Relating to legislative leave for correctional officers employed by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
LowStandard timeline
Low Cost
Effective:2025-09-01
Enforcing Agencies
Texas Department of Criminal Justice • Texas Board of Criminal Justice
01
Compliance Analysis
Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation
Implementation Timeline
Effective Date: September 1, 2025
Compliance Deadline: September 1, 2025 (Payroll systems and authorization workflows must be active).
Agency Rulemaking: The Texas Board of Criminal Justice (TBCJ) is statutorily required to adopt rules and procedures *prior* to the effective date. Stakeholders must monitor the Texas Register between May and August 2025 for these operational definitions.
Immediate Action Plan
1.Audit Membership Rolls: Employee Associations must verify they meet the 5,000-member statutory threshold immediately to ensure eligibility by September 2025.
2.Draft Authorization Protocols: Associations must establish a workflow for the President to review and sign off on leave requests within the 160-hour work cycle window.
3.Engage in Rulemaking: Submit comments to the TBCJ regarding the definition of "legislative leave" to ensure it covers necessary travel and preparation time.
4.Update Payroll Codes: TDCJ payroll administrators must configure systems to enforce the hard caps: 80 hours per cycle and 480 hours per fiscal year per employee.
Operational Changes Required
Contracts
Association Bylaws: Qualifying Employee Associations must amend bylaws or operational handbooks to explicitly designate the President (or a specific written designee) as the sole authority for approving leave withdrawals.
Private Vendor Agreements: While this law applies to state employees, private prison operators should review Master Service Agreements (MSAs). If "parity of benefits" clauses exist, vendors may be contractually obligated to offer a similar leave mechanism.
Hiring/Training
Payroll/HR Training: TDCJ HR staff must be trained on two new transaction codes: (1) Donation of time (deduction from individual, credit to pool) and (2) Withdrawal of pool time (legislative leave status).
Association Leadership: Officers designated to use the pool must be trained on permissible "legislative activities" to avoid fraud or misuse of funds allegations.
Reporting & Record-Keeping
Donation Forms: A standardized, auditable form must be created for officers to voluntarily transfer up to 8 hours of compensatory or annual leave.
Consent Documentation: Employee Associations must maintain a written log of "coordination and consent" for every hour withdrawn. This serves as the primary defense against absenteeism claims.
Membership Validation: Associations must maintain auditable records proving a membership threshold of at least 5,000 active or retired officers to qualify for this privilege.
Fees & Costs
Budget Neutrality: The law is designed to be cost-neutral to the State, as leave is donated rather than granted additionally.
Administrative Costs: Associations will absorb the administrative overhead of managing leave requests and coordinating with TDCJ payroll.
Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations
Definition of "Legislative Leave": The statute does not strictly define the scope of "legislative purposes." Rulemaking must clarify if this includes travel time, constituent meetings, or strictly Capitol business.
Workers' Compensation Liability: It is currently unclear whether an officer injured while on "Legislative Leave" is covered by the State’s workers' compensation policy or the Association’s general liability insurance.
Fiscal Year Definition: The cap of 480 hours is per "fiscal year." Unless rulemaking specifies the Association's fiscal year, assume this refers to the State Fiscal Year (Sept 1 – Aug 31).
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Information presented is for general knowledge only and is provided without warranty, express or implied. Consult qualified government affairs professionals and legal counsel before making compliance decisions.
The bill author has informed the committee that, while state troopers and game wardens in Texas are currently allowed to voluntarily transfer up to eight hours of personal leave per year to a pool for use for legislative purposes, correctional officers employed by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) could also benefit from having this opportunity available to them. H.B. 1828 seeks to address this issue by requiring the TDCJ executive director to allow a TDCJ correctional officer to voluntarily transfer to a legislative leave pool up to eight hours of compensatory time or annual leave per year earned by the correctional officer and entitling a TDCJ correctional officer to use time contributed to the leave pool if the time is used for legislative leave.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Board of Criminal Justice in SECTION 1 of this bill.
ANALYSIS
H.B. 1828 amends the Government Code to require the executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to allow a TDCJ correctional officer to voluntarily transfer to a legislative leave pool up to eight hours of compensatory time or annual leave per year earned by the officer. The bill requires the executive director or the executive director's designee to administer the legislative leave pool and to credit the leave pool with the amount of time contributed by such a correctional officer and deduct a corresponding amount of time from the officer's earned compensatory time or annual leave as if the officer had used the time for personal purposes. The bill requires the Texas Board of Criminal Justice (TBCJ) to adopt rules and prescribe procedures relating to the operation of the leave pool.
H.B. 1828 entitles a TDCJ correctional officer to use time contributed to the leave pool if the time is used for legislative leave on behalf of an association that meets the following criteria:
·is related to the correctional officer's employment with TDCJ;
·has at least 5,000 active or retired members; and
·is governed by a board of directors.
The bill requires the TDCJ executive director or their designee to transfer time from the leave pool to the officer and credit the time to the officer. The bill requires a TDCJ correctional officer's withdrawal of time from the leave pool to be in coordination with and with the consent of the president or designee of the association and caps the amount of time that may be drawn from the pool by a correctional officer as follows:
·80 hours in a 160-hour work cycle; and
·480 hours in a fiscal year.
The bill requires a correctional officer to use time from the leave pool in accordance with TBCJ rules.
HB1828 mandates the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to establish a "Legislative Leave Pool," allowing correctional officers to voluntarily donate accrued leave for use by designated colleagues conducting business for qualifying employee associations. This creates immediate payroll configuration requirements for the TDCJ and necessitates new governance and authorization protocols for Employee Associations representing over 5,000 officers. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: September 1, 2025 Compliance Deadline: September 1, 2025 (Payroll systems and authorization workflows must be active).
Q
Who authored HB1828?
HB1828 was authored by Texas Representative Angelia Orr during the Regular Session.
Q
When was HB1828 signed into law?
HB1828 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.
Q
Which agencies enforce HB1828?
HB1828 is enforced by Texas Department of Criminal Justice and Texas Board of Criminal Justice.
Q
How urgent is compliance with HB1828?
The compliance urgency for HB1828 is rated as "low". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.
Q
What is the cost impact of HB1828?
The cost impact of HB1828 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.
Q
What topics does HB1828 address?
HB1828 addresses topics including corrections, corrections--jails & prisons, state agencies, boards & commissions, compensatory time and criminal justice, texas board of.
Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025
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