Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB521 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R3397 SCP-F
2	2	By: West S.B. No. 521
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to an employment termination report and other records
8	8	submitted to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement by a law
9	9	enforcement agency.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Sections 1701.452(a), (b), (d), and (g),
12	12	Occupations Code, are amended to read as follows:
13	13	(a) The head of a law enforcement agency or the head's
14	14	designee shall submit a report to the commission on a form
15	15	prescribed by the commission regarding a person licensed under this
16	16	chapter [who resigns or retires from employment with the law
17	17	enforcement agency, whose appointment with the law enforcement
18	18	agency is terminated, or] who separates from the law enforcement
19	19	agency for any [other] reason. The report must be submitted by the
20	20	head or the designee not later than the seventh business day after
21	21	the date the license holder:
22	22	(1) [resigns, retires, is terminated, or] separates
23	23	from the agency; and
24	24	(2) exhausts all administrative appeals available to
25	25	the license holder, if applicable.
26	26	(b) The head of a law enforcement agency or the head's
27	27	designee shall indicate [include] in the report required under
28	28	Subsection (a) [a statement on] whether the license holder was
29	29	suspected of misconduct, regardless of whether the license holder
30	30	was terminated for misconduct [honorably discharged, generally
31	31	discharged, or dishonorably discharged and, as required by the
32	32	commission, an explanation of the circumstances under which the
33	33	person resigned, retired, or was terminated]. For purposes of this
34	34	subsection, "misconduct" includes a license holder engaging in
35	35	criminal conduct, regardless of whether the license holder was
36	36	arrested for, charged with, or convicted of an offense [:
37	37	[(1) "Honorably discharged" means a license holder
38	38	who, while in good standing and not because of pending or final
39	39	disciplinary actions or a documented performance problem, retired,
40	40	resigned, or separated from employment with or died while employed
41	41	by a law enforcement agency.
42	42	[(2) "Generally discharged" means a license holder
43	43	who:
44	44	[(A) was terminated by, retired or resigned from,
45	45	or died while in the employ of a law enforcement agency and the
46	46	separation was related to a disciplinary investigation of conduct
47	47	that is not included in the definition of dishonorably discharged;
48	48	or
49	49	[(B) was terminated by or retired or resigned
50	50	from a law enforcement agency and the separation was for a
51	51	documented performance problem and was not because of a reduction
52	52	in workforce or an at-will employment decision.
53	53	[(3) "Dishonorably discharged" means a license holder
54	54	who:
55	55	[(A) was terminated by a law enforcement agency
56	56	or retired or resigned in lieu of termination by the agency in
57	57	relation to allegations of criminal misconduct; or
58	58	[(B) was terminated by a law enforcement agency
59	59	or retired or resigned in lieu of termination by the agency for
60	60	insubordination or untruthfulness].
61	61	(d) The head of the law enforcement agency from which a
62	62	license holder [resigns, retires, is terminated, or] separates for
63	63	reasons other than death, or the head's designee, shall provide to
64	64	the license holder a copy of the report. The report must be provided
65	65	to the license holder not later than the seventh business day after
66	66	the date the license holder:
67	67	(1) [resigns, retires, is terminated, or] separates
68	68	from the agency; and
69	69	(2) exhausts all administrative appeals available to
70	70	the license holder, if applicable.
71	71	(g) The head of a law enforcement agency or the head's
72	72	designee must submit a report under this section each time a person
73	73	licensed under this chapter [resigns, retires, is terminated, or]
74	74	separates for any [other] reason from the agency. The report is an
75	75	official government document.
76	76	SECTION 2. Sections 1701.4525(a), (d), and (e), Occupations
77	77	Code, are amended to read as follows:
78	78	(a) A person who is the subject of an employment termination
79	79	report maintained by the commission under this subchapter may
80	80	contest an indication under Section 1701.452(b) that the person was
81	81	suspected of misconduct [information] contained in the report by
82	82	submitting to the law enforcement agency and to the commission a
83	83	written petition on a form prescribed by the commission for a
84	84	correction of the report not later than the 30th day after the date
85	85	the person receives a copy of the report. On receipt of the
86	86	petition, the commission shall refer the petition to the State
87	87	Office of Administrative Hearings.
88	88	(d) A proceeding to contest an indication of misconduct
89	89	[information] in an employment termination report is a contested
90	90	case under Chapter 2001, Government Code.
91	91	(e) In a proceeding to contest an indication of misconduct
92	92	[information] in an employment termination report [for a report
93	93	based on alleged misconduct], an administrative law judge shall
94	94	determine if the alleged misconduct occurred by a preponderance of
95	95	the evidence regardless of whether the person who is the subject of
96	96	the report was terminated for the misconduct [or the person
97	97	resigned, retired, or separated in lieu of termination]. If the
98	98	alleged misconduct is not supported by a preponderance of the
99	99	evidence, the administrative law judge shall order the commission
100	100	to change the report. The commission shall send the changed report
101	101	to the law enforcement agency that prepared the original employment
102	102	termination report. The law enforcement agency shall replace the
103	103	original employment termination report with the changed report.
104	104	SECTION 3. The following provisions of the Occupations Code
105	105	are repealed:
106	106	(1) Section 1701.452(c);
107	107	(2) Section 1701.4521; and
108	108	(3) Section 1701.454.
109	109	SECTION 4. Not later than December 1, 2023, the Texas
110	110	Commission on Law Enforcement shall update the form for an
111	111	employment termination report as necessary to comply with Section
112	112	1701.452, Occupations Code, as amended by this Act.
113	113	SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
114	114	a report required to be submitted under Section 1701.452,
115	115	Occupations Code, as amended by this Act, regarding a separation of
116	116	a license holder that occurs on or after December 1, 2023. A
117	117	separation that occurs before December 1, 2023, is governed by the
118	118	law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act, and
119	119	the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
120	120	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.