By:  Whitmire                                S.B. No. 1134

         97S0758/1                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

                                       AN ACT

 1-1     relating to fire and police department records concerning

 1-2     complaints 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 COMPLAINTS AND [OF

 1-7     OVERTURNED] DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS [ACTION OR UNSUSTAINED COMPLAINT].

 1-8     (a)  The department head promptly shall order that the records of a

 1-9     disciplinary action that was taken against a fire fighter or police

1-10     officer be expunged from each file maintained on the fire fighter

1-11     or police officer by the department if the disciplinary action was

1-12     overturned on appeal by the commission, an independent third-party

1-13     hearing examiner, or a court of competent jurisdiction.  Documents

1-14     that must be expunged under this subsection include all documents

1-15     that indicate disciplinary action was recommended or taken against

1-16     the fire fighter or police officer, such as the recommendations of

1-17     a disciplinary committee or a letter of suspension.  This

1-18     subsection does not apply if the disciplinary action was only

1-19     reduced and not overturned nor shall this subsection apply if the

1-20     fire fighter or police officer is charged with excessive force that

1-21     results in a death or injury and the charge is being investigated

1-22     by a law enforcement or criminal justice agency other than the

1-23     department.

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

 2-2     [document] that relates to any complaint [a disciplinary action

 2-3     against a fire fighter or police officer that was overturned on

 2-4     appeal, or any document in the possession of the department that

 2-5     relates to a charge] of misconduct against a fire fighter or police

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

 2-7     sustain], only in a file created by the department for the

 2-8     department's use.  The department may [not] release information

 2-9     from such investigatory files only as set out in Subsections (c)

2-10     and (d) [those documents to any agency or other person] except that

2-11     the department may release information from such investigatory

2-12     files to 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 may stipulate that a file is relevant;

 3-1     however, an application for protective order shall be filed by the

 3-2     department each time such file is sought in a civil or criminal

 3-3     cause of action.

 3-4           SECTION 2.  (a)  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

 3-5           (b)  The change in law made by this Act applies to records in

 3-6     existence on the effective date of this Act and to records made on

 3-7     or after the effective date of this Act.

 3-8           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

 3-9     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

3-10     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

3-11     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

3-12     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.