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Committee adopts bill allowing additional chief deputies, clarifies conservators' authority and firearms rules for county conservators
Summary
A committee substitute for Senate Bill 503 that permits sheriffs to appoint additional chief deputies (subject to county-commission approval), aligns political-activity restrictions for chief deputies with other deputies, and removes certain restrictions on county conservators carrying firearms was adopted and sent to the full Senate.
A Senate committee adopted a committee substitute for Senate Bill 503 and voted to report it to the full Senate with a recommendation for passage.
The substitute expands authority for sheriffs and county commissions to create an additional chief-deputy position in a sheriff's office (the sheriff may request and the county commission may approve). It also aligns political-activity restrictions for chief deputies with restrictions that apply to other deputies and removes the statutory restriction that prevented county conservators from carrying firearms while allowing them to carry in compliance with state law.
Why it matters: Supporters said the change would let sheriffs split supervisory duties across two chief deputies to improve supervision and operations in offices with…
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