may enter into a memorandum of understanding to implement
Subsection (c). Subsection (c) and this subsection expire September
1, 2027.
SECTION 9. Section 1701.401(c), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) The commission shall adopt rules for issuing
achievement awards to peace officers, reserve peace officers, state
correctional officers, county jailers, [custodial officers,] or
telecommunicators who are licensed by the commission. The
commission's rules shall require recommendations from an elected
official of this state or a political subdivision, an administrator
of a state agency or law enforcement agency, or a person holding a
license issued by the commission.
SECTION 10. Section 1701.551(a), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) A person commits an offense if the person appoints or
retains another person as an officer, state correctional officer,
county jailer, or telecommunicator in violation of Section
1701.301, 1701.303, 1701.306, or 1701.405.
SECTION 11. Not later than March 1, 2026, the Texas
Commission on Law Enforcement shall adopt rules, standards, and
procedures necessary to implement Chapter 1701, Occupations Code,
as amended by this Act.
SECTION 12. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of
this section, this Act takes effect September 1, 2025.
(b) Sections 1701.301 and 1701.551(a), Occupations Code, as
amended by this Act, take effect September 1, 2026.