HBA-CMT C.S.H.B. 169 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 169 By: Ritter Public Safety 3/22/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) 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 honorably retired peace officers. C.S.H.B. 169 authorizes the commission to appoint eligible officers as honorably 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 1701.318,Occupations Code) and in SECTION 8 of this bill. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 169 amends the Occupations Code to authorize the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education (commission) to license as an honorably 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 commission or appointment of an honorably retired peace officer becomes effective immediately on the date that the commission licenses the officer as an honorably retired peace officer. The bill provides that an honorably retired peace officer is subject to the orders of the governor and the law enforcement agency from which the officer receives a commission or appointment to the same extent as any other peace officer. The bill authorizes an honorably 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 order to be eligible for licensure in the amount of $5,000 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. In addition, in order to be eligible an officer must file an application and affidavit endorsed by the local law enforcement agency from which the officer is retired or by the chief administrator of another agency who has sufficient knowledge of the officers service. The commission or appointment is effective immediately on the date the commission licenses the officer. The bill provides that a law enforcement agency that calls an honorably retired peace officer to duty may be liable for an unlawful act of an officer committed in the course and scope of the officer's duty only when the agency has called the officer for special duty. The bill authorizes a department that recalls an honorably retired peace officer for special duty to compensate the officer. The bill sets forth provisions for the expiration and renewal of an honorably retired peace officer commission and authorizes the commission to revoke a special retired peace officer commission at any time for any cause. The bill sets forth identification requirements for an honorably retired peace officer when in the line of duty. The bill provides that the commissioners court may authorize a sheriff or constable to appoint honorably retired peace officers, recall an appointed honorably retired peace officer to duty, and may limit the number of honorably retired peace officers appointed and recalled to duty (Sec. 1701.317). The bill authorizes a state or local law enforcement agency to allow an honorably retired peace officer or an applicant for appointment as an honorably 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 an honorably 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 necessary for the administration of these provisions (Sec. 1701.318). 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 an honorably retired peace officer (Sec. 1701.316). The bill also amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to designate an honorably 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 license as an honorably 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 an honorably 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 an honorably 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). C.S.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 an honorably retired peace officer and holds either a weapons or a handgun proficiency certificate (Sec. 46.15). EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B.169 modifies the original by renaming special retired peace officers as honorably retired peace officers. The substitute adds provisions to the eligibility requirements to require an officer to file an endorsed affidavit and application from a law enforcement agency from which the officer is retired or by the agency's chief administrator and to increase the amount of the surety bond from $2,500 to $5,000. The substitute provides that the commission or appointment becomes effective immediately on the date that the commission licenses the officer as an honorably retired peace officer. The substitute provides that an honorably retired peace officer may be compensated, whereas the original bill specified that the officer was not entitled to compensation. The substitute adds personal identification requirements for an honorably retired peace officer and provisions allowing constable's and sheriff's departments to appoint honorably retired peace officers (Sec. 1701.317, Occupations Code).