By: West, Ellis, Whitmire S.B. No. 158
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a body worn camera program for certain law enforcement
agencies in this state; creating a criminal offense; authorizing a
fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter N to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER N. BODY WORN CAMERA PROGRAM
Sec. 1701.651. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Body worn camera" means a recording device that
is:
(A) capable of recording, or transmitting to be
recorded remotely, video or audio; and
(B) worn on the person of a peace officer, which
includes being attached to the officer's clothing or worn as
glasses.
(2) "Department" means the Department of Public Safety
of the State of Texas.
(3) "Private space" means a location in which a person
has a reasonable expectation of privacy, including a person's home.
Sec. 1701.652. GRANTS FOR BODY WORN CAMERAS. (a) A police
department of a municipality in this state, a sheriff of a county in
this state, or the department may apply to the office of the
governor for a grant to equip peace officers with body worn cameras
if that law enforcement agency employs officers who:
(1) are engaged in traffic or highway patrol or
otherwise regularly detain or stop motor vehicles; or
(2) are primary responders who respond directly to
calls for assistance from the public.
(b) The office of the governor shall set deadlines for
applications for grants under this chapter.
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), the office of the
governor shall create and implement a matching grant program under
which matching funds from federal, state, local, and other funding
sources may be required as a condition of the grant. A law
enforcement agency that receives a grant under this section is
required to match 25 percent of the grant money.
(d) The department is eligible for grants under this
subchapter but may not be made subject to any requirement for
matching funds.
(e) The governor's office may conditionally award a grant to
a law enforcement agency that has not adopted and implemented the
policy under Section 1701.655 or implemented the training required
under Section 1701.656, but money may not be disbursed to a law
enforcement agency until the agency fully complies with those
sections.
Sec. 1701.653. REPORTING. (a) As a condition of receiving
a grant under this subchapter, a law enforcement agency annually
shall report to the commission regarding the costs of implementing
a body worn camera program, including all known equipment costs and
costs for data storage.
(b) The commission shall compile the information submitted
under Subsection (a) into a report and submit the report to the
office of the governor and the legislature not later than December 1
of each year.
Sec. 1701.654. INTERAGENCY OR INTERLOCAL CONTRACTS. A law
enforcement agency in this state may enter into an interagency or
interlocal contract to receive body worn camera services and have
the identified operations performed through a program established
by the Department of Information Resources.
Sec. 1701.655. BODY WORN CAMERA POLICY. (a) A law
enforcement agency that receives a grant to provide body worn
cameras to its peace officers or that otherwise operates a body worn
camera program shall adopt a policy for the use of body worn
cameras.
(b) A policy described by Subsection (a) must ensure that a
body worn camera is activated only for a law enforcement purpose and
must include:
(1) guidelines for when a peace officer should
activate a camera or discontinue a recording currently in progress,
considering the need for privacy in certain situations and at
certain locations;
(2) provisions relating to data retention, including a
provision requiring the retention of video for a minimum period of
90 days;
(3) provisions relating to storage of video and audio,
creation of backup copies of the video and audio, and maintenance of
data security;
(4) guidelines for public access, through open records
requests, to recordings that are public information;
(5) provisions entitling an officer to access any
recording of an incident involving the officer before the officer
is required to make a statement about the incident;
(6) procedures for supervisory or internal review; and
(7) the handling and documenting of equipment and
malfunctions of equipment.
(c) A policy described by Subsection (a) may not require a
peace officer to keep a body worn camera activated for the entire
period of the officer's shift.
(d) A policy adopted under this section must be consistent
with the Federal Rules of Evidence and Texas Rules of Evidence.
Sec. 1701.656. TRAINING. (a) Before a law enforcement
agency may operate a body worn camera program, the agency must
provide training to:
(1) peace officers who will wear the body worn
cameras; and
(2) any other personnel who will come into contact
with video and audio data obtained from the use of body worn
cameras.
(b) The commission, in consultation with the department,
the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas,
the W. W. Caruth Jr. Police Institute at Dallas, and the Texas
Police Chiefs Association, shall develop or approve a curriculum
for a training program under this section.
Sec. 1701.657. RECORDING INTERACTIONS WITH THE PUBLIC.
(a) A peace officer equipped with a body worn camera shall act in a
manner that is consistent with the policy of the law enforcement
agency that employs the officer with respect to when and under what
circumstances a body worn camera must be activated.
(b) A peace officer equipped with a body worn camera may
choose not to activate a camera or may choose to discontinue a
recording currently in progress for any nonconfrontational
encounter with a person, including an interview of a witness or
victim.
(c) A peace officer who does not activate a body worn camera
in response to a call for assistance must include in the officer's
incident report or otherwise note in the case file or record the
reason for not activating the camera.
(d) Any justification for failing to activate the body worn
camera because it is unsafe, unrealistic, or impracticable is based
on whether a reasonable officer under the same or similar
circumstances would have made the same decision.
Sec. 1701.658. USE OF PERSONAL EQUIPMENT. (a) If a law
enforcement agency receives a grant under this subchapter, a peace
officer who is employed by the agency and who is on duty may only use
a body worn camera that is issued and maintained by that agency.
(b) Notwithstanding any previous policies, an agency may
not allow its peace officers to use privately owned body worn
cameras after receiving a grant under this subchapter.
(c) A peace officer who is employed by a law enforcement
agency that has not received a grant or who has not otherwise been
provided with a body worn camera by the agency that employs the
officer may operate a body worn camera that is privately owned only
if permitted by the employing agency.
(d) An agency that authorizes the use of privately owned
body worn cameras under Subsection (c) must make provisions for the
security and compatibility of the recordings made by those cameras.
