S.B. No. 1337
AN ACT
1-1 relating to policies and procedures of the Commission on Law
1-2 Enforcement Officer Standards and Education, including the
1-3 appointing and licensing of officers and continuing education
1-4 training requirements; providing a penalty.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Subsection (c), Section 415.009, Government Code,
1-7 is amended to read as follows:
1-8 (c) Except as provided by Sections 415.058 and 415.0581, the
1-9 <The> commission is subject to the open meetings law, Chapter 551,
1-10 and the administrative procedure law, Chapter 2001 <271, Acts of
1-11 the 60th Legislature, Regular Session, 1967 (Article 6252-17,
1-12 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), and the Administrative Procedure
1-13 and Texas Register Act (Article 6252-13a, Vernon's Texas Civil
1-14 Statutes)>.
1-15 SECTION 2. Section 415.034, Government Code, is amended by
1-16 amending Subsections (b) and (c) and by adding Subsections (g) and
1-17 (h) to read as follows:
1-18 (b) The commission shall require a state, county, special
1-19 district, or municipal agency that appoints or employs peace
1-20 officers to provide each peace officer with a training program
1-21 every 24 months. The course must:
1-22 (1) be approved by the commission; <and>
1-23 (2) contain curricula which incorporate the learning
2-1 objectives developed by the commission; and
2-2 (3) include education and training in:
2-3 (A) civil rights, racial sensitivity, and
2-4 cultural diversity; and
2-5 (B) unless determined by the agency head to be
2-6 inconsistent with the officer's assigned duties, the recognition of
2-7 cases that involve the following:
2-8 (i) child abuse;
2-9 (ii) child neglect;
2-10 (iii) family violence; and
2-11 (iv) sexual assault.
2-12 (c) The course provided under Subsection (b):
2-13 (1) may not exceed 40 hours; and
2-14 (2) may include instructional materials developed by
2-15 the agency or its trainers or entities having training agreements
2-16 with the commission in addition to materials included in curricula
2-17 developed by the commission.
2-18 (g) The commission may suspend the license of a peace
2-19 officer if the peace officer fails to complete a training course at
2-20 least once in every 24-month period. The commission shall adopt
2-21 rules under which the training course requirement provided by this
2-22 subsection may be waived when mitigating circumstances exist.
2-23 (h) The commission by rule shall adopt procedures:
2-24 (1) to ensure the timely and accurate reporting by
2-25 agencies and peace officers of information related to training
3-1 programs offered under this section, which procedures shall provide
3-2 for the creation of training records for individual peace officers;
3-3 (2) to provide adequate notice to agencies and peace
3-4 officers of impending noncompliance with the training requirements
3-5 of this section so that the agencies and peace officers may comply
3-6 within the 24-month period;
3-7 (3) to require agencies to report in a timely manner
3-8 the reasons that a peace officer is in noncompliance after
3-9 receiving notice by the commission of the peace officer's
3-10 noncompliance; and
3-11 (4) to provide that, following the commission's
3-12 receipt of an agency's report under Subdivision (3) or on a
3-13 determination by the commission that the agency has failed to
3-14 report in a timely manner, a hearing consistent with Section
3-15 415.060(b) shall be held when the peace officer claims that:
3-16 (A) mitigating circumstances exist; or
3-17 (B) the peace officer failed to complete the
3-18 required training because the officer's employing agency did not
3-19 provide an adequate opportunity for the officer to attend the
3-20 required training course.
3-21 SECTION 3. Subsection (b), Section 415.051, Government Code,
3-22 is amended to read as follows:
3-23 (b) A person who appoints an officer or county jailer
3-24 licensed by the commission shall notify the commission not later
3-25 than the 30th day after the date of the appointment. If the person
4-1 appointed previously served as an officer or county jailer and is
4-2 appointed after the 180th day after the date that the person last
4-3 served as an officer or county jailer, the agency must have the
4-4 following on file and readily accessible to the commission <include
4-5 with its report under this subsection>:
4-6 (1) a new criminal history check;
4-7 (2) a new declaration of psychological and emotional
4-8 health and lack of drug dependency or illegal drug use; and
4-9 (3) two completed fingerprint cards.
4-10 SECTION 4. Subsection (b), Section 415.057, Government Code,
4-11 is amended to read as follows:
4-12 (b) The agency hiring the person desiring to be licensed as
4-13 an officer or county jailer shall select the examining physician
4-14 and the examining psychologist or psychiatrist. The agency shall
4-15 prepare a report <send a copy> of each of the declarations and <to
4-16 the commission with the person's licensing application. The
4-17 commission> shall keep a <the> copy of the report on file in a
4-18 format readily accessible to the commission. A declaration is not
4-19 public information.
