Our office has been receiving calls from the field about the prevalent use of constables being paid to escort oversize or heavy loads. Most times, the constables are not in their home counties. The field Troopers have been getting complaints about the way that these escorts are using the authority in Chapter 546, Transportation Code, to stop traffic so these loads can go through red lights, etc. Has this been an issue in your jurisdiction. The question has been raised whether constables working for someone other than their county and working outside their jurisdiction have the right to rely on the authority in Chapter 546. Thoughts??

I would be interested in anything you have on this - am working on a paper / talk for the state bar and it could work in. Thanks

I tend to think that the authority conveyed under chapter 546 is generally limited to the officer's geographic jurisdiction, particularly since the statute pertaining to police escorts does not contain language expressly making that authority statewide. In contrast, a constable's geographic jurisdiction to perform a specific statutory act like one under chapter 546 would seem to be regulated by Local Government Code section 86.021(c), which provides:

A constable expressly authorized by statute to perform an act or service, including the service of civil or criminal process, citation, notice, warrant, subpoena, or writ, may perform the act or service anywhere in the county in which the constable's precinct is located.

Ultimately, then, I think constables can provide oversized escort services in their own county. If they venture outside their geographic jurisdiction, though, I would conclude they lose the protection of chapter 546.