HBA-EVB, DMD C.S.H.B. 949 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 949 By: Jones, Charles Public Safety 4/22/1999 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, reserve peace officers for a county with a population of less than 85,000 are subject to the Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies Act, and are thus prohibited from being compensated by a public entity for security work at public events. This may strain the staff and budget of a rural sheriff's department. C.S.H.B. 949 amends Section 3(a), Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies Act, Article 4413(29bb), V.T.C.S., to establish that the Act does not apply to such persons. C.S.H.B. 949 also provides guidelines and fees for the issuance and administration of reserve peace officer endorsements. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Texas Board of Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies (board) in SECTION 3 (Section 14C (Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies Act), Article 4413(29bb), V.T.C.S.) of this bill. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 2, Article 4413(29bb), V.T.C.S. (Private Investigators and Privacy Security Agencies Act), by adding Subdivision (37), to define "reserve peace officer endorsement." SECTION 2. Amends Section 3(a), Article 4413(29bb), V.T.C.S. (Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies Act), to exempt from the Act a person who is a reserve peace officer for a county with a population of less than 85,000, while the person performs guard company services in the county if the person performs the guard company services in an employee-employer relationship or on an individual contractual basis; has received a reserve peace officer endorsement from the board; and maintains current proof of liability insurance on file with the Texas Board of Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies (board) under Section 40 (Bonds Filed for License) of this Act. Redesignates Subdivisions (5)-(32) to Subdivisions (6)-(33). SECTION 3. Amends Subchapter C, Article 4413(29bb), V.T.C.S. (Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies Act), by adding Section 14C as follows: (a) Requires the board to adopt rules for administration and issuance of a reserve peace officer endorsement under this section. (b) Prohibits the board from requiring a person applying for or renewing a reserve peace officer endorsement under this section to submit fingerprints for classification by the Department of Public Safety (DPS) or the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). (c) Provides that a reserve peace officer endorsement is a license for purposes of enforcement under Section 13 (License Required and False Representation Prohibited) of this Act. (d) Provides that a person who holds a reserve peace officer endorsement under this section must notify the board promptly in writing of any change of address, and surrender the endorsement to the board on termination of the person's status as a reserve officer in the county in which the person performs guard company services. SECTION 4. Amends Section 17(a), Article 4413(29bb), V.T.C.S. (Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies Act), to include a $25 fee limit for a reserve peace officer endorsement among the fees the board is required to establish, if the General Appropriations Act does not specify the amount of the fee. SECTION 5. Effective date: September 1, 1999. SECTION 6. Emergency clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 949 differs from the original bill by redesignating SECTION 1 of the original as SECTION 2 of the substitute. The new SECTION 1 adds Subdivision (37), Section 2, Article 4413(29bb), V.T.C.S., to define "reserve peace officer endorsement." SECTION 2 of the substitute differs from SECTION 1 of the original bill by exempting from the Act a person who is a reserve peace officer for a county with a population of less than 85,000, while the person performs guard company services in the county if the person performs the guard company services in an employee-employer relationship or on an individual contractual basis; has received a reserve peace officer endorsement from the board; and maintains current proof of liability insurance on file with the Texas Board of Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies (board) under Section 40 (Bonds Filed for License) of this Act. The original bill exempted a person who is a reserve peace officer for a county, department, precinct, or political subdivision in a county with a population of less than 50,000. C.S.H.B. 949 differs from the original bill by adding the new SECTION 3, setting forth various requirements, prohibitions, and provisions for the Texas Board of Private Investigators and Private Security Agencies (board) and those who hold reserve peace officer endorsements regarding the issuance, administration, notice, and surrender of reserve peace officer endorsements. C.S.H.B. 949 differs from the original bill by adding new SECTION 4, which includes a $25 fee limit for a reserve peace officer endorsement among the fees the board is required to establish, if the General Appropriations Act does not specify the amount of the fee. SECTION 5 (effective date) of the substitute is redesignated from SECTION 2 of the original. SECTION 6 (emergency clause) of the substitute is redesignated from SECTION 3 of the original.