By:  Whitmire                                         S.B. No. 1134

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

                                       AN ACT

 1-1     relating to fire and police department records concerning charges

 1-2     of misconduct and disciplinary actions in certain municipalities.

 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Section 143.1214, Local Government Code, is

 1-5     amended to read as follows:

 1-6           Sec. 143.1214.  RECORDS CONCERNING CHARGES OF MISCONDUCT AND

 1-7     [OF OVERTURNED] DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS [ACTION OR UNSUSTAINED

 1-8     COMPLAINT].  (a)  The department head promptly shall order that the

 1-9     records of a disciplinary action that was taken against a fire

1-10     fighter or police officer be expunged from each file maintained on

1-11     the fire fighter or police officer by the department if the

1-12     disciplinary action was overturned in its entirety on appeal by the

1-13     commission, an independent third-party hearing examiner, or a court

1-14     of competent jurisdiction.  Documents that must be expunged under

1-15     this subsection include all documents that indicate disciplinary

1-16     action was recommended or taken against the fire fighter or police

1-17     officer, such as the recommendations of a disciplinary committee or

1-18     a letter of suspension.  This subsection does not apply [if the

1-19     disciplinary action was only reduced and not overturned nor shall

1-20     this subsection apply] if the fire fighter or police officer is

1-21     charged with excessive force that results in a death or injury and

1-22     the charge is being investigated by a law enforcement or criminal

1-23     justice agency other than the department.

 2-1           (b)  The department shall maintain an investigatory file

 2-2     [document] that relates to a disciplinary action against a fire

 2-3     fighter or police officer that was overturned on appeal, or any

 2-4     document in the possession of the department that relates to a

 2-5     charge of misconduct against a fire fighter or police officer,

 2-6     whether sustained or not [that the department did not sustain],

 2-7     only in a file created by the department for the department's use.

 2-8     The department may [not] release information from such

 2-9     investigatory files only as set out in Subsections (c) and (d)

2-10     [those documents to any agency or other person] except that the

2-11     department may release information from such investigatory files to

2-12     another law enforcement agency or fire department.

2-13           (c)  Only documents setting out discipline actually received

2-14     shall be forwarded by the department head to the personnel file

2-15     maintained by the director.  Such documents shall include a brief

2-16     summary of the facts on which the discipline was based.  An

2-17     investigatory file maintained pursuant to Subsection (b) shall not

2-18     be released to any agency or other person except another law

2-19     enforcement agency or fire department.

2-20           (d)  In any cause of action, civil or criminal, no file, or

2-21     any part thereof, maintained pursuant to Section 143.089(g) shall

2-22     be released to any party to the action until relevancy is

2-23     judicially determined and an application for a protective order

2-24     limiting the use of such file in that cause of action has been

2-25     filed.  The department head or the department head's designee may

 3-1     stipulate that a file is relevant; however, prior to any release of

 3-2     a department file, the department head shall ascertain that an

 3-3     application for a protective order limiting the use of the records

 3-4     to the immediate litigation has been filed each time such file is

 3-5     sought in a civil or criminal action.

 3-6           (e)  Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent a

 3-7     fire fighter or police officer from having access to any personnel

 3-8     file maintained by the department on the fire fighter or police

 3-9     officer pursuant to Section 143.089.

3-10           SECTION 2.  (a)  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

3-11           (b)  The change in law made by this Act applies to records in

3-12     existence on the effective date of this Act and to records made on

3-13     or after the effective date of this Act.

3-14           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

3-15     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

3-16     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

3-17     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

3-18     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.