81R3045 SLB-F
By: Williams S.B. No. 2196
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the employment of peace officers by certain law
enforcement agencies.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 614, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter L to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER L. PEACE OFFICER EMPLOYMENT MATTERS
Sec. 614.201. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Chief administrator" means the highest position
in a law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction and control over
the performance of a peace officer's official duties.
(2) "Command staff" means a position in the first two
ranks immediately below the chief administrator or chief law
enforcement officer of a law enforcement agency, but only if those
ranks are responsible for supervising first-line supervisors
within the agency.
(3) "Law enforcement agency" means a state agency or
political subdivision of this state that appoints or employs a
peace officer as defined by Article 2.12, Code of Criminal
Procedure, or other law.
(4) "Peace officer" means a person elected, employed,
or appointed as a peace officer under Article 2.12, Code of Criminal
Procedure, or other law.
Sec. 614.202. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter applies to
any law enforcement agency that appoints or employs peace officers
who are not currently covered by:
(1) a meet and confer agreement under Chapter 142,
143, or 147, Local Government Code, or other law; or
(2) a collective bargaining agreement under Chapter
174, Local Government Code.
Sec. 614.203. CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS ON COMMISSIONING OF
PEACE OFFICERS. (a) A law enforcement agency that commissions a
peace officer shall include in the peace officer's personnel file a
copy of the oath taken by the peace officer on receiving the
commission, including an acknowledgment of the duties of a peace
officer.
(b) The oath must be signed by the peace officer and the law
enforcement agency's chief administrator.
Sec. 614.204. SUPERVISION OF PEACE OFFICERS. A peace
officer of a law enforcement agency who is not an elected
officeholder or the chief administrator of the agency must be
supervised by a person who is:
(1) licensed under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code; and
(2) commissioned as a full-time peace officer.
Sec. 614.205. APPOINTMENT OF COMMAND STAFF. (a) A chief
administrator or the elected head of a law enforcement agency may
appoint only the number of command staff personnel necessary to
successfully administer the agency. New command staff positions
must be approved by the law enforcement agency's governing body.
(b) Command staff personnel serve at the pleasure of the
chief administrator of the law enforcement agency and may be
removed without cause. A command staff officer who previously
served at a lower rank in the law enforcement agency may be demoted
without cause only to the lower rank held previously by that
officer.
Sec. 614.206. REQUIRED POLICIES. A law enforcement agency
must establish and publish written policies in the following areas:
(1) use of force;
(2) procedures for arrest, search, and seizure;
(3) racial profiling;
(4) training;
(5) detention;
(6) evidence collection;
(7) investigation of alleged crimes;
(8) hiring;
(9) promotion; and
(10) disciplinary procedure.
Sec. 614.207. POLICY REGARDING HIRING OF PEACE OFFICERS. A
hiring policy established by a law enforcement agency under Section
614.206(8) must:
(1) establish an objective hiring procedure that:
(A) rewards experience, education, and public
service;
(B) ensures that an applicant can read and write;
(C) requires a background check on each applicant
to determine the applicant's qualification for licensure,
including requiring that an applicant be of high moral character;
and
(D) includes an objective ranking system
designed to identify the most qualified candidate for each
position;
(2) identify objective criteria for testing and
hiring, including an explanation of any scoring mechanism used to
rank applicants on any required examinations; and
(3) require any applicant for a position higher than
an entry-level position to meet the minimum standards for promotion
to that position as if the applicant were a member of the law
enforcement agency when the position became open.
Sec. 614.208. POLICY REGARDING PROMOTION OF PEACE OFFICERS.
(a) A promotion policy established by a law enforcement agency
under Section 614.206(9) must:
(1) outline an objective promotion procedure that
rewards experience, education, and public service;
(2) outline the rank structure of the agency,
including the minimum standards required for each rank;
(3) detail the methods for filling vacancies in the
agency in any rank above entry level;
(4) establish a ranking system designed to identify
the most qualified candidates for promotion; and
(5) establish a limited appeal process under which a
candidate who has been denied a promotion may appeal procedural
violations.
(b) The selection of a candidate for promotion must be based
on the ranking system established under Subsection (a)(4) unless
the law enforcement agency has a justifiable reason to deviate from
the ranking system.
Sec. 614.209. POLICY REGARDING SUSPENSION OR DEMOTION OF
PEACE OFFICERS. A disciplinary procedure policy established by a
law enforcement agency under Section 614.206(10) must:
(1) establish the procedure used to:
(A) initiate a complaint;
(B) investigate a complaint; and
(C) implement a disciplinary action for a valid
complaint;
(2) authorize the suspension or demotion of a peace
officer for:
(A) conviction of a felony or other crime
involving moral turpitude;
(B) acts of incompetency;
(C) neglect of duty;
(D) discourtesy to the public or to a fellow
peace officer while the peace officer is in the line of duty;
(E) conduct prejudicial to good order;
(F) drinking intoxicants while on duty or
intoxication while off duty;
(G) refusal or neglect to pay just debts;
(H) absence without leave;
(I) shirking duty or cowardice; and
(J) a violation of an applicable law enforcement
agency rule or special order; and
(3) provide that a peace officer who is suspended or
demoted has the right to appeal the suspension or demotion to an
independent third-party hearing examiner as described in Section
143.057, Local Government Code, except that:
(A) the hearing examiner may not recommend a
lesser penalty; and
(B) the unsuccessful party bears the cost of the
hearing, including the examiner's fees and expenses and the costs
of witnesses.
