Bill Text: TX HB1357 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the appointment, powers, duties, rights, and privileges of special Texas constables.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-18 - Left pending in committee [HB1357 Detail]

Download: Texas-2021-HB1357-Introduced.html

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87R5847 JCG-F
By: Harris H.B. No. 1357

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the appointment, powers, duties, rights, and privileges
of special Texas constables.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 2, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Article 2.128 to read as follows:
Art. 2.128. SPECIAL TEXAS CONSTABLE. (a) In this article,
"department" means the Department of Public Safety.
(b) The department may appoint as a special Texas constable
an honorably retired peace officer, as defined by Section
614.121(2), Government Code, who:
(1) served as:
(A) an elected or appointed constable in this
state; or
(B) a chief deputy constable in the office of an
elected or appointed constable in this state;
(2) was employed full-time as a peace officer by the
state or a political subdivision of the state for at least 20 years;
(3) held a master proficiency certificate issued by
the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement upon retirement; and
(4) has reactivated the officer's license as provided
by Section 1701.3161, Occupations Code.
(c) A special Texas constable:
(1) is subject to orders of the Public Safety
Commission and the governor for special duty to the same extent as
other peace officers commissioned under Chapter 411, Government
Code;
(2) subject to Subdivision (3), has the same rights
and privileges as any other peace officer of this state; and
(3) may enforce only:
(A) provisions of the Penal Code; and
(B) other state laws intended to protect life or
property.
(d) A special Texas constable may:
(1) serve civil or criminal process and retain a fee
from that service; and
(2) engage in off-duty employment, except at:
(A) an establishment licensed or permitted under
the Alcoholic Beverage Code; or
(B) a business that allows a person to bring and
consume on the premises of that business an alcoholic beverage.
(e) A special Texas constable is not connected to any
elected or appointed constable's office.
(f) An application for a special Texas constable
appointment must be filed with the department and include a
high-quality photograph of the applicant wearing a suit, tie, and
silver belly western felt hat.
(g) On appointment of a special Texas constable, the
department shall provide the constable an identification card that
bears:
(1) a high-quality photograph of the constable wearing
a suit, tie, and silver belly western felt hat;
(2) the words: "I hereby certify that (name of
officer) has been appointed a special Texas constable by the
Department of Public Safety of the State of Texas effective (date of
appointment)."; and
(3) following the words required by Subdivision (2),
the public safety director's name and signature.
(h) Except as provided by Subsection (i), while engaging in
any activity described by Subsection (d) or providing services
under order of the Public Safety Commission or the governor, a
special Texas constable must wear:
(1) pressed or starched western clothing, including a
silver belly western felt or high-quality straw hat; and
(2) boots.
(i) A special Texas constable is not required to wear the
clothing or boots described by Subsection (h) if:
(1) wearing the clothing or boots is not feasible; or
(2) a physician licensed under Subtitle B, Title 3,
Occupations Code, recommends to the constable in writing against
wearing the clothing or boots.
(j) On arrest of an individual by a special Texas constable:
(1) the constable shall as soon as practicable after
the arrest notify a local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction
over the location where the arrest was made; and
(2) the law enforcement agency shall:
(A) take custody of the arrested person and take
that person before a magistrate as required under Article 14.06;
and
(B) take custody of any property seized during or
after the arrest as if that property had been seized by a peace
officer of that agency.
(k) Before appointment of a person as a special Texas
constable, the person shall enter into a good and sufficient bond
executed by a surety company authorized to do business in this state
in the amount of $5,000, approved by the department, and
indemnifying all persons against damages resulting from an unlawful
act of the person while serving as a special Texas constable.
(l) The department:
(1) may establish by rule standards governing the
conduct and duties of a special Texas constable;
(2) may revoke a special Texas constable appointment
for good cause and for failure of the constable to provide proof of
completion of a requirement described by Section
1701.356(d)(1)(A), (B), or (C), Occupations Code; and
(3) is not required to provide to a special Texas
constable a training program under Section 1701.352, Occupations
Code.
(m) A special Texas constable appointment expires on
January 15 of the fifth calendar year after the year in which the
appointment was made. On expiration of the appointment, a special
Texas constable is eligible for reappointment.
SECTION 2. Section 1701.356, Occupations Code, is amended
by adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read as follows:
(d) A special Texas constable appointed under Article
2.128, Code of Criminal Procedure, is exempt from the continuing
education requirements of this chapter, except that the constable:
(1) must:
(A) annually demonstrate weapons proficiency;
(B) every 24 months attend at least 20 hours of
instruction in civil process, as described by Section 1701.354;
(C) every 24 months complete a training and
education program that covers recent changes to the laws of this
state and of the United States pertaining to peace officers, as
described by Section 1701.351(a-1); and
(D) provide the Department of Public Safety proof
of completion of each requirement described by Paragraph (A), (B),
or (C) within 90 days of completing the requirement; and
(2) is eligible to attend any course offered in this
state that satisfies a requirement described by Subdivision (1).
(e) Notwithstanding Subsection (d), a special Texas
constable appointed under Article 2.128, Code of Criminal
Procedure, may be exempt from a requirement described by Subsection
(d)(1)(A), (B), or (C) if a physician licensed under Subtitle B,
Title 3, recommends in writing against the constable's
participation in that requirement. An exemption under this
subsection lasts for not more than 11 months from the date of the
recommendation.
SECTION 3. Section 1702.322, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 1702.322. LAW ENFORCEMENT PERSONNEL. This chapter
does not apply to:
(1) a person who has full-time employment as a peace
officer and who receives compensation for private employment on an
individual or an independent contractor basis as a patrolman,
guard, extra job coordinator, or watchman if the officer:
(A) is employed in an employee-employer
relationship or employed on an individual contractual basis:
(i) directly by the recipient of the
services; or
(ii) by a company licensed under this
chapter;
(B) is not in the employ of another peace
officer;
(C) is not a reserve peace officer; and
(D) works as a peace officer on the average of at
least 32 hours a week, is compensated by the state or a political
subdivision of the state at least at the minimum wage, and is
entitled to all employee benefits offered to a peace officer by the
state or political subdivision;
(2) a reserve peace officer while the reserve officer
is performing guard, patrolman, or watchman duties for a county and
is being compensated solely by that county;
(3) a peace officer acting in an official capacity in
responding to a burglar alarm or detection device; [or]
(4) a person engaged in the business of electronic
monitoring of an individual as a condition of that individual's
community supervision, parole, mandatory supervision, or release
on bail, if the person does not perform any other service that
requires a license under this chapter; or
(5) a special Texas constable appointed under Article
2.128, Code of Criminal Procedure.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.