HB1828

HB1828 creates a shared legislative-leave pool for correctional officers employed by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). An officer may voluntarily donate up to eight hours a year of earned compensatory time or annual leave. The donated hours are deducted from that officer’s balance as though used for personal purposes; this is a transfer of earned time, not an extra eight-hour award. Final law, Section 1.

An officer can use the pool for legislative leave on behalf of an association related to the officer’s TDCJ employment that has at least 5,000 active or retired members and is governed by a board of directors. Withdrawals require coordination with and consent from the association’s president or designee. The limits are 80 hours in a 160-hour work cycle and 480 hours in a fiscal year. These are withdrawal ceilings, not guaranteed balances or permission to use the time for any personal purpose. Final law.

TDCJ’s executive director or designee administers the pool and transfers credited time to participating officers. The Texas Board of Criminal Justice must adopt operating rules and procedures, and officers must follow those rules. The law covers TDCJ correctional officers—not every state employee or local jail employee—and does not require anyone to donate. It took effect September 1, 2025. Government Code 493.0075; final law, Sections 1–2.