4-20 SECTION 5. Section 415.058, Government Code, is amended to
4-21 read as follows:
4-22 Sec. 415.058. FELONY CONVICTION OR PLACEMENT ON COMMUNITY
4-23 SUPERVISION. (a) A person who has been convicted of a felony is
4-24 disqualified to be an officer, public security officer, or county
4-25 jailer. The commission may not license and a law enforcement
5-1 agency may not appoint or employ <such> a person convicted of a
5-2 felony. If a person licensed under this chapter is convicted of a
5-3 felony, the commission shall <and shall on conviction of a felony>
5-4 immediately revoke the person's license <of a person previously
5-5 licensed>.
5-6 (b) If a person licensed under this chapter is charged with
5-7 the commission of a felony and is placed on community supervision,
5-8 the commission shall immediately suspend the person's license
5-9 regardless of whether the court defers further proceedings without
5-10 entering an adjudication of guilt.
5-11 (c) For the purposes of this section, a person is convicted
5-12 of a felony if a court of competent jurisdiction enters an
5-13 adjudication of guilt against the person on a felony offense under
5-14 the laws of this or another state or the United States, regardless
5-15 of whether:
5-16 (1) the sentence is subsequently probated and the
5-17 person is discharged from community supervision <probation>;
5-18 (2) the accusation, complaint, information, or
5-19 indictment against the person is dismissed and the person is
5-20 released from all penalties and disabilities resulting from the
5-21 offense; or
5-22 (3) the person is pardoned for the offense, unless the
5-23 pardon is granted expressly for subsequent proof of innocence.
5-24 (d) The commission, on receiving a certified copy of a
5-25 court's judgment under Article 42.011, Code of Criminal Procedure,
6-1 shall note on the person's licensing records the conviction or
6-2 community supervision indicated by the judgment.
6-3 SECTION 6. Subsection (b), Section 415.060, Government Code,
6-4 is amended to read as follows:
6-5 (b) The commission shall revoke or suspend a license, place
6-6 on probation a person whose license has been suspended, or
6-7 reprimand a licensee for a violation of this chapter or a rule of
6-8 the commission, and the commission may by rule provide for any
6-9 other necessary enforcement procedures. Except as provided by
6-10 Sections 415.058 and 415.0581, a <A> person whose license the
6-11 commission proposes to suspend or revoke is entitled to a hearing
6-12 before the commission. When a person whose license is suspended
6-13 under Section 415.058(b) is released from community supervision,
6-14 the license may be reinstated under commission rules.
6-15 SECTION 7. Subsection (a), Section 415.061, Government Code,
6-16 is amended to read as follows:
6-17 (a) A person dissatisfied with an action of the commission
6-18 may appeal the action under the administrative procedure law,
6-19 Chapter 2001 <by filing a petition in a district court of Travis
6-20 County not later than the 30th day after the date of the action>.
6-21 The court shall set the matter for hearing not earlier than 10 days
6-22 after written notice of the appeal is given to the commission and
6-23 the commission's attorney.
6-24 SECTION 8. Section 415.063, Government Code, is amended to
6-25 read as follows:
7-1 Sec. 415.063. Records. <(a)> The commission shall have
7-2 access to <maintain> records maintained <submitted> under Sections
7-3 415.051, 415.054, and 415.057 by agencies hiring a person to be an
7-4 officer or county jailer, including records that relate to age,
7-5 education, physical standards, citizenship, <good moral character,>
7-6 experience, and other matters relating to competence and
7-7 reliability, as evidence of qualification for licensing of an
7-8 officer or county jailer.
7-9 <(b) Except as provided by Section 415.051(b), if the
7-10 commission has on record evidence of fulfillment of licensing
7-11 qualifications of an officer or county jailer, the officer or
7-12 county jailer may not be required to submit duplicate records on
7-13 appointment by another law enforcement agency.>
7-14 SECTION 9. Section 415.065, Government Code, is amended to
7-15 read as follows:
7-16 Sec. 415.065. VIOLATION. (a) A person commits an offense
7-17 if the person:
7-18 (1) appoints or retains an individual as an officer or
7-19 county jailer in violation of Section 415.051 or 415.057; or
7-20 (2) makes the appointment when the appointee does not
7-21 satisfy the requirements of Section 415.036.
7-22 (b) A person commits an offense if the person appoints or
7-23 retains an individual as an officer, public security officer, or
7-24 county jailer in violation of Section 415.058 or 415.0581.
7-25 (c) An offense under Subsection (a) <this section> is a
8-1 misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $100 nor more
8-2 than $1,000.
8-3 (d) An offense under Subsection (b) is a state jail felony.
