BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 841

By: Hughes

Homeland Security & Public Safety

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The proliferation of personal information publicly available on the Internet undermines efforts to protect certain public servants and their families. Current law protects active peace officers and commissioned security officers from the public disclosure of certain personal information, such as a home address and phone number. However, these protections do not continue after retirement. Information that was not available to the public while an officer was active may become available after the officer retires, thus making the officer and their family accessible to those they have cited or arrested and those who generally seek to do officers harm. S.B. 841 seeks to ensure the safety of certain honorably retired law enforcement officers by extending the applicable privacy protections.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

S.B. 841 amends the Government Code to extend the exception from the public availability requirement of state public information law for certain personal information of a current peace officer or current commissioned security officer at a private institution of higher education to an honorably retired peace officer or applicable commissioned security officer, respectively. The bill makes certain personal information of an honorably retired peace officer, certain federal special investigators, a county jailer, or U.S. Federal Protective Service police officer or inspector confidential and prohibits public disclosure of the information under state public information law, provided the person chooses to restrict public access to the information.

S.B. 841 amends the Tax Code to extend confidentiality protections of certain local appraisal records in which the home address is identifiable for a current county jailer or U.S. Federal Protective Service police officer or inspector to include an honorably retired county jailer or U.S. Federal Protective Service police officer or inspector. The bill defines "honorably retired" for purposes of these provisions.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2021.