Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB219 Compare Versions

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1	1	88R827 JCG-F
2	2	By: Eckhardt S.B. No. 219
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 worn 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 an 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 F, Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, is
23	23	amended by adding Section 1701.272 to read as follows:
24	24	Sec. 1701.272. 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; or
95	95	(D) engaging in conduct designed to impair the
96	96	results or procedure of an examination or testing process
97	97	associated with obtaining employment as a peace officer or a
98	98	promotion to a higher rank;
99	99	(4) failure to follow the directives of a supervising
100	100	officer or to follow the policies of the employing law enforcement
101	101	agency;
102	102	(5) discriminatory conduct, including engaging in a
103	103	course of conduct or a single egregious act, based on the race,
104	104	color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability,
105	105	or sexual orientation of another that would cause a reasonable
106	106	person to believe that the license holder is unable to perform the
107	107	license holder's duties as a peace officer in a fair manner; or
108	108	(6) conduct indicating a pattern of:
109	109	(A) excessive use of force;
110	110	(B) abuse of official capacity;
111	111	(C) inappropriate relationships with persons in
112	112	the custody of the license holder;
113	113	(D) sexual harassment or sexual misconduct while
114	114	performing the license holder's duties as a peace officer; or
115	115	(E) misuse of information obtained as a result of
116	116	the license holder's employment as a peace officer and related to
117	117	the enforcement of criminal offenses.
118	118	(c) In making a determination under Subsection (a), the
119	119	commission may not consider whether the license holder is
120	120	prosecuted for or convicted of an offense based on the conduct that
121	121	is the ground for suspension or revocation.
122	122	SECTION 7. Section 1701.655(b), Occupations Code, is
123	123	amended to read as follows:
124	124	(b) A policy described by Subsection (a) must ensure that a
125	125	body worn camera is activated only for a law enforcement purpose and
126	126	must include:
127	127	(1) guidelines for when a peace officer should
128	128	activate a camera or discontinue a recording currently in progress,
129	129	considering the need for privacy in certain situations and at
130	130	certain locations;
131	131	(2) provisions relating to data retention, including a
132	132	provision requiring the retention of video for a minimum period of
133	133	90 days;
134	134	(3) provisions relating to storage of video and audio,
135	135	creation of backup copies of the video and audio, and maintenance of
136	136	data security;
137	137	(4) provisions relating to the collection of a body
138	138	worn camera, including the applicable video and audio recorded by
139	139	the camera, as evidence;
140	140	(5) guidelines for public access, through open records
141	141	requests, to recordings that are public information;
142	142	(6) [provisions entitling an officer to access any
143	143	recording of an incident involving the officer before the officer
144	144	is required to make a statement about the incident;
145	145	[(7)] procedures for supervisory or internal review;
146	146	and
147	147	(7) [(8)] the handling and documenting of equipment
148	148	and malfunctions of equipment.
149	149	SECTION 8. Section 1701.660, Occupations Code, is amended
150	150	to read as follows:
151	151	Sec. 1701.660. RECORDINGS AS EVIDENCE. (a) A [Except as
152	152	provided by Subsections (a-1) and (b), a] recording created with a
153	153	body worn camera and documenting an incident that involves the use
154	154	of deadly force by a peace officer or that is otherwise related to
155	155	an administrative or criminal investigation of an officer may not
156	156	be deleted or [,] destroyed[, or released to the public] until all
157	157	criminal matters have been finally adjudicated and all related
158	158	administrative investigations have concluded.
159	159	(a-1) A law enforcement agency shall [may] permit a person
160	160	who is depicted in a recording of an incident described by
161	161	Subsection (a) or, if the person is deceased, the person's
162	162	authorized representative, to view the recording, on request of the
163	163	applicable person, provided that [the law enforcement agency
164	164	determines that the viewing furthers a law enforcement purpose and
165	165	provided that] any authorized representative who is permitted to
166	166	view the recording was not a witness to the incident. [A person
167	167	viewing a recording may not duplicate the recording or capture
168	168	video or audio from the recording.] A permitted viewing of a
169	169	recording under this subsection is not considered to be a release of
170	170	public information for purposes of Chapter 552, Government Code.
171	171	(b) A law enforcement agency shall adopt a policy for
172	172	releasing [may release] to the public a recording described by
173	173	Subsection (a) that prioritizes access to the recording in the
174	174	following order:
175	175	(1) the civilian oversight system associated with the
176	176	law enforcement agency, if any;
177	177	(2) the officer who used deadly force or is under
178	178	investigation and the individual who is the subject of the
179	179	recording, or if the individual is deceased, the individual's
180	180	authorized representative, and any attorney representing the
181	181	officer, individual, or representative described in this
182	182	subdivision; and
183	183	(3) the public [if the law enforcement agency
184	184	determines that the release furthers a law enforcement purpose].
185	185	[(c) This section does not affect the authority of a law
186	186	enforcement agency to withhold under Section 552.108, Government
187	187	Code, information related to a closed criminal investigation that
188	188	did not result in a conviction or a grant of deferred adjudication
189	189	community supervision.]
190	190	SECTION 9. Not later than January 1, 2024, the Texas
191	191	Commission on Law Enforcement shall:
192	192	(1) develop and make available the model policy and
193	193	associated training materials required under Section 1701.272,
194	194	Occupations Code, as added by this Act; and
195	195	(2) adopt the rules required by Section 1701.5015,
196	196	Occupations Code, as added by this Act.
197	197	SECTION 10. Section 1701.154, Occupations Code, as amended
198	198	by this Act, applies only to a person who submits an application for
199	199	a license issued under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, on or after
200	200	the effective date of this Act. A person who submits an application
201	201	before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
202	202	effect on the date the application was submitted, and the former law
203	203	is continued in effect for that purpose.
204	204	SECTION 11. Section 1701.5015, Occupations Code, as added
205	205	by this Act, applies only to conduct that occurs on or after January
206	206	1, 2024. Conduct that occurs before January 1, 2024, is governed by
207	207	the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act,
208	208	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
209	209	SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.