H.B. No. 1828 introduces a new provision to the Government Code, specifically Section 493.0075, which establishes a legislative leave pool for correctional officers employed by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. This section allows correctional officers to voluntarily donate up to eight hours of their accrued compensatory time or annual leave each year to this pool. The executive director of the department or their designee will manage the pool, ensuring that contributions are credited and deducted appropriately from the officers' leave balances. The board is tasked with adopting rules and procedures for the operation of this leave pool.

Additionally, correctional officers can utilize the time from the legislative leave pool for legislative purposes on behalf of an association that meets specific criteria, including having at least 5,000 active or retired members and being governed by a board of directors. Officers may withdraw time from the pool with the consent of the association's president and are limited to a maximum of 80 hours in a 160-hour work cycle and 480 hours in a fiscal year. The act is set to take effect on September 1, 2025.

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