February 8, 1988

P. HonorableRay Farabee

Chairman StateAffairs Committee Texas State Senate Opinion No.
Re: Whether than 10,000 m-854

a city of more inhabitants is

. P. 0. Box 12068 required to grant a minimum Austin, Texas 78711 30-minute meal break to police officers (RQ-1231)
Dear Senator Farabee:
You askwhether a city having a population in excess of 10,000 is required to give itspolice officers at least a thirtyminutemeal break during their work period. Your question ispromptedby language found in House Bill No. 2250, enacted during the regular session of the 70th Legislature (Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 933, at 6272). House BillNo. 2250 amended article 1269p,V.T.C.S. This articlewas also repealed and recodifiedduring the same legislative session as section 142.001 of the Local Government Code. Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 149, at 1397, 1721 and.2545. The repeal of a statute in a recodification does not affect an amendmentto that statute by the same legislature. See Gov't Code 9311.031(c). Therefore, any language found in House Bill No. 2250 that is inconsistentwith or in addition to language in the recodificationwill be preserved and given effect. Both House Bill No. 2250 and section 142.001 of the Local Government Code relate to the hours of labor of firefighters and police officers in cities with a population in excess of 10,000 inhabitants. The statutes provide details for determining the number of hours to be worked and the rate of pay for certain employees. Subsections (j)and (k)of section 142.001 (formerlysection 6A of article 1269p)provide: (1) the maximum number of hours that a police officermay be required to work during a calendar week: and (2) the officer's entitlement to compensatory pay or compensatory leave for overtime worked.
In House Bill No. 2250, the legislature specified the time to be taken into account in determining an officer's

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compensation. Section 2 of the bill amended section 6A of article 1269p,V.T.C.S., by adding the following language:

Compensablehours of work includes all of the time duringwhich a policeman is on duty on the city's premises or at a prescribed workplace, as well as all other time during which the policeman is suffered or permitted to work for the city. Such time includes all preshift activities and postshift activitieswhich are an integralpart of the policeman'sprincipal activity or which are closely related to the performance of the principal activity. Time saent awav from the citv's nremises under condrtions that are so circumscribedthat thev restrict the policeman from effectivelvusina the time for nersonal oursuits also constituteshours of work. Bona fide meal neriods are not yorktime. Bona fide meal neriods do not include coffee breaks or time for snacks. : ol'c m e elieved from dutv fo: the nurooses of eatina reaular meals. Ordinarilv 30 minutes or more is lona enouah for a bona fide meal neriod. A shorterneriod mav be lona enouah under snecial conditions. The ooliceman is not relieved ifhe is recuired to nerform any duties. whether active or inactive, while eating. (Emphasisadded.)1 The purpose of the reference to meal periods is unambiguous; if the period is not to be considered as compensableworktime, then the officermust be relieved of all official duties, and the period must generallymeet or exceed thirty minutes. In providing the thirty minute guideline, the legislature isproviding a guide to cities to distinguish between compensable and noncompensable time. As we read the above-quoted language, there is no requirement for a city to provide a thirtyminute meal break. There is a requirementthat a city include meal

1. This section does not apply to a city with a population in excess of 1.5million inhabitants. Section 4 of House BillNo. 2250 added section 6E to article 1269p to establish the hours for police officers in those cities. ?,

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breaks of less than thirtyminutes in its calculation of an officer'spay. An exception isprovided for special conditions. Also, the languagerequires any meal period, regardless of duration, to be considered worktime unless the police officer is fully relieved of his duties for the purpose of eating a regularmeal.
We note that article 5154c-1,V.T.C.S. (theFire and Police EmployeeRelations Act),may be relevant to your inquiry. This statute authorizes collective bargaining for firefightersand police officers in cities, towns, and other political subdivisionswhich adopt the provisions of the statute. "Wages,hours,working conditions and all other terms and conditions of employmentt' are negotiationunder this statute. subject to Sec. 5(a).
SUMMARY
House BillNo. 2250 does not require a citywith a population in excess of 10,000 inhabitantsto provide itspolice officers a minimummeal period of thirtyminutes. If a police officer is not fully relieved of his duties for the purpose of eating a regular meal, a meal period is considered compensablework time.

WARY KELLER FirstAssistantAttorney General
LOUMCCREARY ExecutiveAssistantAttorney General
JUDGE ZOLLIE STEAEIEY SpecialAssistantAttorney General
RICK GILPIN Chairman,Opinion Committee Preparedby Karen C. Gladney AssistantAttorney General

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