H.B. No. 3712
AN ACT
relating to the training of and policies for peace officers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Subchapter F, Chapter 1701,
Occupations Code, is amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER F. TRAINING PROGRAMS, [AND] SCHOOLS, AND POLICIES
SECTION 2. Subchapter F, Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 1701.2551 to read as follows:
Sec. 1701.2551. BASIC PEACE OFFICER TRAINING COURSE. (a)
The basic peace officer training course required as part of a peace
officer training program under Section 1701.251(a) may be no less
than 720 hours.
(b) The basic peace officer training course must include
training on:
(1) the prohibition against the intentional use of a
choke hold, carotid artery hold, or similar neck restraint by a
peace officer in searching or arresting a person, unless the
officer reasonably believes the restraint is necessary to prevent
serious bodily injury to or the death of the peace officer or
another person;
(2) the duty of a peace officer to intervene to stop or
prevent another peace officer from using force against a person
suspected of committing an offense if:
(A) the amount of force exceeds that which is
reasonable under the circumstances; and
(B) the officer knows or should know that the
other officer's use of force:
(i) violates state or federal law;
(ii) puts a person at risk of bodily injury,
as that term is defined by Section 1.07, Penal Code, and is not
immediately necessary to avoid imminent bodily injury to a peace
officer or other person; and
(iii) is not required to apprehend the
person suspected of committing an offense; and
(3) the duty of a peace officer who encounters an
injured person while discharging the officer's official duties to
immediately and as necessary request emergency medical services
personnel to provide the person with emergency medical services
and, while waiting for emergency medical services personnel to
arrive, provide first aid or treatment to the person to the extent
of the officer's skills and training, unless the request for
emergency medical services personnel or the provision of first aid
or treatment would expose the officer or another person to a risk of
bodily injury or the officer is injured and physically unable to
make the request or provide the treatment.
SECTION 3. Subchapter F, Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Sections 1701.269 and 1701.270 to read as
follows:
Sec. 1701.269. TRAINING PROGRAM AND POLICIES FOR PEACE
OFFICERS. (a) The commission, in consultation with the Bill
Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas and other
interested parties chosen by the commission, shall develop and
maintain a model training curriculum and model policies for law
enforcement agencies and peace officers.
(b) The model training curriculum and model policies
developed under Subsection (a) must include:
(1) curriculum and policies for banning the use of a
choke hold, carotid artery hold, or similar neck restraint by a
peace officer in searching or arresting a person, unless the
officer reasonably believes the restraint is necessary to prevent
serious bodily injury to or the death of the peace officer or
another person;
(2) curriculum and policies regarding the duty of a
peace officer to intervene to stop or prevent another peace officer
from using force against a person suspected of committing an
offense if:
(A) the amount of force exceeds that which is
reasonable under the circumstances; and
(B) the officer knows or should know that the
other officer's use of force:
(i) violates state or federal law;
(ii) puts a person at risk of bodily injury,
as that term is defined by Section 1.07, Penal Code, and is not
immediately necessary to avoid imminent bodily injury to a peace
officer or other person; and
(iii) is not required to apprehend the
person suspected of committing an offense; and
(3) curriculum and policies regarding the duty of a
peace officer who encounters an injured person while discharging
the officer's official duties to immediately and as necessary
request emergency medical services personnel to provide the person
with emergency medical services and, while waiting for emergency
medical services personnel to arrive, provide first aid or
treatment to the person to the extent of the officer's skills and
training, unless the request for emergency medical services
personnel or the provision of first aid or treatment would expose
the officer or another person to a risk of bodily injury or the
officer is injured and physically unable to make the request or
provide the treatment.
Sec. 1701.270. REQUIRED POLICIES FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT
AGENCIES. Not later than the 180th day after the date the
commission provides the model policies described by Section
1701.269(b), each law enforcement agency in this state shall adopt
a policy on the topics described by that subsection. A law
enforcement agency may adopt the model policies developed by the
commission under that subsection.
SECTION 4. Section 1701.351, Occupations Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (a-2) to read as follows:
(a-2) Before the first day of each 24-month training unit
during which peace officers are required to complete 40 hours of
continuing education programs under Subsection (a), the commission
shall specify the mandated topics to be covered in up to 16 of the
required hours.
SECTION 5. (a) Not later than January 1, 2022, the Texas
Commission on Law Enforcement shall modify the curriculum of the
basic peace officer training course as necessary to comply with
Section 1701.2551, Occupations Code, as added by this Act.
(b) The minimum hour and content requirements for the basic
peace officer training course under Section 1701.2551, Occupations
Code, as added by this Act, apply only to a person who first begins
the course on or after July 1, 2022.
SECTION 6. Not later than January 1, 2022, the Texas
Commission on Law Enforcement shall develop and make available the
model training curriculum and model policies required by Section
1701.269, Occupations Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 7. Section 1701.351(a-2), Occupations Code, as
added by this Act, applies only to a training unit that begins on or
after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 8. The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement is
required to implement a provision of this Act only if the
legislature appropriates money specifically for that purpose. If
the legislature does not appropriate money specifically for that
purpose, the commission may, but is not required to, implement a
provision of this Act using other appropriations available for that
purpose.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3712 was passed by the House on April
30, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 123, Nays 5, 1 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 3712 on May 28, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 147, Nays 0,
1 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 3712 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 25, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor