According to the Legislative Budget Board (LBB), no fiscal implications to the State are anticipated from the implementation of HB 2363. This means the expanded authority for certain peace officers to conduct warrantless arrests outside their jurisdiction would not result in any additional costs or savings for state agencies or the state budget overall.

For local governments, the LBB also determined that no significant fiscal implication is anticipated. Although the bill gives more operational latitude to school district peace officers, it does not impose any new mandates requiring local expenditures or substantial new duties that would create a financial burden for municipalities or school districts. The exercise of the new authority would presumably occur within the normal course of law enforcement duties and budgets.

Overall, the fiscal analysis indicates that HB 2363 is a procedural change in law enforcement authority without a meaningful budgetary impact at either the state or local level.

HB 2363 seeks to expand the authority of peace officers commissioned by water control and improvement districts to make warrantless arrests outside their jurisdiction when an offense occurs in their presence. While the bill is intended to address real operational challenges for these officers and improve law enforcement continuity across jurisdictional boundaries, it substantially expands government power without sufficient built-in protections for individual liberty. By allowing officers to act outside their traditional jurisdiction, the legislation enlarges the scope of governmental authority, even if the expansion is geographically limited to larger counties.

Although the Legislative Budget Board notes that there is no anticipated fiscal impact on taxpayers​and no new regulatory burden is imposed on individuals or businesses, the core concern centers on liberty principles. Specifically, the unchecked extension of policing authority across boundaries risks infringing upon private property rights, individual liberty, and limited government — key tenets that should guide public safety policy. Without amendments adding procedural safeguards, such as requiring coordination with local law enforcement, limiting arrest powers to serious offenses, and mandating reporting of all out-of-jurisdiction arrests, the legislation remains misaligned with these principles.

Accordingly, Texas Policy Research recommends that lawmakers vote NO on HB 2363 unless amended as described above to restore balance by limiting the scope of these expanded powers and ensuring greater accountability.

• Individual Liberty: The bill allows peace officers commissioned by water districts to make warrantless arrests outside their jurisdiction for offenses committed in their presence. While intended to close enforcement gaps, expanding the power to arrest outside traditional boundaries risks infringing on personal freedom, particularly without clear limitations or requirements for coordination with local authorities. Individuals could face interactions with officers they would not reasonably expect to have authority in a given area.
• Personal Responsibility: The bill does not directly affect personal responsibility. It neither imposes new requirements on individuals to govern their behavior nor removes personal accountability for unlawful actions. It is focused entirely on procedural law enforcement authority.
• Free Enterprise: The bill does not regulate businesses, markets, or commercial activities. It pertains solely to law enforcement's arrest powers and does not interfere with private enterprise, commerce, or contracts.
• Private Property Rights: Granting officers expanded jurisdiction raises concerns that private property could be subjected to searches, stops, or arrests by officers outside of the locally authorized agencies. Although the authority is limited to observing offenses in the officer’s view, the expansion outside traditional jurisdiction still introduces a risk of government intrusion onto private property without the traditional local oversight.
• Limited Government: At its core, this bill expands government power geographically, allowing law enforcement officials to act beyond their normal jurisdictions without new, corresponding checks. Although the practical use of this authority may be rare, philosophically, it enlarges government power without imposing proportionate new accountability measures. Thus, it moves away from the principle of strictly limited and locally controlled government authority.

• SB 1600 (Same As)