OTHER CONSIDERATIONS - OPINIONS FOR 2002-2003
The following is based on a legal opinion. Because the exemptions have not been updated since 1965, most states now include the following exemptions because of the technological and career advances in the last 35+ years:
(a) Except as provided by this section, this chapter does not apply to an officer or employee of the United States, this state, or a political subdivision of this state while the employee or officer is performing official duties.
(b) The provisions of this chapter relating to security officer commissions apply to a person employed by a political subdivision whose duties include serving as a security guard, security watchman, or security patrolman on property owned or operated by the political subdivision if the governing body of the political subdivision files a written request with the commission for the commission to issue a commission to the political subdivision's employees with those duties.
(c) The commission may not charge a fee for issuing a commission to an officer under Subsection (b). The commission shall issue to the officer a pocket card designating the political subdivision that employs the officer.
(d) The commission expires at the time the officer's employment as a security officer by the political subdivision is terminated.
(e) The commission may approve a security officer training program conducted by the political subdivision in accordance with Sections 1702.1675 and 1702.168.
This statute does not apply to:
(1) a person who has full-time employment as a peace officer and who receives compensation for private employment on an individual or an independent contractor basis as a patrolman, guard, extra job coordinator, or watchman if the officer:
(A) is employed in an employee-employer relationship or employed on an individual contractual basis;
(B) is not in the employ of another peace officer;
(C) is not a reserve peace officer; and
(D) works as a peace officer on the average of at least 32 hours a week, is compensated by the state or a political subdivision of the state at least at the minimum wage, and is entitled to all employee benefits offered to a peace officer by the state or political subdivision;
This statute does not apply to:
(2) a reserve peace officer while the reserve officer is performing guard, patrolman, or watchman duties for a county and is being compensated solely by that county;
(3) a peace officer acting in an official capacity in responding to a burglar alarm or detection device; or
(4) a person engaged in the business of electronic monitoring of an individual as a condition of that individual's community supervision, parole, mandatory supervision, or release on bail, if the person does not perform any other service that requires a license under this chapter.
This statute does not apply to:
(a) Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (d), this chapter does not apply to an individual employed in an employee-employer relationship exclusively and regularly by one employer in connection with the affairs of the employer.
(b) An individual described by Subsection (a) who carries a firearm in the course of employment must obtain a private security officer commission under this chapter.
(c) Although the security department of a private business that hires or employs an individual as a private security officer to possess a firearm in the course and scope of the individual's duties is required to apply for a security officer commission for the individual under this chapter, the security department of a private business is not required to apply to the commission for any license under this chapter.
(d) This chapter applies to an individual described by Subsection (a) who:
(1) works at a location that is open to the public; and
(2) in the course of employment:
(A) regularly comes into contact with the public; and
(B) wears a uniform with any type of badge commonly associated with security personnel or law enforcement or a patch or apparel with "security" or the name of the employer on the patch or apparel.
(a) For the purposes of this section, "landman" means an individual who, in the course and scope of the individual's business:
(1) acquires or manages petroleum or mineral interests; or
(2) performs title or contract functions related to the exploration, exploitation, or disposition of petroleum or mineral interests.
(b) This chapter does not apply to:
(1) a manufacturer or a manufacturer's authorized distributor who sells equipment to a license holder that is used in the operations for which the person is required to be licensed;
(2) a person engaged exclusively in the business of obtaining and providing information to:
(A) determine creditworthiness;
(B) collect debts; or
(C) ascertain the reliability of information provided by an applicant for property, life, or disability insurance or an indemnity or surety bond;
This statute does not apply to:
(3) a person engaged exclusively in the business of repossessing property that is secured by a mortgage or other security interest;
(4) a locksmith who:
(A) does not install or service detection devices;
(B) does not conduct investigations; and
(C) is not a security services contractor;
(5) a person who:
(A) is engaged in the business of psychological testing or other testing and interviewing services, including services to determine attitudes, honesty, intelligence, personality, and skills, for preemployment purposes; and
(B) does not perform any other service that requires a license under this chapter;
This statute does not apply to:
(6) a person who:
(A) is engaged in obtaining information that is a public record under Chapter 552, Government Code, regardless of whether the person receives compensation;
(B) is not a full-time employee, as defined by Section 61.001, Labor Code, of a person licensed under this chapter; and
(C) does not perform any other act that requires a license under this chapter;
This statute does not apply to:
(7) a licensed professional engineer practicing engineering or directly supervising engineering practice under The Texas Engineering Practice Act (Article 3271a, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), including forensic analysis, burglar alarm system engineering, and necessary data collection;
(8) an employee of a cattle association who inspects livestock brands under the authority granted to the cattle association by the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration of the United States Department of Agriculture;
(9) a landman performing activities in the course and scope of the landman's business;
(10) an attorney while engaged in the practice of law;
(11) a person who obtains a document for use in litigation under an authorization or subpoena issued for a written or oral deposition;
(12) an admitted insurer, insurance adjuster, agent, or insurance broker licensed by the state, performing duties in connection with insurance transacted by that person.
