Does a Texas county have to issue ID cards to unpaid volunteer peace officers?

TX AG Opinion GA-0619: Must a county issue ID cards to its unpaid peace-officer investigators?

Plain-English summary

The Brazos County Attorney appoints investigators to help with his prosecuting duties, and some of them are unpaid, part-time peace officers. All of them hold a state peace-officer license and had been commissioned. In 2007 the Legislature passed House Bill 3613, which added Government Code section 614.122 requiring a law enforcement agency or other governmental entity that appoints or employs a peace officer to issue that officer an identification card. The county attorney asked whether this new requirement applied to his unpaid investigators.

The Attorney General concluded it did not. Section 614.122 requires ID cards for an entity's "full-time" and "part-time" peace officers, but the companion definitions in section 614.121 attach a compensation requirement to both terms. A full-time peace officer is one who works on average at least 32 hours per week and "is compensated by this state or a political subdivision of this state at least at the federal minimum wage" and entitled to the benefits the entity offers. A part-time peace officer is likewise defined as a person who is compensated at least at the federal minimum wage and entitled to those benefits. Applying the rule that words given a particular meaning by legislative definition are construed accordingly, the opinion read both categories as covering only compensated officers. Because the county attorney's unpaid investigators were not compensated, they fit neither definition, so section 614.122 did not require him to issue them identification cards.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2008. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

The peace-officer identification statute (Government Code sections 614.121 and 614.122) was new when this opinion issued and may have been amended since 2008. Confirm the current statutory definitions before relying on this analysis.

Who this opinion affected (as of 2008)

County and district attorneys with investigators: The opinion told them the section 614.122 ID-card mandate reached only their compensated investigators, not unpaid ones, because the statutory definitions of full-time and part-time peace officer both required compensation.

Unpaid and volunteer peace officers: The opinion concluded the statute did not entitle them to, or require their appointing entity to issue, the section 614.122 identification card, since they were not compensated.

Law enforcement agencies generally: The opinion clarified that the ID-card duty turned on the statutory compensation definitions, not simply on whether someone was a licensed, commissioned peace officer.

Common questions

Were the unpaid investigators still real peace officers?
Yes. The opinion noted investigators appointed by a county attorney are peace officers under the Code of Criminal Procedure, and these held state peace-officer licenses. The point was narrower: the ID-card statute applied only to compensated officers.

Why did compensation decide the question?
The opinion explained that the Legislature defined both "full-time" and "part-time" peace officer to include being compensated at least at the federal minimum wage and entitled to employee benefits. Those definitions controlled how section 614.122 applied.

Could a county still choose to issue ID cards to volunteers?
The opinion addressed only what section 614.122 required, concluding it did not require cards for unpaid investigators. It did not analyze whether an entity could issue cards voluntarily under other authority.

Background and statutory framework

A prosecuting attorney, including a county attorney, may employ investigators and other personnel needed to run the office (Tex. Gov't Code Ann. §§ 41.101, 41.102, 41.109), and investigators appointed by a county attorney are peace officers (Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 2.12(5)). Peace-officer licensing is governed by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education (Tex. Occ. Code Ann. ch. 1701). House Bill 3613 added subchapter H to Government Code chapter 614 (Act of May 27, 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., ch. 938, 2007 Tex. Gen. Laws 3237).

Section 614.122(a) requires the entity that appoints or employs a peace officer to issue an identification card to its full-time or part-time peace officers (Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 614.122(a)). The definitions in section 614.121 make compensation part of both categories: a full-time peace officer works on average at least 32 hours per week and is compensated at least at the federal minimum wage with benefits (id. § 614.121(1)), and a part-time peace officer is likewise compensated at least at the federal minimum wage with benefits (id. § 614.121(3)(B)). Courts construe statutes to give effect to the Legislature's intent as expressed in the text (State v. Shumake, 199 S.W.3d 279, 284 (Tex. 2006)), and words given a particular meaning by legislative definition are construed accordingly (Tex. Gov't Code Ann. § 311.011(b)).

Citations

Statutes:

• Tex. Gov't Code Ann. §§ 614.122(a), 614.121(1), 614.121(3)(B) (Vernon Supp. 2007)
• Tex. Gov't Code Ann. §§ 41.101 (Vernon 2004); 41.102, 41.109 (Vernon Supp. 2007); 311.011(b) (Vernon 2005)
• Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 2.12(5) (Vernon Supp. 2007)
• Tex. Occ. Code Ann. ch. 1701 (Vernon 2004 & Supp. 2007)
• Act of May 27, 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., ch. 938, 2007 Tex. Gen. Laws 3237 (House Bill 3613)

Cases:

• State v. Shumake, 199 S.W.3d 279, 284 (Tex. 2006)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/greg-abbott/ga-0619
• Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/2008/ga0619.pdf

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from the official PDF. Minor extraction artifacts may remain - the linked PDF is authoritative.

