Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB842 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R8488 JCG-D
2	2	By: Menéndez S.B. No. 842
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to training on community-based policing for certain
8	8	persons licensed by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 1701.253(c), Occupations Code, is
11	11	amended to read as follows:
12	12	(c) As part of the minimum curriculum requirements, the
13	13	commission shall establish a statewide comprehensive education and
14	14	training program on civil rights, racial sensitivity, [and]
15	15	cultural diversity, and community-based policing for officers
16	16	[persons] licensed under this chapter. The program must contain a
17	17	component in which officers and members of the community the
18	18	officers serve meet and share their perspectives on issues covered
19	19	by the training.
20	20	SECTION 2. Sections 1701.352(b) and (e), Occupations Code,
21	21	are amended to read as follows:
22	22	(b) The commission shall require a state, county, special
23	23	district, or municipal agency that appoints or employs peace
24	24	officers to provide each peace officer with a training program at
25	25	least once every 48 months that is approved by the commission and
26	26	consists of:
27	27	(1) topics selected by the agency; and
28	28	(2) for an officer holding only a basic proficiency
29	29	certificate, not more than 20 hours of education and training that
30	30	contain curricula incorporating the learning objectives developed
31	31	by the commission regarding:
32	32	(A) civil rights, racial sensitivity, [and]
33	33	cultural diversity, and community-based policing;
34	34	(B) de-escalation and crisis intervention
35	35	techniques to facilitate interaction with persons with mental
36	36	impairments;
37	37	(C) de-escalation techniques to facilitate
38	38	interaction with members of the public, including techniques for
39	39	limiting the use of force resulting in bodily injury; and
40	40	(D) unless determined by the agency head to be
41	41	inconsistent with the officer's assigned duties:
42	42	(i) the recognition, documentation, and
43	43	investigation of cases that involve child abuse or neglect, family
44	44	violence, and sexual assault, including the use of best practices
45	45	and trauma-informed techniques to effectively recognize, document,
46	46	and investigate those cases; and
47	47	(ii) issues concerning sex offender
48	48	characteristics.
49	49	(e) The commission may require a state, county, special
50	50	district, or municipal agency that appoints or employs a reserve
51	51	law enforcement officer, county jailer, or public security officer
52	52	to provide each of those persons with the education and training
53	53	program on [in] civil rights, racial sensitivity, [and] cultural
54	54	diversity, and community-based policing established by the
55	55	commission under Section 1701.253(c) at least once every 48 months.
56	56	SECTION 3. Section 1701.402(i), Occupations Code, is
57	57	amended to read as follows:
58	58	(i) As a requirement for an intermediate proficiency
59	59	certificate, an officer must complete an education and training
60	60	program on civil rights, racial sensitivity, [and] cultural
61	61	diversity, and community-based policing established by the
62	62	commission under Section 1701.253(c).
63	63	SECTION 4. Not later than March 1, 2022, the Texas
64	64	Commission on Law Enforcement shall revise the commission's
65	65	education and training programs as necessary to implement the
66	66	changes in law made by this Act.
67	67	SECTION 5. Section 1701.253(c), Occupations Code, as
68	68	amended by this Act, applies only to a person who submits an
69	69	application for a peace officer license under Chapter 1701,
70	70	Occupations Code, on or after September 1, 2022. A person who
71	71	submits an application for a peace officer license under Chapter
72	72	1701, Occupations Code, before September 1, 2022, is governed by
73	73	the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act,
74	74	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
75	75	SECTION 6. Notwithstanding Sections 1701.352(b) and (e),
76	76	Occupations Code, as amended by this Act, a license holder who
77	77	before March 1, 2022, completes an education and training program
78	78	on civil rights, racial sensitivity, and cultural diversity as part
79	79	of the 48-month training cycle beginning on September 1, 2021, is
80	80	not required to complete the revised education and training program
81	81	on civil rights, racial sensitivity, cultural diversity, and
82	82	community-based policing required by Sections 1701.352(b) and (e),
83	83	Occupations Code, as amended by this Act, until the license
84	84	holder's next 48-month training cycle.
85	85	SECTION 7. Notwithstanding Section 1701.402(i),
86	86	Occupations Code, as amended by this Act, an officer who before
87	87	March 1, 2022, completes an education and training program on civil
88	88	rights, racial sensitivity, and cultural diversity is considered to
89	89	have completed an education and training program on civil rights,
90	90	racial sensitivity, cultural diversity, and community-based
91	91	policing for purposes of that section.
92	92	SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.