By Keel H.B. No. 2673
76R2044 KLA-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to continuing education programs for peace officers and
1-3 county jailers.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 415.034, Government Code, as amended by
1-6 Chapters 254, 538, 562, and 585, Acts of the 74th Legislature,
1-7 Regular Session, 1995, is amended to read as follows:
1-8 Sec. 415.034. CONTINUING EDUCATION. (a) The commission
1-9 shall recognize, prepare, or administer continuing education
1-10 programs for officers and county jailers.
1-11 (b) The commission shall require a state, county, special
1-12 district, or municipal agency that appoints or employs peace
1-13 officers to provide each peace officer with a training program
1-14 every 24 months. The commission [course] may not require that the
1-15 length of the program exceed 40 hours. Not less than 20 hours of
1-16 the instruction must be on topics selected by the agency.
1-17 (c) In addition to the training program required by
1-18 Subsection (b), the [(b) The] commission shall require a state,
1-19 county, special district, or municipal agency that appoints or
1-20 employs peace officers to provide each peace officer with a
1-21 training program under this subsection every 48 [24] months. The
1-22 commission may not require that the length of the program exceed 20
1-23 hours. The course must:
1-24 (1) be approved by the commission;
2-1 (2) contain curricula which incorporate the learning
2-2 objectives developed by the commission; [and]
2-3 (3) include education and training in[:]
2-4 [(A)] civil rights, racial sensitivity, and
2-5 cultural diversity; and
2-6 (4) include education and training in the following
2-7 areas, [(B)] unless determined by the agency head to be
2-8 inconsistent with the officer's assigned duties:
2-9 (A) issues concerning sex offender
2-10 characteristics;
2-11 (B) [,] the recognition of cases that involve
2-12 the following:
2-13 (i) child abuse;
2-14 (ii) child neglect;
2-15 (iii) family violence; or [and]
2-16 (iv) sexual assault; and
2-17 (C) the documentation of cases described by
2-18 Paragraph (B), including instruction in:
2-19 (i) making a written account of the extent
2-20 of injuries sustained by the victim of an alleged offense;
2-21 (ii) recording by photograph or videotape
2-22 the area in which an alleged offense occurred and any injuries
2-23 sustained by the victim; and
2-24 (iii) recognizing and recording any
2-25 statement of a victim that may be admissible as evidence in a
2-26 future proceeding concerning the matter about which the statement
2-27 was made.
3-1 (d) [(c) The course provided under Subsection (b) must:]
3-2 [(1) be approved by the commission;]
3-3 [(2) include education and training in:]
3-4 [(A) civil rights, racial sensitivity, and
3-5 cultural diversity; and]
3-6 [(B) unless determined by the agency head to be
3-7 inconsistent with the officer's assigned duties:]
3-8 [(i) the recognition of cases that involve
3-9 child abuse, child neglect, family violence, and sexual assault;
3-10 and]
3-11 [(ii) issues concerning sex offender
3-12 characteristics; and]
3-13 [(3) include other education and training only if
3-14 determined by the agency head to be consistent with the officer's
3-15 assigned duties.]
3-16 [(c)] The course provided under Subsection (b) or (c)[:]
3-17 [(1) may not exceed 40 hours; and]
3-18 [(2)] may include instructional materials developed by
3-19 the agency or its trainers or entities having training agreements
3-20 with the commission in addition to materials included in curricula
3-21 developed by the commission.
3-22 (e) [(d)] A peace officer appointed to the officer's first
3-23 supervisory position must receive in-service training on
3-24 supervision as part of the course provided under Subsection (b)
3-25 during the 24-month period after the date of that appointment.
3-26 (f) [(e)] An honorably retired commissioned officer of the
3-27 Department of Public Safety who is a special ranger under Section
4-1 411.023 may not be required to undergo training under Subsection
4-2 (b) or (c).
4-3 (g) [(f)] The commission may require a state, county,
4-4 special district, or municipal agency that appoints or employs a
4-5 reserve law enforcement officer, county jailer, or public security
4-6 officer to provide each of those individuals with education and
4-7 training in civil rights, racial sensitivity, and cultural
4-8 diversity every 48 [24] months.
4-9 (h) [(g)] The commission may suspend the license of a peace
4-10 officer if the peace officer fails to complete a training course
4-11 provided under Subsection (b) at least once in every 24-month
4-12 period or fails to complete a training course provided under
4-13 Subsection (c) at least once in every 48-month period. The
4-14 commission shall adopt rules under which the training course
4-15 requirements [requirement] provided by this subsection may be
4-16 waived when mitigating circumstances exist.
4-17 (i) [(h)] The commission by rule shall adopt procedures:
4-18 (1) to ensure the timely and accurate reporting by
4-19 agencies and peace officers of information related to training
4-20 programs offered under this section and to [, which procedures
4-21 shall] provide for the creation of training records for individual
4-22 peace officers;
4-23 (2) to provide adequate notice to agencies and peace
4-24 officers of impending noncompliance with the training requirements
4-25 of this section so that the agencies and peace officers may comply
4-26 within the required time periods [24-month period];
4-27 (3) to require agencies to report in a timely manner
5-1 the reasons that a peace officer is in noncompliance after
5-2 receiving notice by the commission of the peace officer's
5-3 noncompliance; and
5-4 (4) to provide that, following the commission's
5-5 receipt of an agency's report under Subdivision (3) or on a
5-6 determination by the commission that the agency has failed to
5-7 report in a timely manner, a hearing consistent with Section
5-8 415.060(b) shall be held when the peace officer claims that:
5-9 (A) mitigating circumstances exist; or
5-10 (B) the peace officer failed to complete the
5-11 required training because the officer's employing agency did not
5-12 provide an adequate opportunity for the officer to attend the
5-13 required training course.
5-14 [(i) Training in documentation of cases required by
5-15 Subsection (b) shall include instruction in:]
5-16 [(1) making a written account of the extent of
5-17 injuries sustained by the victim of an alleged offense;]
5-18 [(2) recording by photograph or videotape the area in
5-19 which an alleged offense occurred and any injuries sustained by the
5-20 victim; and]
5-21 [(3) recognizing and recording any statement of a
5-22 victim that may be admissible as evidence in a future proceeding
5-23 concerning the matter about which the statement was made.]
5-24 SECTION 2. (a) The Commission on Law Enforcement Officer
5-25 Standards and Education shall establish the curricula for a
5-26 continuing education training program for peace officers as
5-27 separately required by Section 415.034(c), Government Code, as
6-1 amended by this Act, not later than January 1, 2000.
6-2 (b) For persons who are licensed peace officers on September
6-3 1, 1999, the first course separately required under Section
6-4 415.034(b), Government Code, as amended by this Act, must be
6-5 completed before September 1, 2001, and the first course separately
6-6 required under Section 415.034(c), Government Code, as amended by
6-7 this Act, must be completed before September 1, 2003.
6-8 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
6-9 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
6-10 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-11 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-12 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-13 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.