74R11320 PEP-D
By Stiles H.B. No. 2899
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2899:
By Carter C.S.H.B. No. 2899
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and
1-3 Education.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 415.032(a), Government Code, is amended
1-6 to read as follows:
1-7 (a) The commission shall <may> establish minimum curriculum
1-8 requirements for preparatory<, in-service,> and advanced courses
1-9 and programs for schools subject to approval under Section
1-10 415.031(b)(1).
1-11 SECTION 2. Sections 415.034(b) and (c), Government Code, are
1-12 amended to read as follows:
1-13 (b) The commission shall require a state, county, special
1-14 district, or municipal agency that appoints or employs peace
1-15 officers to provide each peace officer with a training program
1-16 every 24 months. The course may not exceed 40 hours. Not less
1-17 than 20 hours of the instruction must be on topics selected by the
1-18 agency.
1-19 (c) The course provided under Subsection (b) must:
1-20 (1) be approved by the commission; <and>
1-21 (2) include education and training in:
1-22 (A) civil rights, racial sensitivity, and
1-23 cultural diversity; and
1-24 (B) unless determined by the agency head to be
2-1 inconsistent with the officer's assigned duties, the recognition of
2-2 cases that involve the following:
2-3 (i) child abuse;
2-4 (ii) child neglect;
2-5 (iii) family violence; and
2-6 (iv) sexual assault; and
2-7 (3) include other education and training only if
2-8 determined by the agency head to be consistent with the officer's
2-9 assigned duties.
2-10 <(c) The course provided under Subsection (b) may not exceed
2-11 40 hours.>
2-12 SECTION 3. Subchapter C, Chapter 415, Government Code, is
2-13 amended by adding Section 415.0635 to read as follows:
2-14 Sec. 415.0635. EMPLOYMENT HISTORY RECORDS. (a) If a person
2-15 licensed under this chapter resigns from the employment of a law
2-16 enforcement agency or if a person's appointment with a law
2-17 enforcement agency is terminated for any reason, the head of the
2-18 law enforcement agency shall submit a report to the commission on a
2-19 form developed by the commission for this purpose. The head of the
2-20 law enforcement agency shall include in the report an explanation
2-21 of the circumstances under which the person resigned or was
2-22 terminated.
2-23 (b) The head of the law enforcement agency from which a
2-24 person resigns or is terminated shall provide the person who is the
2-25 subject of the report with a copy of the report. The person may
2-26 submit a written statement to the commission to contest or explain
2-27 any matters contained in the report.
3-1 (c) Before a law enforcement agency hires a person licensed
3-2 under this chapter, the head of the agency or the agency head's
3-3 designee shall contact the commission to determine whether the
3-4 commission has employment history records on that person under this
3-5 section. This subsection does not authorize the commission to
3-6 release information concerning the records other than whether the
3-7 records exist. A law enforcement agency may not use a
3-8 determination made under this subsection to affect the person's
3-9 eligibility for employment with the agency.
3-10 (d) The commission shall maintain copies of reports and
3-11 written statements submitted to the commission under this section
3-12 for at least 10 years after the date on which the report is
3-13 submitted.
3-14 (e) A report or statement under this section is confidential
3-15 and is exempt from disclosure under Chapter 552.
3-16 (f) Except as provided by this subsection, a member of the
3-17 commission or other person may not release the contents of a report
3-18 or statement under this section. A report or statement under this
3-19 section may be released only:
3-20 (1) by the person employed by the commission who has a
3-21 responsibility to keep the reports and statements;
3-22 (2) if the head of a law enforcement agency or the
3-23 agency head's designee requests the information in writing, over
3-24 the person's signature, and on the agency's letterhead; and
3-25 (3) if the person who is the subject of the report or
3-26 statement authorizes that release by sworn statement on a form
3-27 supplied by the commission that includes the person's waiver of
4-1 liability regarding an agency head who is responsible for or who
4-2 takes action based on the contents of the report or statement.
4-3 (g) A report or statement under this section is subject to
4-4 subpoena only in a judicial proceeding.
4-5 (h) The commission is not liable for civil damages for
4-6 providing the information contained in a report or statement
4-7 maintained by the commission under this section if the commission
4-8 followed all of the procedures in Subsection (f). A law
4-9 enforcement agency, agency head, or other law enforcement official
4-10 is not liable for civil damages for a report made by that agency or
4-11 person if the report is made in good faith.
4-12 (i) This section does not authorize the commission to review
4-13 any disciplinary action taken by a law enforcement agency against a
4-14 person licensed under this chapter or to issue a subpoena to compel
4-15 the production of any document prepared or maintained by the agency
4-16 in connection with a disciplinary matter.
