1-1 By: Moncrief, West S.B. No. 1337
1-2 (In the Senate - Filed March 10, 1995; March 20, 1995, read
1-3 first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
1-4 May 1, 1995, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
1-5 Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 1, 1995,
1-6 sent to printer.)
1-7 COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 1337 By: Moncrief
1-8 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-9 AN ACT
1-10 relating to policies and procedures of the Commission on Law
1-11 Enforcement Officer Standards and Education, including the
1-12 appointing and licensing of officers and continuing education
1-13 training requirements; providing a penalty.
1-14 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-15 SECTION 1. Subsection (c), Section 415.009, Government Code,
1-16 is amended to read as follows:
1-17 (c) Except as provided by Sections 415.058 and 415.0581, the
1-18 <The> commission is subject to the open meetings law, Chapter 551,
1-19 and the administrative procedure law, Chapter 2001 <271, Acts of
1-20 the 60th Legislature, Regular Session, 1967 (Article 6252-17,
1-21 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), and the Administrative Procedure
1-22 and Texas Register Act (Article 6252-13a, Vernon's Texas Civil
1-23 Statutes)>.
1-24 SECTION 2. Section 415.034, Government Code, is amended by
1-25 amending Subsections (b) and (c) and by adding Subsections (g) and
1-26 (h) to read as follows:
1-27 (b) The commission shall require a state, county, special
1-28 district, or municipal agency that appoints or employs peace
1-29 officers to provide each peace officer with a training program
1-30 every 24 months. The course must:
1-31 (1) be approved by the commission; <and>
1-32 (2) contain curricula which incorporate the learning
1-33 objectives developed by the commission; and
1-34 (3) include education and training in:
1-35 (A) civil rights, racial sensitivity, and
1-36 cultural diversity; and
1-37 (B) unless determined by the agency head to be
1-38 inconsistent with the officer's assigned duties, the recognition of
1-39 cases that involve the following:
1-40 (i) child abuse;
1-41 (ii) child neglect;
1-42 (iii) family violence; and
1-43 (iv) sexual assault.
1-44 (c) The course provided under Subsection (b):
1-45 (1) may not exceed 40 hours; and
1-46 (2) may include instructional materials developed by
1-47 the agency or its trainers or entities having training agreements
1-48 with the commission in addition to materials included in curricula
1-49 developed by the commission.
1-50 (g) The commission may suspend the license of a peace
1-51 officer if the peace officer fails to complete a training course at
1-52 least once in every 24-month period. The commission shall adopt
1-53 rules under which the training course requirement provided by this
1-54 subsection may be waived when mitigating circumstances exist.
1-55 (h) The commission by rule shall adopt procedures:
1-56 (1) to ensure the timely and accurate reporting by
1-57 agencies and peace officers of information related to training
1-58 programs offered under this section, which procedures shall provide
1-59 for the creation of training records for individual peace officers;
1-60 (2) to provide adequate notice to agencies and peace
1-61 officers of impending noncompliance with the training requirements
1-62 of this section so that the agencies and peace officers may comply
1-63 within the 24-month period;
1-64 (3) to require agencies to report in a timely manner
1-65 the reasons that a peace officer is in noncompliance after
1-66 receiving notice by the commission of the peace officer's
1-67 noncompliance; and
1-68 (4) to provide that, following the commission's
2-1 receipt of an agency's report under Subdivision (3) or on a
2-2 determination by the commission that the agency has failed to
2-3 report in a timely manner, a hearing consistent with Section
2-4 415.060(b) shall be held when the peace officer claims that:
2-5 (A) mitigating circumstances exist; or
2-6 (B) the peace officer failed to complete the
2-7 required training because the officer's employing agency did not
2-8 provide an adequate opportunity for the officer to attend the
2-9 required training course.
2-10 SECTION 3. Subsection (b), Section 415.051, Government Code,
2-11 is amended to read as follows:
2-12 (b) A person who appoints an officer or county jailer
2-13 licensed by the commission shall notify the commission not later
2-14 than the 30th day after the date of the appointment. If the person
2-15 appointed previously served as an officer or county jailer and is
2-16 appointed after the 180th day after the date that the person last
2-17 served as an officer or county jailer, the agency must have the
2-18 following on file and readily accessible to the commission <include
2-19 with its report under this subsection>:
2-20 (1) a new criminal history check;
2-21 (2) a new declaration of psychological and emotional
2-22 health and lack of drug dependency or illegal drug use; and
2-23 (3) two completed fingerprint cards.
2-24 SECTION 4. Subsection (b), Section 415.057, Government Code,
2-25 is amended to read as follows:
2-26 (b) The agency hiring the person desiring to be licensed as
2-27 an officer or county jailer shall select the examining physician
2-28 and the examining psychologist or psychiatrist. The agency shall
2-29 prepare a report <send a copy> of each of the declarations and <to
2-30 the commission with the person's licensing application. The
2-31 commission> shall keep a <the> copy of the report on file in a
2-32 format readily accessible to the commission. A declaration is not
2-33 public information.
