Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB554 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R1852 SCP-D
2	2	By: Johnson S.B. No. 554
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the licensing of legal permanent residents as county
10	10	jailers by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement and the hiring of
11	11	those legal permanent residents by political subdivisions.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. The heading to Section 370.007, Local Government
14	14	Code, as added by Chapter 1049 (S.B. 252), Acts of the 88th
15	15	Legislature, Regular Session, 2023, is amended to read as follows:
16	16	Sec. 370.007. APPOINTING OR EMPLOYING CERTAIN LEGAL
17	17	PERMANENT RESIDENTS [VETERANS] TO POSITION REQUIRING LICENSURE.
18	18	SECTION 2. Section 370.007(b), Local Government Code, as
19	19	added by Chapter 1049 (S.B. 252), Acts of the 88th Legislature,
20	20	Regular Session, 2023, is amended to read as follows:
21	21	(b) Notwithstanding any other law, a political subdivision
22	22	that appoints or employs a person to hold a position that requires
23	23	the person to be licensed by the commission may:
24	24	(1) appoint or employ a legal permanent resident of
25	25	the United States to be a county jailer if the person holds a county
26	26	jailer license issued by the commission; and
27	27	(2) appoint or employ a legal permanent resident of
28	28	the United States to hold a [the] position other than as a county
29	29	jailer if the person is an honorably discharged veteran of the armed
30	30	forces of the United States with at least two years of service
31	31	before discharge and holds the appropriate license issued by the
32	32	commission.
33	33	SECTION 3. Section 1701.3095, Occupations Code, is amended
34	34	to read as follows:
35	35	Sec. 1701.3095. LICENSING OF CERTAIN [VETERANS WHO ARE]
36	36	LEGAL PERMANENT RESIDENTS. (a) The commission shall issue a
37	37	license the commission is authorized to issue to a person who is a
38	38	legal permanent resident of the United States if the person:
39	39	(1) meets the requirements of this chapter and the
40	40	commission's rules for the license;
41	41	(2) is an honorably discharged veteran of the armed
42	42	forces of the United States with at least two years of service
43	43	before discharge; and
44	44	(3) presents evidence satisfactory to the commission
45	45	that the person has applied for United States citizenship.
46	46	(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the commission shall
47	47	issue a county jailer license to a person who:
48	48	(1) is a legal permanent resident of the United
49	49	States; and
50	50	(2) meets the requirements of this chapter and the
51	51	commission's rules for the license.
52	52	SECTION 4. Section 1701.451(a), Occupations Code, is
53	53	amended to read as follows:
54	54	(a) Before a law enforcement agency may hire a person
55	55	licensed under this chapter, the agency must, on a form and in the
56	56	manner prescribed by the commission:
57	57	(1) obtain the person's written consent for the agency
58	58	to review the information required to be reviewed under this
59	59	section;
60	60	(2) request from the commission and any other
61	61	applicable person information required to be reviewed under this
62	62	section; and
63	63	(3) submit to the commission confirmation that the
64	64	agency, to the best of the agency's ability before hiring the
65	65	person:
66	66	(A) contacted each entity or individual
67	67	necessary to obtain the information required to be reviewed under
68	68	this section; and
69	69	(B) except as provided by Subsection (b),
70	70	obtained and reviewed as related to the person, as applicable:
71	71	(i) personnel files, as described by
72	72	Section 1701.4535, and other employee records from each previous
73	73	law enforcement agency employer, including the employment
74	74	application submitted to the previous employer;
75	75	(ii) employment termination reports and
76	76	misconduct investigation reports maintained by the commission
77	77	under this subchapter;
78	78	(iii) service records maintained by the
79	79	commission;
80	80	(iv) proof that the person meets the
81	81	minimum qualifications for enrollment in a training program under
82	82	Section 1701.251(a);
83	83	(v) a military veteran's United States
84	84	Department of Defense Form DD-214 or other military discharge
85	85	record;
86	86	(vi) criminal history record information;
87	87	(vii) information on pending warrants as
88	88	available through the Texas Crime Information Center and National
89	89	Crime Information Center;
90	90	(viii) evidence of financial
91	91	responsibility as required by Section 601.051, Transportation
92	92	Code;
93	93	(ix) a driving record from the Department
94	94	of Public Safety;
95	95	(x) proof of:
96	96	(a) United States citizenship or, if
97	97	the person is an honorably discharged veteran of the armed forces of
98	98	the United States with at least two years of service before
99	99	discharge, proof of legal permanent residence and proof that the
100	100	person has applied for United States citizenship; or
101	101	(b) United States citizenship or
102	102	legal permanent residence, if the person is being hired as a county
103	103	jailer;
104	104	(xi) information on the person's background
105	105	from at least three personal references and at least two
106	106	professional references; and
107	107	(xii) information on the person's law
108	108	enforcement background as available through a database designated
109	109	by the commission under Section 1701.169 and, if applicable, a file
110	110	or record obtained by the commission under Section 1701.3035.
111	111	SECTION 5. Not later than December 1, 2025, the Texas
112	112	Commission on Law Enforcement shall amend rules as necessary to
113	113	comply with Sections 1701.3095 and 1701.451, Occupations Code, as
114	114	amended by this Act.
115	115	SECTION 6. Section 1701.451(a), Occupations Code, as
116	116	amended by this Act, applies only to the hiring of a person by a law
117	117	enforcement agency that occurs on or after December 1, 2025. The
118	118	hiring of a person by a law enforcement agency that occurs before
119	119	that date is governed by the law in effect immediately before the
120	120	effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in
121	121	effect for that purpose.
122	122	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.