HBA-MPA C.S.H.B. 770 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 770
By: Davis, Yvonne
County Affairs
4/26/1999
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, a constable's scope of power is not limited to the jurisdiction
in which the constable is elected.  There have been complaints from
municipalities regarding constables crossing into neighboring counties and
exercising power that is beyond the scope of their duties.  C.S.H.B. 770
requires a request for assistance from a municipality before a constable
can go beyond the jurisdiction to which the constable was elected. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Subchapter Z, Chapter 341, Local Government Code, by
adding Section 341.906, as follows:  

Sec. 341.906.  ASSISTANCE FROM CONSTABLES. Provides that a municipality, in
protecting the public interest,  must request in writing assistance from
any constable in a county in which any part of the municipality is located,
to perform any function the municipality is authorized to perform. 

SECTION 2.  Emergency clause.
            Effective date: upon passage.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 770 differs from the original bill in SECTION 1 (proposed Section
341.906, Local Government Code) by replacing, in proposed Subsections (a)
and (b), the word "may" in the original bill with "must" in the substitute,
in reference to a municipality requesting the assistance of a constable.