Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1472 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R6390 JCG-F
2	2	By: Eckhardt, Miles, West S.B. No. 1472
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the powers and duties of the Texas Commission on Law
8	8	Enforcement and law enforcement agencies regarding law enforcement
9	9	officers and the use of body cameras; authorizing fees.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 1701.154, Occupations Code, is amended
12	12	to read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 1701.154. FEES. (a) The commission may establish
14	14	reasonable and necessary fees for the administration of this
15	15	chapter, including reasonable and necessary fees for the
16	16	administration of Section 1701.257.
17	17	(b) The commission shall establish a fee for the issuance of
18	18	a license under this chapter as follows:
19	19	(1) $80 for a peace officer license; and
20	20	(2) $25 for a license issued under this chapter other
21	21	than a license described by Subdivision (1).
22	22	SECTION 2. Subchapter D, Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, is
23	23	amended by adding Section 1701.165 to read as follows:
24	24	Sec. 1701.165. MODEL POLICY ON USE OF FORCE. (a) The
25	25	commission shall develop and make available to all law enforcement
26	26	agencies in this state a model policy and associated training
27	27	materials regarding the use of force by peace officers. The model
28	28	policy must:
29	29	(1) be designed to minimize the number and severity of
30	30	incidents in which peace officers use force and include an emphasis
31	31	on conflict de-escalation and the use of force in a manner
32	32	proportionate to the threat posed and to the seriousness of the
33	33	alleged offense; and
34	34	(2) be consistent with the guiding principles on the
35	35	use of force issued by the Police Executive Research Forum.
36	36	(b) In developing a model policy under this section, the
37	37	commission shall consult with:
38	38	(1) law enforcement agencies and organizations,
39	39	including the Police Executive Research Forum and other national
40	40	experts on police management and training; and
41	41	(2) community organizations.
42	42	(c) On request of a law enforcement agency, the commission
43	43	shall provide the agency with training regarding the policy
44	44	developed under Subsection (a).
45	45	SECTION 3. Section 1701.307(a), Occupations Code, is
46	46	amended to read as follows:
47	47	(a) The commission shall issue an appropriate officer or
48	48	county jailer license to a person who, as required by this chapter:
49	49	(1) submits an application;
50	50	(2) completes the required training;
51	51	(3) passes the required examination;
52	52	(4) is declared to be in satisfactory psychological
53	53	and emotional health and free from drug dependency or illegal drug
54	54	use; [and]
55	55	(5) demonstrates weapons proficiency; and
56	56	(6) pays any required fees.
57	57	SECTION 4. Section 1701.3071(a), Occupations Code, is
58	58	amended to read as follows:
59	59	(a) The commission shall issue a telecommunicator license
60	60	to a person who:
61	61	(1) submits an application;
62	62	(2) completes the required training;
63	63	(3) passes the required examination; [and]
64	64	(4) meets any other requirement of this chapter and
65	65	the rules prescribed by the commission to qualify as a
66	66	telecommunicator; and
67	67	(5) pays any required fees.
68	68	SECTION 5. The heading to Subchapter K, Chapter 1701,
69	69	Occupations Code, is amended to read as follows:
70	70	SUBCHAPTER K. DISCIPLINARY GROUNDS AND PROCEDURES
71	71	SECTION 6. Subchapter K, Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, is
72	72	amended by adding Section 1701.5015 to read as follows:
73	73	Sec. 1701.5015. CERTAIN GROUNDS FOR DISCIPLINE OF PEACE
74	74	OFFICER. (a) The commission by rule shall establish grounds under
75	75	which the commission shall suspend or revoke a peace officer
76	76	license on a determination by the commission that the license
77	77	holder's continued performance of duties as a peace officer
78	78	constitutes a threat to the public welfare.
79	79	(b) The grounds under Subsection (a) must include:
80	80	(1) lack of competence in performing the license
81	81	holder's duties as a peace officer;
82	82	(2) illegal drug use or an addiction that
83	83	substantially impairs the license holder's ability to perform the
84	84	license holder's duties as a peace officer;
85	85	(3) lack of truthfulness in court proceedings or other
86	86	governmental operations, including:
87	87	(A) making a false statement in an offense report
88	88	or other report as part of an investigation, unless the false
89	89	statement is recanted not later than the 10th day after the date the
90	90	false statement is made;
91	91	(B) making a false statement to obtain employment
92	92	as a peace officer;
93	93	(C) making a false entry in court records or
94	94	tampering with evidence, regardless of whether the license holder
95	95	is prosecuted or convicted for the false entry or tampering; or
96	96	(D) engaging in conduct designed to impair the
97	97	results or procedure of an examination or testing process
98	98	associated with obtaining employment as a peace officer or a
99	99	promotion to a higher rank;
100	100	(4) failure to follow the directives of a supervising
101	101	officer or to follow the policies of the employing law enforcement
102	102	agency;
103	103	(5) discriminatory conduct, including engaging in a
104	104	course of conduct or a single egregious act, based on the race,
105	105	color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability,
106	106	or sexual orientation of another that would cause a reasonable
107	107	person to believe that the license holder is unable to perform the
108	108	license holder's duties as a peace officer in a fair manner; or
109	109	(6) conduct indicating a pattern of:
110	110	(A) excessive use of force;
111	111	(B) abuse of official capacity;
112	112	(C) inappropriate relationships with persons in
113	113	the custody of the license holder;
114	114	(D) sexual harassment or sexual misconduct while
115	115	performing the license holder's duties as a peace officer; or
116	116	(E) misuse of information obtained as a result of
117	117	the license holder's employment as a peace officer and related to
118	118	the enforcement of criminal offenses.