4-17 SECTION 4. Section 415.082(a), Government Code, is amended
4-18 to read as follows:
4-19 (a) A person convicted of a criminal offense shall pay as
4-20 court costs $3.50 <$1.50> in addition to other taxable court costs.
4-21 These additional court costs shall be collected in the same manner
4-22 that other fines or court costs in the case are collected. Subject
4-23 to amounts retained under Section 415.083(d), the <$1 of those>
4-24 costs collected under this subsection shall be deposited in the
4-25 state treasury as follows:
4-26 (1) $1 to the credit of the law enforcement officer
4-27 standards and education fund for administrative expenses;
5-1 (2) $2 to the credit of the law enforcement officer
5-2 standards and education fund for expenses related to the continuing
5-3 education of persons licensed under this chapter;<,> and
5-4 (3) 50 cents <shall be deposited in the state
5-5 treasury> to the credit of the Bill Blackwood Law Enforcement
5-6 Management Institute of Texas fund established under Section
5-7 96.64(l), Education Code.
5-8 SECTION 5. Subchapter D, Chapter 415, Government Code, is
5-9 amended by adding Section 415.0845 to read as follows:
5-10 Sec. 415.0845. MONEY ALLOCATED AND USED FOR CONTINUING
5-11 EDUCATION. (a) Not later than March 1 of each calendar year, the
5-12 comptroller shall allocate money deposited during the preceding
5-13 calendar year in the state treasury to the credit of the law
5-14 enforcement officer standards and education fund for expenses
5-15 related to the continuing education of persons licensed under this
5-16 chapter as follows:
5-17 (1) 20 percent of the money is allocated to all local
5-18 law enforcement agencies in the state in equal shares; and
5-19 (2) 80 percent of the money is allocated to all local
5-20 law enforcement agencies in the state in a share representing a
5-21 fixed amount for each position in the agency, as of January 1 of
5-22 the preceding calendar year, that is reserved to a person who:
5-23 (A) is licensed under this chapter;
5-24 (B) works as a peace officer on the average of
5-25 at least 32 hours a week; and
5-26 (C) is compensated by the state or a political
5-27 subdivision of the state at the rate of the minimum wage or higher
6-1 and is entitled to all employee benefits offered to a peace officer
6-2 by the state or political subdivision.
6-3 (b) The head of a law enforcement agency shall maintain a
6-4 complete and detailed written record of all money received and
6-5 expended by the agency under this section. All money received
6-6 under this section is subject to audit by the comptroller. All
6-7 money spent under this section is subject to audit by the state
6-8 auditor.
6-9 (c) A local law enforcement agency shall use money received
6-10 under Subsection (a) only as necessary to ensure the continuing
6-11 education of persons licensed under this chapter or to provide
6-12 necessary training, as determined by the agency head, to full-time
6-13 fully paid law enforcement support personnel in the agency.
6-14 (d) A local law enforcement agency may not use money
6-15 received under Subsection (a) to replace funds that are provided to
6-16 the agency by the county or municipality having jurisdiction over
6-17 the agency on a recurring basis for training law enforcement
6-18 officers and support personnel.
6-19 (e) A county or municipality that has a law enforcement
6-20 agency that employs persons licensed under this chapter shall
6-21 conduct an annual audit of the law enforcement agency over which
6-22 the county or municipality has jurisdiction and shall send the
6-23 results of the audit to the comptroller not later than 90 days
6-24 after the date on which the audit is complete.
6-25 SECTION 6. The Sunset Advisory Commission shall study and
6-26 determine the feasibility, costs, and benefits of establishing
6-27 regional academies, operated and funded by the state, to provide
7-1 preparatory, in-service, and advanced courses and continuing
7-2 education programs for officers and county jailers subject to the
7-3 education and training requirements of Chapter 415, Government
7-4 Code, as amended by this Act. The Sunset Advisory Commission shall
7-5 include in the report presented to the 75th Legislature and to the
7-6 governor under Section 325.010, Government Code, findings and
7-7 recommendations based on the study conducted under this section.
7-8 This section expires September 1, 1997.
7-9 SECTION 7. (a) The change in law made by this Act to
7-10 Section 415.082, Government Code, applies only to an offense
7-11 committed on or after the effective date of this Act. For
7-12 purposes of this section, an offense is committed before the
7-13 effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
7-14 before that date.
7-15 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
7-16 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
7-17 and the former law is continued in effect for this purpose.
7-18 SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
7-19 SECTION 9. The importance of this legislation and the
7-20 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
7-21 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
7-22 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
7-23 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.