BILL ANALYSIS
C.S.S.B. 1337
By: Moncrief
Criminal Justice
5-1-95
Committee Report (Substituted)
BACKGROUND
The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and
Education lacks any meaningful enforcement authority for in-service
training requirements. The current statute places the
responsibility of continuing education on the law enforcement
agency, rather than on individual officers. The commission's
current information systems do not provide enough information to
determine law enforcement agencies' compliance with the training
requirements.
PURPOSE
As proposed, C.S.S.B. 1337 provides a penalty for failure to
complete continuing education training programs required by the
Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is granted
to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and
Education in SECTIONS 2 and 6 (Sections 415.034(g) and (h), and
Section 415.060(b), Government Code) of this bill.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Section 415.009(c), Government Code, to provide
that the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and
Education (commission) is subject to the open meetings law, Chapter
551, and the administrative procedure law, Chapter 2001. Deletes
existing text.
SECTION 2. Amends Section 415.034, Government Code, by amending
Subsections (b) and (c) and adding Subsections (g) and (h), as
follows:
(b) Requires a course for law enforcement officer training,
among other requirements, to contain curricula which
incorporate the learning objectives developed by the
commission.
(c) Authorizes the course provided under Subsection (b) to
include instructional materials developed by the agency or its
trainers or entities having training agreements with the
commission in addition to materials included in curricula
developed by the commission.
(g) Authorizes the commission to suspend the license of a
peace officer if the peace officer fails to complete a
training course at least once in every 24-month period.
Requires the commission to adopt rules under which the
training course requirement provided by this subsection may be
waived when mitigating circumstances exist.
(h) Requires the commission, by rule, to adopt certain
procedures.
SECTION 3. Amends Section 415.051(b), Government Code, to require
a law enforcement agency to have certain information on file and
readily accessible to the commission, rather than included in its
report under this subsection.
SECTION 4. Amends Section 415.057(b), Government Code, to make
conforming changes.
SECTION 5. Amends Section 415.058, Government Code, as follows:
Sec. 415.058. New heading: FELONY CONVICTION OR PLACEMENT ON
COMMUNITY SUPERVISION. (a) Provides that a person who has
been convicted of a felony is disqualified to be an officer,
public security officer, or county jailer. Prohibits the
commission from licensing and a law enforcement agency from
appointing or employing a person convicted of a felony.
Requires the commission to immediately revoke the person's
license.
(b) Requires the commission, if a person licensed under
this chapter is charged with the commission of a felony and
is placed on community supervision, to immediately suspend
the person's license regardless of whether the court defers
further proceedings without entering an adjudication of
guilt.
(c) Redesignated from existing Subsection (b). Makes a
conforming change.
(d) Requires the commission, on receiving a certified copy
of a court's judgment under Article 42.011, Code of Criminal
Procedure, to note on the person's licensing records the
conviction or community supervision indicated by the
judgment.
SECTION 6. Amends Section 415.060(b), Government Code, to authorize
the commission, in addition to other duties and powers of the
commission, by rule, to provide for any other necessary enforcement
procedures. Authorizes a license to be reinstated under commission
rules when a person whose license is suspended under Section
415.058(b) is released from community supervision.
SECTION 7. Amends Section 415.061(a), Government Code, to authorize
a person dissatisfied with an action of the commission to appeal
the action under the administrative procedure law, Chapter 2001.
SECTION 8. Amends Section 415.063, Government Code, as follows:
Sec. 415.063. RECORDS. Requires the commission to have
access to records maintained by agencies hiring a person to be
an officer or county jailer including records that relate to
age, education, physical standards, citizenship, experience,
and other matters relating to competence and reliability, as
evidence of qualification for licensing of an officer or
county jailer. Deletes existing Subsection (b).
SECTION 9. Amends Section 415.065, Government Code, as follows:
Sec. 415.065. VIOLATION. (a) Makes no change.
(b) Provides that a person commits an offense if the person
appoints or retains an individual as an officer, public
security officer, or county jailer in violation of Section
415.058 or 415.0581.
(c) Redesignated from Subsection (b). Makes a
nonsubstantive change.
(d) Provides that an offense under Subsection (b) is a
state jail felony.
SECTION 10. Amends Chapter 42, Code of Criminal Procedure, by
adding Article 42.011, as follows:
Art. 42.011. JUDGMENT AFFECTING AN OFFICER OR JAILER.
Requires a clerk of the court, if a person licensed under
Chapter 415, Government Code, is charged with the commission
of a felony and a court that knows the person is licensed
under that chapter convicts the person or places the person on
community supervision, to send the commission the license
number of the person and a certified copy of the court's
judgment reflecting that the person has been convicted or
placed on community supervision.
SECTION 11. Requires the commission to establish the curricula
for continuing education training programs for peace officers as
required by Section 415.034, Government Code, as amended by this
Act, not later than January 1, 1996.
SECTION 12. (a) Requires the commission to adopt the rules
required by Subsections (g) and (h), Section 415.034, Government
Code, no later than January 1, 1996.
(b) Requires the commission to notify law enforcement
agencies and peace officers of any impending noncompliance
with the continuing education training requirements of Section
415.034 as soon as practicable following the adoption of the
rules and collection of the initial reporting information
related to continuing education training programs.
(c) Prohibits a license from being suspended for failure to
complete the required continuing education training before the
expiration of six months from the date that the notice of
impending noncompliance is given to the peace officer under
Subsection (b) of this section.
(d) Requires the commission implement a computerized tracking
system to generate training records accessible by certain
information to facilitate the accurate recording of training
requirements of and training courses completed by individual
peace officers.
(e) and (f) Make application of Sections 415.058 and
415.060(b), Government Code, as amended by this Act,
prospective.
(g) Makes application of Section 415.065, Government Code, as
amended by this Act, prospective.
SECTION 13. (a) Requires the commission to conduct a study on
methods of measuring the quality and effectiveness of continuing
education training programs for peace officers under Section
415.034, Government Code, and report the findings of the study to
the 75th Legislature not later than January 31, 1997.
(b) Sets forth the required contents of the report.
(c) Requires the commission, in conducting the study and
developing the recommendations required by this section, to
consult with law enforcement organizations and advocacy groups
with an interest in continuing education training programs for
peace officers.
SECTION 14. Effective date: September 1, 1995.
SECTION 15. Emergency clause.