This statute does not apply to:
(1) a common carrier by rail engaged in interstate commerce, regulated by state and federal authorities, and transporting commodities essential to the national defense and to the general welfare and safety of the community; or
(2) an officer, employee, or agent of a common carrier, as defined by Section 153 of the federal Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. Section 153), and its subsequent amendments, while protecting the carrier or a user of the carrier's long-distance services from a fraudulent, unlawful, or abusive use of those long-distance services.
(a) This chapter does not apply to an entity that:
(1) provides medical alert services for persons who are sick or disabled;
(2) does not provide any other service that requires a license under this chapter; and
(3) is:
(A) a hospital or a wholly owned subsidiary or an affiliate of a hospital licensed under Chapter 241, Health and Safety Code; or
(B) a charitable or a nonprofit entity that provides the services in the manner required by Subsection (b) and that is exempt from the payment of federal income taxes under Section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and its subsequent amendments by being listed as an exempt entity under Section 501(c)(3) of that code.
(C) A charitable or nonprofit entity that provides medical alert services must provide those services through a licensed person, licensed nurse, licensed physician assistant or by a hospital, subsidiary, or affiliate described by Subsection (a)(3)(A).
This statute does not apply to:
(1) a nonprofit business or civic organization that:
(A) employs a peace officer who meets the qualifications of as a patrolman, guard, or watchman;
(B) provides the services of the peace officer only to:
(i) the organization's members; or
(ii) if the organization does not have members, the members of the communities served by the organization as described in the organization's articles of incorporation or other organizational documents;
(C) devotes the net receipts from all charges for the services exclusively to the cost of providing the services or to the costs of other services for the enhancement of the security or safety of:
(i) the organization's members; or
(ii) if the organization does not have members, the members of the communities served by the organization as described in the organization's articles of incorporation or other organizational documents; and
(D) does not perform any other service that requires a license under this chapter; or
This statute does not apply to:
(2) a charitable, nonprofit organization that maintains a system of records to aid in the location of missing children and that:
(A) is exempt from the payment of federal income taxes under Section 501(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and its subsequent amendments by being listed as an exempt entity under Section 501(c)(3) of that code;
(B) exclusively provides services related to locating missing children; and
(C) does not perform any other service that requires a license under this chapter.
This statute does not apply to:
(1) a person who owns and installs a burglar detection or alarm device on the person's own property or, if the person does not charge for the device or the installation, installs the device for the protection of the person's personal property located on another person's property and does not, as a normal business practice, install the devices on the property of another;
(2) a person in the business of building construction that installs electrical wiring and devices that may include in part the installation of a burglar alarm or detection device if:
(A) the person is a party to a contract that provides that:
(i) the installation will be performed under the direct supervision of, and inspected and certified by, a person licensed to install and certify the alarm or detection device; and
(ii) the license holder assumes full responsibility for the installation of the alarm or detection device; and
(B) the person does not service or maintain burglar alarms or detection devices;
(3) a person who sells or installs automobile burglar alarm devices and who does not perform any other act that requires a license under this chapter; or
(4) a person who sells exclusively over the counter or by mail order burglar alarm signal devices, burglary alarms, television cameras, still cameras, or other electrical, mechanical, or electronic devices used for preventing or detecting burglary, theft, or other losses.
This statute does not apply to:
(1) a person whose activities are regulated under Article 5.43-2, Insurance Code, except to the extent those activities are specifically regulated under this chapter; or
(2) a person who holds a license or other credential issued by a municipality to practice as an electrician and who installs fire or smoke detectors only in single-family or multifamily residences.
This statute does not apply to:
(1) a person who is employed full-time by and is commissioned as a campus security personnel employee by a private institution of higher education under Section 51.212, Education Code; or
(2) a peace officer commissioned by an incorporated municipality who is hired under Section 51.212, Education Code, on a regular basis by a private institution of higher education while that peace officer is operating within the scope of the peace officer's employment with the institution of higher education.