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS

GREG ABBOTT

April 24, 2008

The Honorable James M. Kuboviak
Brazos County Attorney
Brazos County Courthouse
300 East 26th Street, Suite 325
Bryan, Texas 77803-5327

Opinion No. GA-0619

Re: Whether Government Code section 614.122 requires a county attorney to issue identification cards to unpaid investigators of his office (RQ-0641-GA)

Dear Mr. Kuboviak:

As Brazos County Attorney, you have appointed investigators to assist you in your duties, including unpaid part-time investigators.[1] See TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 41.102 (Vernon Supp. 2007) (prosecuting attorney may employ investigators and other personnel required for operation of his office); see also id. § 41.101 (Vernon 2004) (a county attorney is a prosecuting attorney). You ask whether you are required to issue an identification card described by Texas Government Code section 614.122 to peace officers who serve as unpaid investigators. See Request Letter, supra note 1, at 1. Section 614.122 is found in Government Code chapter 614, subchapter H, which was adopted by House Bill 3613 of the Eightieth Legislature. See Act of May 27, 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., ch. 938, 2007 Tex. Gen. Laws 3237, 3238.[2]

Investigators appointed by a county attorney are peace officers. TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 2.12(5) (Vernon Supp. 2007); see also TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. §§ 41.101 ("prosecuting attorney" includes a county attorney), 41.109 (Vernon Supp. 2007) (authority of investigator appointed by prosecuting attorney). You state that each investigator holds a peace officer license issued by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education and that you have commissioned each of them. See Brief, supra note 1, at 1; see also TEX. OCC. CODE ANN. ch. 1701 (law establishing and governing Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education) (Vernon 2004 & Supp. 2007). Included among your investigators are part-time unpaid peace officers. See Brief, supra note 1, at 1.

We consider whether you must issue an identification card to the unpaid part-time investigators. Section 614.122(a) provides that "[t]he law enforcement agency or other governmental entity that appoints or employs a peace officer shall issue an identification card to its full-time or part-time peace officers." TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 614.122(a) (Vernon Supp. 2007). Definitions are found in section 614.121, which provides that

"Full-time peace officer" means a person elected, employed, or appointed as a peace officer under Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, or other law, who:

(A) works as a peace officer on average at least 32 hours per week, exclusive of paid vacation; and

(B) is compensated by this state or a political subdivision of this state at least at the federal minimum wage and is entitled to all employee benefits offered to a peace officer by the state or political subdivision.

Id. § 614.121(1) (emphasis added). A part-time peace officer, like a full-time peace officer, is a person who "is compensated by this state or a political subdivision of this state at least at the federal minimum wage" and is also entitled to all employee benefits that the state or political subdivision offers to a police officer. Id. § 614.121(3)(B) (emphasis added).

In construing statutes, a court ascertains and gives effect to the Legislature's intent as expressed by the language of the statute. See State v. Shumake, 199 S.W.3d 279, 284 (Tex. 2006). If words and phrases have acquired a particular meaning by legislative definition, they will be construed accordingly. See TEX. GOV'T CODE ANN. § 311.011(b) (Vernon 2005). For purposes of section 614.122, the Legislature has defined "full-time" and "part-time" peace officers as compensated persons. Accordingly, section 614.122 does not require the Brazos County Attorney to issue an identification card to its investigators who are unpaid peace officers.

SUMMARY

Government Code section 614.122 requires a law enforcement agency or other governmental entity that appoints or employs a peace officer to issue an identification card to its full-time and part-time peace officers. Investigators appointed by the county attorney are peace officers. Full-time and part-time peace officers are defined as compensated peace officers for purposes of this provision. Section 614.122 does not require the Brazos County Attorney to issue identification cards to uncompensated investigators that he has appointed.

KENT C. SULLIVAN
First Assistant Attorney General

ANDREW WEBER
Deputy Attorney General for Legal Counsel

NANCY S. FULLER
Chair, Opinion Committee

Susan L. Garrison
Assistant Attorney General, Opinion Committee

Footnotes

[1] See Brief attached to letter from Honorable James M. Kuboviak, Brazos County Attorney, to Honorable Greg Abbott, Attorney General of Texas, at 1 (Oct. 18, 2007) (on file with the Opinion Committee, also available at http://www.oag.state.tx.us) [hereinafter respectively Brief and Request Letter].

[2] The Eightieth Legislature adopted other provisions codified as Government Code, chapter 614, subchapter H. See Act of May 28, 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., ch. 1159, § 13, 2007 Tex. Gen. Laws 3962, 3968-69 (standards for certain state law enforcement officers); Act of May 24, 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., ch. 1187, § 3, 2007 Tex. Gen. Laws 4051, 4051-52 (identification cards for certain retired peace officers); Act of May 23, 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., ch. 1215, § 1, 2007 Tex. Gen. Laws 4102, 4102-03 (fire department listing); Act of May 27, 2007, 80th Leg., R.S., ch. 1248, § 2, 2007 Tex. Gen. Laws 4194, 4194-95 (insurance coverage required for volunteer police force members).