HBA-CMT H.B. 169 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 169 By: Ritter Public Safety 2/21/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, the Public Safety Commission is authorized to appoint honorably retired commissioned officers of the Texas Department of Public Safety as special rangers. However, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education (commission) is not currently authorized to appoint retired law enforcement officers as special retired peace officers. House Bill 169 authorizes the commission to appoint eligible officers as special retired peace officers. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education in SECTION 3 (Section 1701.3085,Occupations Code) and in SECTION 8 of this bill. ANALYSIS House Bill 169 amends the Occupations Code to authorize the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education (commission) to appoint as a special retired peace officer an officer of a municipal police department, a sheriff's department, or a constable's department and sets forth eligibility criteria. The bill provides that a special retired peace officer is subject to the orders of the commission, the governor, and the department from which the officer retired if the officer is recalled for special duty to the department. The bill authorizes a special retired peace officer to only enforce laws designed to protect life and property and prohibits the officer from enforcing laws pertaining to rules of the road. The bill requires the officer to post bond with the commission in the amount of $2,500 before a special retired peace officer commission is issued and requires the bond to be executed by a surety company that is authorized to do business in this state and approved by the commission. The bill provides that the department from which a special retired peace officer retired may be liable for an unlawful act of an officer only when the officer has been recalled for special duty. The bill provides that a special retired peace officer is not entitled to compensation when the officer is recalled for special duty. The bill sets forth provisions for the expiration and renewal of a special retired peace officer commission and authorizes the commission to revoke a special retired peace officer commission at any time for any cause (Sec. 1701.317). The bill authorizes a state or local law enforcement agency to allow a special retired peace officer or an applicant for appointment as a special retired peace officer an opportunity to demonstrate weapons proficiency on an annual basis and requires the agency to issue a certificate of weapons proficiency. The agency is required to maintain records of a special retired peace officer or applicant who holds a certificate and sets forth that a certificate of weapons proficiency expires on the first anniversary of the date the certificate was issued. The bill requires the commission to adopt rules necessary for the administration of provisions relating to weapons proficiency and to set fees that a state or local law enforcement agency may collect to recover expenses incurred under those provisions (Sec. 1701.3085). The bill prohibits the commission from requiring additional training or testing to reactivate the peace officer license of a person holding an active commission as a special retired peace officer (Sec. 1701.316). The bill also amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to designate a special retired peace officer as a peace officer in this state (Art 2.12). The bill amends the Local Government Code to provide that a person holding a special retired peace officer commission may be appointed to a position in a police department on reactivation of the person's peace officer license. The bill provides that a special retired peace officer may be required to take physical, mental, or other examinations on appointment to a position in a police department. The bill provides that a special retired peace officer who is appointed to an entry-level position in a police department is not required to fulfill basic training requirements and is not subject to the maximum age requirements (Sec. 143.0225). H.B. 169 also amends the Penal Code to add that the provision prohibiting the carrying of a handgun does not apply to a person who, at the time of the commission of the offense, holds a commission as a special retired peace officer and holds either a weapons or a handgun proficiency certificate (Sec. 46.15). EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.