2-34 SECTION 5. Section 415.058, Government Code, is amended to
2-35 read as follows:
2-36 Sec. 415.058. FELONY CONVICTION OR PLACEMENT ON COMMUNITY
2-37 SUPERVISION. (a) A person who has been convicted of a felony is
2-38 disqualified to be an officer, public security officer, or county
2-39 jailer. The commission may not license and a law enforcement
2-40 agency may not appoint or employ <such> a person convicted of a
2-41 felony. If a person licensed under this chapter is convicted of a
2-42 felony, the commission shall <and shall on conviction of a felony>
2-43 immediately revoke the person's license <of a person previously
2-44 licensed>.
2-45 (b) If a person licensed under this chapter is charged with
2-46 the commission of a felony and is placed on community supervision,
2-47 the commission shall immediately suspend the person's license
2-48 regardless of whether the court defers further proceedings without
2-49 entering an adjudication of guilt.
2-50 (c) For the purposes of this section, a person is convicted
2-51 of a felony if a court of competent jurisdiction enters an
2-52 adjudication of guilt against the person on a felony offense under
2-53 the laws of this or another state or the United States, regardless
2-54 of whether:
2-55 (1) the sentence is subsequently probated and the
2-56 person is discharged from community supervision <probation>;
2-57 (2) the accusation, complaint, information, or
2-58 indictment against the person is dismissed and the person is
2-59 released from all penalties and disabilities resulting from the
2-60 offense; or
2-61 (3) the person is pardoned for the offense, unless the
2-62 pardon is granted expressly for subsequent proof of innocence.
2-63 (d) The commission, on receiving a certified copy of a
2-64 court's judgment under Article 42.011, Code of Criminal Procedure,
2-65 shall note on the person's licensing records the conviction or
2-66 community supervision indicated by the judgment.
2-67 SECTION 6. Subsection (b), Section 415.060, Government Code,
2-68 is amended to read as follows:
2-69 (b) The commission shall revoke or suspend a license, place
2-70 on probation a person whose license has been suspended, or
3-1 reprimand a licensee for a violation of this chapter or a rule of
3-2 the commission, and the commission may by rule provide for any
3-3 other necessary enforcement procedures. Except as provided by
3-4 Sections 415.058 and 415.0581, a <A> person whose license the
3-5 commission proposes to suspend or revoke is entitled to a hearing
3-6 before the commission. When a person whose license is suspended
3-7 under Section 415.058(b) is released from community supervision,
3-8 the license may be reinstated under commission rules.
3-9 SECTION 7. Subsection (a), Section 415.061, Government Code,
3-10 is amended to read as follows:
3-11 (a) A person dissatisfied with an action of the commission
3-12 may appeal the action under the administrative procedure law,
3-13 Chapter 2001 <by filing a petition in a district court of Travis
3-14 County not later than the 30th day after the date of the action>.
3-15 The court shall set the matter for hearing not earlier than 10 days
3-16 after written notice of the appeal is given to the commission and
3-17 the commission's attorney.
3-18 SECTION 8. Section 415.063, Government Code, is amended to
3-19 read as follows:
3-20 Sec. 415.063. Records. <(a)> The commission shall have
3-21 access to <maintain> records maintained <submitted> under Sections
3-22 415.051, 415.054, and 415.057 by agencies hiring a person to be an
3-23 officer or county jailer, including records that relate to age,
3-24 education, physical standards, citizenship, <good moral character,>
3-25 experience, and other matters relating to competence and
3-26 reliability, as evidence of qualification for licensing of an
3-27 officer or county jailer.
3-28 <(b) Except as provided by Section 415.051(b), if the
3-29 commission has on record evidence of fulfillment of licensing
3-30 qualifications of an officer or county jailer, the officer or
3-31 county jailer may not be required to submit duplicate records on
3-32 appointment by another law enforcement agency.>
3-33 SECTION 9. Section 415.065, Government Code, is amended to
3-34 read as follows:
3-35 Sec. 415.065. VIOLATION. (a) A person commits an offense
3-36 if the person:
3-37 (1) appoints or retains an individual as an officer or
3-38 county jailer in violation of Section 415.051 or 415.057; or
3-39 (2) makes the appointment when the appointee does not
3-40 satisfy the requirements of Section 415.036.
3-41 (b) A person commits an offense if the person appoints or
3-42 retains an individual as an officer, public security officer, or
3-43 county jailer in violation of Section 415.058 or 415.0581.
3-44 (c) An offense under Subsection (a) <this section> is a
3-45 misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than $100 nor more
3-46 than $1,000.
3-47 (d) An offense under Subsection (b) is a state jail felony.
