bill requiring opioid overdose training for peace officers

The text as introduced · 333 words

By: Bowers
H.B. No. 5591

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to opioid overdose training for peace officers.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 1701.253, Occupations Code, is amended

by adding Subsection (u) to read as follows:

(u) As part of the minimum curriculum requirements, the

commission shall require an officer to complete the training

program established under Section 1701.273.

SECTION 2. Subchapter F, Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, is

amended by adding Section 1701.273 to read as follows:

Sec. 1701.273. TRAINING PROGRAM ON OPIOID OVERDOSES. The

commission by rule shall establish and maintain a training program

on opioid overdoses. The program must include instruction on:

(1) recognizing the signs and symptoms of an opioid

overdose; and

(2) administering all types of opioid antagonists,

including injectable and nasal opioid antagonists.

SECTION 3. Subchapter H, Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, is

amended by adding Section 1701.3526 to read as follows:

Sec. 1701.3526. CONTINUING EDUCATION ON OPIOID OVERDOSES.

As part of the continuing education programs under Section

1701.351(a), an officer shall complete the training program on

opioid overdoses established under Section 1701.273.

SECTION 4. As soon as practicable after the effective date

of this Act, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement shall adopt

rules to implement the changes in law made by this Act.

SECTION 5. The minimum curriculum requirements under

Section 1701.253(u), Occupations Code, as added by this Act, apply

only to an officer who first begins to satisfy those requirements on

or after January 1, 2026.

SECTION 6. Section 1701.3526, Occupations Code, as added by

this Act, applies only with respect to a 24-month continuing

education training unit that begins on or after the effective date

of this Act. A training unit that begins before the effective date

of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the training

unit began, and the former law is continued in effect for that

purpose.

SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.