119	119	SECTION 7. Section 1701.655(b), Occupations Code, is
120	120	amended to read as follows:
121	121	(b) A policy described by Subsection (a) must ensure that a
122	122	body worn camera is activated only for a law enforcement purpose and
123	123	must include:
124	124	(1) guidelines for when a peace officer should
125	125	activate a camera or discontinue a recording currently in progress,
126	126	considering the need for privacy in certain situations and at
127	127	certain locations;
128	128	(2) provisions relating to data retention, including a
129	129	provision requiring the retention of video for a minimum period of
130	130	90 days;
131	131	(3) provisions relating to storage of video and audio,
132	132	creation of backup copies of the video and audio, and maintenance of
133	133	data security;
134	134	(4) guidelines for public access, through open records
135	135	requests, to recordings that are public information;
136	136	(5) [provisions entitling an officer to access any
137	137	recording of an incident involving the officer before the officer
138	138	is required to make a statement about the incident;
139	139	[(6)] procedures for supervisory or internal review;
140	140	and
141	141	(6) [(7)] the handling and documenting of equipment
142	142	and malfunctions of equipment.
143	143	SECTION 8. Section 1701.660, Occupations Code, is amended
144	144	to read as follows:
145	145	Sec. 1701.660. RECORDINGS AS EVIDENCE. (a) Except as
146	146	provided by Subsections (a-1) and (b), a recording created with a
147	147	body worn camera and documenting an incident that involves the use
148	148	of deadly force by a peace officer or that is otherwise related to
149	149	an administrative or criminal investigation of an officer may not
150	150	be deleted or [,] destroyed[, or released to the public] until all
151	151	criminal matters have been finally adjudicated and all related
152	152	administrative investigations have concluded.
153	153	(a-1) A law enforcement agency shall [may] permit a person
154	154	who is depicted in a recording of an incident described by
155	155	Subsection (a) or, if the person is deceased, the person's
156	156	authorized representative, to view the recording, on request of the
157	157	applicable person, provided that [the law enforcement agency
158	158	determines that the viewing furthers a law enforcement purpose and
159	159	provided that] any authorized representative who is permitted to
160	160	view the recording was not a witness to the incident. [A person
161	161	viewing a recording may not duplicate the recording or capture
162	162	video or audio from the recording.] A permitted viewing of a
163	163	recording under this subsection is not considered to be a release of
164	164	public information for purposes of Chapter 552, Government Code.
165	165	(b) A law enforcement agency shall adopt a policy for
166	166	releasing [may release] to the public a recording described by
167	167	Subsection (a) that prioritizes access to the recording in the
168	168	following order:
169	169	(1) the civilian oversight system associated with the
170	170	law enforcement agency, if any;
171	171	(2) the officer who used deadly force or is under
172	172	investigation and the individual who is the subject of the
173	173	recording, or if the individual is deceased, the individual's
174	174	authorized representative, and any attorney representing the
175	175	officer, individual, or representative described in this
176	176	subdivision; and
177	177	(3) the public [if the law enforcement agency
178	178	determines that the release furthers a law enforcement purpose].
179	179	[(c) This section does not affect the authority of a law
180	180	enforcement agency to withhold under Section 552.108, Government
181	181	Code, information related to a closed criminal investigation that
182	182	did not result in a conviction or a grant of deferred adjudication
183	183	community supervision.]
184	184	SECTION 9. Not later than January 1, 2022, the Texas
185	185	Commission on Law Enforcement shall:
186	186	(1) develop and make available the model policy and
187	187	associated training materials required under Section 1701.165,
188	188	Occupations Code, as added by this Act; and
189	189	(2) adopt the rules required by Section 1701.5015,
190	190	Occupations Code, as added by this Act.
191	191	SECTION 10. Section 1701.154, Occupations Code, as amended
192	192	by this Act, applies only to an application for a license issued
193	193	under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, that is submitted on or after
194	194	the effective date of this Act. An application submitted before the
195	195	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
196	196	date the application was submitted, and the former law is continued
197	197	in effect for that purpose.
198	198	SECTION 11. Section 1701.5015, Occupations Code, as added
199	199	by this Act, applies only to conduct that occurs on or after January
200	200	1, 2022. Conduct that occurs before January 1, 2022, is governed by
201	201	the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act,
202	202	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
203	203	SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.