Sec. 1701.659. OFFENSE. (a) A peace officer or other
employee of a law enforcement agency commits an offense if the
officer or employee releases a recording created with a body worn
camera under this subchapter without permission of the applicable
law enforcement agency.
(b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.
Sec. 1701.660. RECORDINGS AS EVIDENCE. (a) Except as
provided by Subsection (b), a recording created with a body worn
camera and documenting an incident that involves the use of deadly
force by a peace officer or that is otherwise related to an
administrative or criminal investigation of an officer may not be
deleted, destroyed, or released to the public until all criminal
matters have been finally adjudicated and all related
administrative investigations have concluded.
(b) A law enforcement agency may release to the public a
recording described by Subsection (a) if the law enforcement agency
determines that the release furthers a law enforcement purpose.
(c) This section does not affect the authority of a law
enforcement agency to withhold under Section 552.108, Government
Code, information related to a closed criminal investigation that
did not result in a conviction or a grant of deferred adjudication
community supervision.
Sec. 1701.661. RELEASE OF INFORMATION RECORDED BY BODY WORN
CAMERA. (a) Except as otherwise provided by this section and by
Section 1701.660, information recorded by a body worn camera and
held by a law enforcement agency under this subchapter is public
information subject to Chapter 552, Government Code.
(b) A recording that concerns an incident under
investigation is excepted from the requirements of Chapter 552,
Government Code, and may be:
(1) used by the applicable law enforcement agency only
for purposes of:
(A) detecting, investigating, or prosecuting
crime; or
(B) investigating an allegation of misconduct by
a peace officer; or
(2) released to the public if the law enforcement
agency determines that the release furthers a law enforcement
purpose.
(c) A recording is confidential and excepted from the
requirements of Chapter 552, Government Code, if the recording:
(1) was not required to be made under this subchapter
or another law or under a policy adopted by the appropriate law
enforcement agency; and
(2) does not relate to a law enforcement purpose.
(d) A recording made in a private space or during a
pedestrian or traffic stop may not be released without written
authorization from the person who is the subject of the recording
or, if the person is deceased, from the person's authorized
representative.
(e) A law enforcement agency shall release to a member of
the public a recording that is not otherwise confidential or
excepted from disclosure under this section on that person's
written request and payment of any required fee. The written
request must include all of the following:
(1) the date and approximate time of the recording;
(2) the specific location where the recording
occurred; and
(3) the name of each person known to be a subject of
the recording.
(f) Before releasing any information to a member of the
public, a law enforcement agency shall redact any information made
confidential under this subchapter or any other law or excepted
from disclosure under Chapter 552, Government Code.
(g) The attorney general shall set a proposed fee to be
charged to members of the public who seek to obtain a copy of a
recording under this section. The fee amount must be sufficient to
cover the cost of making the recording. A law enforcement agency
may provide a copy without charge or at a reduced charge if the
agency determines that waiver or reduction of the charge is in the
public interest.
Sec. 1701.662. BODY WORN CAMERA RECORDINGS; REQUEST FOR
ATTORNEY GENERAL DECISION. (a) Notwithstanding Section
552.301(b), Government Code, a governmental body's request for a
decision from the attorney general about whether a requested body
worn camera recording falls within an exception to public
disclosure is considered timely if made not later than the 20th
business day after the date of receipt of the written request.
(b) Notwithstanding Section 552.301(d), Government Code, a
governmental body's response to a requestor regarding a requested
body worn camera recording is considered timely if made not later
than the 20th business day after the date of receipt of the written
request.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 552.301(e), Government Code, a
governmental body's submission to the attorney general of the
information required by that subsection regarding a requested body
worn camera recording is considered timely if made not later than
the 25th business day after the date of receipt of the written
request.
(d) Notwithstanding Section 552.301(e-1), Government Code,
a governmental body's submission to a requestor of the information
required by that subsection regarding a requested body worn camera
recording is considered timely if made not later than the 25th
business day after the date of receipt of the written request.
Sec. 1701.663. PRODUCTION OF BODY WORN CAMERA RECORDING IN
RESPONSE TO VOLUMINOUS PUBLIC INFORMATION REQUESTS.
(a) Notwithstanding Section 552.221(d), Government Code, an
officer for public information who is employed by a governmental
body and who receives a voluminous request for body worn camera
recordings is considered to have promptly produced the information
for purposes of Section 552.221, Government Code, if the officer
takes the actions required under Section 552.221 before the 21st
business day after the date of receipt of the written request.
(b) For purposes of this section, "voluminous request"
includes:
(1) a request for body worn camera recordings from
more than five separate incidents;
(2) more than five separate requests for body worn
camera recordings from the same individual or entity in a 24-hour
period, regardless of the number of incidents included in each
request; or
(3) a request or multiple requests from the same
person in a 24-hour period for body worn camera recordings that,
taken together, constitute more than five total hours of video
footage.
SECTION 2. (a) The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, in
consultation with the Department of Public Safety, the Bill
Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas, the W. W.
Caruth Jr. Police Institute at Dallas, and the Texas Police Chiefs
Association, shall develop or approve a curriculum for the training
program required under Section 1701.656, Occupations Code, as added
by this Act, not later than January 1, 2016.
(b) A law enforcement agency operating a body worn camera
program on the effective date of this Act may submit any existing
policy of the agency regarding the use of body worn cameras to the
Texas Commission on Law Enforcement to determine whether the policy
complies with Section 1701.655, Occupations Code, as added by this
Act.
(c) Notwithstanding Sections 1701.655 and 1701.656,
Occupations Code, as added by this Act, a law enforcement agency
operating a body worn camera program on the effective date of this
Act is not required to adopt or implement a policy that complies
with Section 1701.655 or implement the training program required
under Section 1701.656 before September 1, 2016.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.