3-48 SECTION 10. Chapter 42, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
3-49 amended by adding Article 42.011 to read as follows:
3-50 Art. 42.011. JUDGMENT AFFECTING AN OFFICER OR JAILER. If a
3-51 person licensed under Chapter 415, Government Code, is charged with
3-52 the commission of a felony and a court that knows the person is
3-53 licensed under that chapter convicts the person or places the
3-54 person on community supervision, the clerk of the court shall send
3-55 the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education,
3-56 by mail or electronically, the license number of the person and a
3-57 certified copy of the court's judgment reflecting that the person
3-58 has been convicted or placed on community supervision.
3-59 SECTION 11. The Commission on Law Enforcement Officer
3-60 Standards and Education shall establish the curricula for
3-61 continuing education training programs for peace officers as
3-62 required by Section 415.034, Government Code, as amended by this
3-63 Act, not later than January 1, 1996.
3-64 SECTION 12. (a) The Commission on Law Enforcement Officer
3-65 Standards and Education shall adopt the rules required by
3-66 Subsections (g) and (h), Section 415.034, Government Code, as added
3-67 by this Act, no later than January 1, 1996.
3-68 (b) As soon as practicable following the adoption of the
3-69 rules as required by Subsection (a) of this section and the
3-70 collection of the initial reporting information related to
4-1 continuing education training programs, the Commission on Law
4-2 Enforcement Officer Standards and Education shall notify law
4-3 enforcement agencies and peace officers of any impending
4-4 noncompliance with the continuing education training requirements
4-5 of Section 415.034, Government Code, as amended by this Act.
4-6 (c) No license may be suspended for failure to complete the
4-7 required continuing education training as provided by Subsection
4-8 (g), Section 415.034, Government Code, as added by this Act, before
4-9 the expiration of six months from the date that the notice of
4-10 impending noncompliance is given to the peace officer under
4-11 Subsection (b) of this section.
4-12 (d) To facilitate the accurate recording of the training
4-13 requirements of and training courses completed by individual peace
4-14 officers, the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and
4-15 Education shall implement a computerized tracking system to
4-16 generate training records accessible by at least the peace
4-17 officer's name, identifying number, and employing agency.
4-18 SECTION 13. (a) The Commission on Law Enforcement Officer
4-19 Standards and Education shall conduct a study on methods of
4-20 measuring the quality and effectiveness of continuing education
4-21 training programs for peace officers under Section 415.034,
4-22 Government Code, and report the findings of the study to the 75th
4-23 Legislature not later than January 31, 1997.
4-24 (b) The report shall include:
4-25 (1) recommendations for methods by which the
4-26 Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education will
4-27 measure the quality and effectiveness of continuing education
4-28 training programs;
4-29 (2) a plan for implementation of the recommended
4-30 methods to measure quality and effectiveness; and
4-31 (3) a means of funding the recommended methods.
4-32 (c) In conducting the study and developing the
4-33 recommendations required by this section, the Commission on Law
4-34 Enforcement Officer Standards and Education shall consult with law
4-35 enforcement organizations and advocacy groups with an interest in
4-36 continuing education training programs for peace officers.
4-37 SECTION 14. The changes in law made by Section 415.058 and
4-38 Subsection (b), Section 415.060, Government Code, as amended by
4-39 this Act, apply only to a license issued by the Commission on Law
4-40 Enforcement Officer Standards and Education that is revoked or
4-41 suspended or a license denied on or after the effective date of
4-42 this Act. A license revoked, suspended, or denied before that date
4-43 is governed by the law in effect when the license was revoked,
4-44 suspended, or denied, and the former law is continued in effect for
4-45 that purpose.
4-46 (b) The changes in law made by Section 415.058 and
4-47 Subsection (b), Section 415.060, Government Code, as amended by
4-48 this Act, apply only to the placement of a person on community
4-49 supervision for an offense the person committed on or after
4-50 September 1, 1995. For purposes of this section, an offense is
4-51 committed before September 1, 1995, if any element of the offense
4-52 occurs before that date. The placement of a person on community
4-53 supervision for an offense the person committed before September 1,
4-54 1995, is covered by the law in effect when the offense was
4-55 committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
4-56 purpose.
4-57 (c) The changes in law made by Section 415.065, Government
4-58 Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to a person who appoints
4-59 or retains an individual as an officer or county jailer in
4-60 violation of Section 415.058, Government Code, as amended by this
4-61 Act, or Section 415.0581, Government Code, on or after September 1,
4-62 1995. Appointment or retention of an officer or county jailer
4-63 before September 1, 1995, is governed by the law in effect on the
4-64 day the appointment or retention occurred, and the former law is
4-65 continued in effect for that purpose.
4-66 SECTION 15. This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
4-67 SECTION 16. The importance of this legislation and the
4-68 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-69 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-70 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-1 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
5-2 * * * * *