BILL ANALYSIS

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

Currently, state troopers are allowed to pool up to eight hours of personal leave for legislative purposes. H.B. 3216 would simply give peace officers commissioned by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) the same legislative leave as state troopers.

The bill would amend the Parks and Wildlife Code to allow a peace officer commissioned by TPWD to voluntarily transfer to a legislative leave pool up to eight hours of compensatory time or annual leave per year earned by the peace officer. The bill would require TPWD to adopt rules relating to the leave pool.

H.B. 3216 amends current law relating to legislative leave for certain peace officers commissioned by the Parks and Wildlife Department.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

Rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Parks and Wildlife Commission in SECTION 1 (Section 11.0183, Parks and Wildlife Code) of this bill.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Subchapter B, Chapter 11, Parks and Wildlife Code, by adding Section 11.0183, as follows:

Sec. 11.0183. DONATION OF ACCRUED COMPENSATORY TIME OR ACCRUED ANNUAL LEAVE FOR LEGISLATIVE PURPOSES. (a) Requires the executive director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD; director) to allow a peace officer commissioned by TPWD to voluntarily transfer to a legislative leave pool up to eight hours of compensatory time or annual leave per year earned by the peace officer.

(b) Requires the director or the director's designee to administer the legislative leave pool.

(c) Requires the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission (TPWC) to adopt rules and prescribe procedures relating to the operation of the legislative leave pool.

(d) Requires the director or the director's designee to credit the legislative leave pool with the amount of time contributed by a peace officer commissioned by TPWD and deduct a corresponding amount of time from the peace officer's earned compensatory time or annual leave as if the peace officer had used the time for personal purposes.

(e) Entitles a peace officer commissioned by TPWD to use time contributed to the legislative leave pool if the peace officer uses the time for legislative leave on behalf of a law enforcement association that is related to the peace officer's employment with TPWD, that has at least 300 active or retired members, and that is governed by a board of directors.

(f) Requires the director or the director's designee to transfer time from the pool to the peace officer and credit the time to the peace officer.

(g) Authorizes a peace officer commissioned by TPWD to only withdraw time from the legislative leave pool in coordination with and with the consent of the president or designee of the law enforcement association described in Subsection (e). Prohibits a peace officer from drawing more than 80 hours from the pool in a 160-hour work cycle and from drawing more than 480 hours from the pool in a fiscal year.

(h) Requires a peace officer commissioned by TPWD to use time from the legislative leave pool in accordance with rules adopted by TPWC.

SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2021.