87R987 JCG-D
By: King of Parker H.B. No. 709
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to employment records of certain persons licensed by the
Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1701.451, Occupations Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (a-1) and adding Subsections (d) and (e) to
read as follows:
(a-1) A law enforcement agency that obtains a consent form
described by Subsection (a)(2)(B) shall make the person's
employment records available to a hiring law enforcement agency on
request. The commission by rule shall prescribe the manner by which
a law enforcement agency shall make a person's employment records
available to a hiring law enforcement agency. The rules must
provide appropriate security protections.
(d) A law enforcement agency that makes a person's
employment records available to a hiring law enforcement agency
under Subsection (a-1) shall provide a copy of the records to the
person.
(e) A law enforcement agency that obtains employment
records under this section may not disclose any information
contained in the records.
SECTION 2. Section 1701.456(b), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) A law enforcement agency, agency head, or other law
enforcement official is not liable for civil damages for:
(1) a report made by that agency or person if the
report is made in good faith; or
(2) making a person's employment records available to
a hiring law enforcement agency under Section 1701.451(a-1).
SECTION 3. Subchapter J, Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, is
amended by adding Section 1701.459 to read as follows:
Sec. 1701.459. CERTAIN AGREEMENTS RELATED TO EMPLOYMENT
RECORDS PROHIBITED. A person licensed under this chapter may not
enter into an agreement with a law enforcement agency employing the
person under which the agency is prohibited from making the
person's employment records available to another law enforcement
agency under Section 1701.451(a-1).
SECTION 4. (a) Not later than December 1, 2021, the Texas
Commission on Law Enforcement shall adopt rules as necessary to
comply with Section 1701.451, Occupations Code, as amended by this
Act.
(b) Section 1701.451, Occupations Code, as amended by this
Act, applies only to the hiring of a person by a law enforcement
agency that occurs on or after December 1, 2021. The hiring of a
person by a law enforcement agency that occurs before that date is
governed by the law in effect immediately before the effective date
of this Act, and the former law is continued in effect for that
purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.