Texas Local Government Code
§ 85.004 — RESERVE DEPUTIES
LG § 85.004Title 3. ORGANIZATION OF COUNTY GOVERNMENT · Part B. COMMISSIONERS COURT AND COUNTY OFFICERS · Ch. 85. SHERIFF · Art. A. SHERIFF AND SHERIFF'S PERSONNEL
Statute text
View on source(a)The commissioners court of a county may authorize the sheriff to appoint reserve deputy sheriffs. The commissioners court may limit the number of reserve deputies that may be appointed.
(b)A reserve deputy serves at the discretion of the sheriff and may be called into service if the sheriff considers it necessary to have additional officers to preserve the peace and enforce the law. The sheriff may authorize a reserve deputy who is a peace officer as described by Article 2A.001, Code of Criminal Procedure, to carry a weapon or act as a peace officer at all times, regardless of whether the reserve deputy is engaged in the actual discharge of official duties, or may limit the authority of the reserve deputy to carry a weapon or act as a peace officer to only those times during which the reserve deputy is engaged in the actual discharge of official duties. A reserve deputy who is not a peace officer as described by Article 2A.001, Code of Criminal Procedure, may act as a peace officer only during the actual discharge of official duties. A reserve deputy, regardless of whether the reserve deputy is a peace officer as described by Article 2A.001, Code of Criminal Procedure, is not:
(1)eligible for participation in any program provided by the county that is normally considered a financial benefit of full-time employment or for any pension fund created by statute for the benefit of full-time paid peace officers; or
(2)exempt from Chapter 1702, Occupations Code.
(c)Except as provided by Subsection (c-1) or (c-2), a reserve deputy, before beginning to perform the duties of office and at the time of appointment, must file an oath and execute and file a bond in the amount of $2,000 payable to the sheriff. The oath and bond shall be filed with the county clerk. (c-1) If a sheriff appoints more than one reserve deputy sheriff, the sheriff may execute a blanket surety bond to cover the reserve deputy sheriffs. Instead of a reserve deputy sheriff executing an individual bond under Subsection (c) or the sheriff executing a blanket surety bond, the county may self-insure against losses that would have been covered by the bond. (c-2) A person reappointed as a reserve deputy may continue to perform the duties of office before retaking the official oath. The reserve deputy must retake the oath as soon as possible after being reappointed.
(d)A reserve deputy on active duty at the call of the sheriff and actively engaged in assigned duties has the same rights, privileges, and duties as any other peace officer of the state.
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Legislative history
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 171 (H.B. 2272), Sec. 1, eff. May 28, 2015. Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 234 (H.B. 1049), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2021. Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 765 (H.B. 4504), Sec. 2.133, eff. January 1, 2025.