Sec. 614.210. PERSONNEL FILE. Adverse material may not be
placed in a peace officer's personnel file unless the officer has
been given an opportunity to view and respond to that material.
Sec. 614.211. LIMITATION OF POLITICAL ACTIVITY. A peace
officer may not engage in political activity while on duty, while in
uniform, or while acting in the peace officer's official capacity,
except that the peace officer may vote while in uniform.
Sec. 614.212. CIVIL REMEDIES FOR VIOLATION OF SUBCHAPTER.
(a) In this section, "complainant" means a person who claims to be
the victim of a violation of this subchapter.
(b) An action for a declaratory judgment or injunctive
relief may be brought in accordance with this section against a law
enforcement agency that violates this subchapter.
(c) The district or county attorney for the county in which
a law enforcement agency other than a state agency is located or the
attorney general may bring the action in the name of the state only
in a district court for that county. If the law enforcement
agency's jurisdiction extends into more than one county, the action
may be brought only in the county in which the administrative
offices of the law enforcement agency are located.
(d) If the law enforcement agency is a state agency, the
Travis County district attorney or the attorney general may bring
the action in the name of the state only in a district court of
Travis County.
(e) A complainant may file a complaint alleging a violation
of this subchapter. The complaint must be filed with the district
or county attorney of the county in which the law enforcement agency
is located. If the law enforcement agency's jurisdiction extends
into more than one county, the complaint must be filed with the
district or county attorney of the county in which the
administrative offices of the law enforcement agency are located.
If the law enforcement agency is a state agency, the complaint may
be filed with the Travis County district attorney. To be valid, a
complaint must:
(1) be in writing and signed by the complainant;
(2) state the name of the law enforcement agency that
allegedly committed the violation;
(3) state the time and place of the alleged commission
of the violation, as definitely as can be done by the complainant;
and
(4) describe the violation in general terms.
(f) A district or county attorney with whom the complaint is
filed shall indicate on the face of the written complaint the date
the complaint is filed.
(g) Not later than the 30th day after the date a complaint is
filed under Subsection (e), the district or county attorney shall:
(1) determine whether:
(A) the violation alleged in the complaint was
committed; and
(B) an action will be brought against the law
enforcement agency under this section; and
(2) notify the complainant in writing of the district
or county attorney's determinations under Subdivision (1).
(h) Notwithstanding Subsection (g)(1), if the district or
county attorney believes that that official has a conflict of
interest that would preclude that official from bringing an action
under this section against the law enforcement agency complained
of, before the 31st day after the date the complaint was filed the
district or county attorney shall inform the complainant of that
official's belief and of the complainant's right to file the
complaint with the attorney general. If the district or county
attorney determines not to bring an action under this section, the
district or county attorney shall:
(1) include a statement of the basis for that
determination; and
(2) return the complaint to the complainant.
(i) If the district or county attorney determines not to
bring an action under this section, the complainant is entitled to
file the complaint with the attorney general not later than the 30th
day after the date the complaint is returned to the complainant. On
receipt of the written complaint, the attorney general shall comply
with each requirement in Subsections (g) and (h) in the time
required by those subsections. If the attorney general decides to
bring an action under this section against a law enforcement agency
located only in one county in response to the complaint, the
attorney general must comply with Subsection (c).
(j) An action may be brought under this section only if the
official proposing to bring the action notifies the law enforcement
agency in writing of the official's determination that the alleged
violation was committed and the law enforcement agency does not
cure the violation before the fourth day after the date the law
enforcement agency receives the notice.
(k) An action authorized by this section is in addition to
any other civil, administrative, or criminal action provided by
this subchapter or another law.
Sec. 614.213. ASSESSMENT OF COSTS OF LITIGATION AND
REASONABLE ATTORNEY'S FEES. In an action brought under Section
614.212, the court shall assess costs of litigation and reasonable
attorney's fees incurred by a plaintiff who substantially prevails,
except that the court may not assess those costs and fees against a
law enforcement agency if the court finds that the law enforcement
agency acted in reasonable reliance on:
(1) a judgment or an order of a court applicable to the
law enforcement agency;
(2) the published opinion of an appellate court; or
(3) an opinion of the attorney general issued under
Section 402.042.
SECTION 2. A law enforcement agency affected by the changes
in law made to this Act shall adopt rules as required by this Act not
later than September 1, 2010.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.