8-4 SECTION 10. Chapter 42, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
8-5 amended by adding Article 42.011 to read as follows:
8-6 Art. 42.011. JUDGMENT AFFECTING AN OFFICER OR JAILER. If a
8-7 person licensed under Chapter 415, Government Code, is charged with
8-8 the commission of a felony and a court that knows the person is
8-9 licensed under that chapter convicts the person or places the
8-10 person on community supervision, the clerk of the court shall send
8-11 the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education,
8-12 by mail or electronically, the license number of the person and a
8-13 certified copy of the court's judgment reflecting that the person
8-14 has been convicted or placed on community supervision.
8-15 SECTION 11. The Commission on Law Enforcement Officer
8-16 Standards and Education shall establish the curricula for
8-17 continuing education training programs for peace officers as
8-18 required by Section 415.034, Government Code, as amended by this
8-19 Act, not later than January 1, 1996.
8-20 SECTION 12. (a) The Commission on Law Enforcement Officer
8-21 Standards and Education shall adopt the rules required by
8-22 Subsections (g) and (h), Section 415.034, Government Code, as added
8-23 by this Act, no later than January 1, 1996.
8-24 (b) As soon as practicable following the adoption of the
8-25 rules as required by Subsection (a) of this section and the
9-1 collection of the initial reporting information related to
9-2 continuing education training programs, the Commission on Law
9-3 Enforcement Officer Standards and Education shall notify law
9-4 enforcement agencies and peace officers of any impending
9-5 noncompliance with the continuing education training requirements
9-6 of Section 415.034, Government Code, as amended by this Act.
9-7 (c) No license may be suspended for failure to complete the
9-8 required continuing education training as provided by Subsection
9-9 (g), Section 415.034, Government Code, as added by this Act, before
9-10 the expiration of six months from the date that the notice of
9-11 impending noncompliance is given to the peace officer under
9-12 Subsection (b) of this section.
9-13 (d) To facilitate the accurate recording of the training
9-14 requirements of and training courses completed by individual peace
9-15 officers, the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and
9-16 Education shall implement a computerized tracking system to
9-17 generate training records accessible by at least the peace
9-18 officer's name, identifying number, and employing agency.
9-19 SECTION 13. (a) The Commission on Law Enforcement Officer
9-20 Standards and Education shall conduct a study on methods of
9-21 measuring the quality and effectiveness of continuing education
9-22 training programs for peace officers under Section 415.034,
9-23 Government Code, and report the findings of the study to the 75th
9-24 Legislature not later than January 31, 1997.
9-25 (b) The report shall include:
10-1 (1) recommendations for methods by which the
10-2 Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education will
10-3 measure the quality and effectiveness of continuing education
10-4 training programs;
10-5 (2) a plan for implementation of the recommended
10-6 methods to measure quality and effectiveness; and
10-7 (3) a means of funding the recommended methods.
10-8 (c) In conducting the study and developing the
10-9 recommendations required by this section, the Commission on Law
10-10 Enforcement Officer Standards and Education shall consult with law
10-11 enforcement organizations and advocacy groups with an interest in
10-12 continuing education training programs for peace officers.
10-13 SECTION 14. The changes in law made by Section 415.058 and
10-14 Subsection (b), Section 415.060, Government Code, as amended by
10-15 this Act, apply only to a license issued by the Commission on Law
10-16 Enforcement Officer Standards and Education that is revoked or
10-17 suspended or a license denied on or after the effective date of
10-18 this Act. A license revoked, suspended, or denied before that date
10-19 is governed by the law in effect when the license was revoked,
10-20 suspended, or denied, and the former law is continued in effect for
10-21 that purpose.
10-22 (b) The changes in law made by Section 415.058 and
10-23 Subsection (b), Section 415.060, Government Code, as amended by
10-24 this Act, apply only to the placement of a person on community
10-25 supervision for an offense the person committed on or after
11-1 September 1, 1995. For purposes of this section, an offense is
11-2 committed before September 1, 1995, if any element of the offense
11-3 occurs before that date. The placement of a person on community
11-4 supervision for an offense the person committed before September 1,
11-5 1995, is covered by the law in effect when the offense was
11-6 committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
11-7 purpose.
11-8 (c) The changes in law made by Section 415.065, Government
11-9 Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to a person who appoints
11-10 or retains an individual as an officer or county jailer in
11-11 violation of Section 415.058, Government Code, as amended by this
11-12 Act, or Section 415.0581, Government Code, on or after September 1,
11-13 1995. Appointment or retention of an officer or county jailer
11-14 before September 1, 1995, is governed by the law in effect on the
11-15 day the appointment or retention occurred, and the former law is
11-16 continued in effect for that purpose.
11-17 SECTION 15. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
11-18 SECTION 16. The importance of this legislation and the
11-19 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
11-20 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
11-21 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
11-22 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.