Honorable Larry Phillips, Chair, House Committee on Homeland Security & Public Safety
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB3042 by Bonnen, Greg (Relating to access to and review of a person’s employment records held by a law enforcement agency.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend the Occupations Code to require a law enforcement agency, prior to hiring a commissioned law enforcement officer, to review the person's employment records from each of the person's previous law enforcement employers. The bill would require the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement to prescribe the manner by which a law enforcement agency shall make a person's employment records available to a hiring law enforcement agency. The bill would create an administrative penalty for law enforcement agencies failing to conduct this review or failing to provide pertinent records. The bill would also amend the Local Government Code to authorize a police officer to view (and obtain copies of) the contents of the officer's department file.
It is assumed that implementing the provisions of the bill could be absorbed within existing resources.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source Agencies:
407 Commission on Law Enforcement, 405 Department of Public Safety