BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 792

By: Burns

Urban Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Currently, a municipal police department's police dispatchers cannot work the same alternative work schedule, for example 12-hour shifts, as their police counterparts. H.B. 792 seeks to provide police dispatchers employed by the police department of certain municipalities the option to work these alternate schedules if a majority of the department's dispatchers vote in favor of an alternate work schedule.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 792 amends the Local Government Code to authorize a municipality with a population of more than 10,000 to adopt an alternate work schedule for the municipal police department's police dispatchers if a majority of dispatchers for the department vote in favor of an alternate work schedule. The bill entitles a dispatcher working under such a schedule to overtime pay if the dispatcher works more hours during a calendar month than the number of hours in the normal work month of the majority of the municipality's employees other than firefighters and police officers.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2021.