By: Thompson of Brazoria, et al. H.B. No. 3712
        (Senate Sponsor - West)
         (In the Senate - Received from the House May 3, 2021;
  May 10, 2021, read first time and referred to Committee on
  Jurisprudence; May 22, 2021, reported adversely, with favorable
  Committee Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 5, Nays 0;
  May 22, 2021, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
 
  COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 3712 By:  Huffman
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to the training of and policies for peace officers.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  The heading to Subchapter F, Chapter 1701,
  Occupations Code, is amended to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER F. TRAINING PROGRAMS, [AND] SCHOOLS, AND POLICIES
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter F, Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, is
  amended by adding Section 1701.2551 to read as follows:
         Sec. 1701.2551.  BASIC PEACE OFFICER TRAINING COURSE. (a)
  The basic peace officer training course required as part of a peace
  officer training program under Section 1701.251(a) may be no less
  than 720 hours.
         (b)  The basic peace officer training course must include
  training on:
               (1)  the prohibition against the intentional use of a
  choke hold, carotid artery hold, or similar neck restraint by a
  peace officer in searching or arresting a person, unless the
  officer reasonably believes the restraint is necessary to prevent
  serious bodily injury to or the death of the peace officer or
  another person;
               (2)  the duty of a peace officer to intervene to stop or
  prevent another peace officer from using force against a person
  suspected of committing an offense if:
                     (A)  the amount of force exceeds that which is
  reasonable under the circumstances; and
                     (B)  the officer knows or should know that the
  other officer's use of force:
                           (i)  violates state or federal law;
                           (ii)  puts a person at risk of bodily injury,
  as that term is defined by Section 1.07, Penal Code, and is not
  immediately necessary to avoid imminent bodily injury to a peace
  officer or other person; and
                           (iii)  is not required to apprehend the
  person suspected of committing an offense; and
               (3)  the duty of a peace officer who encounters an
  injured person while discharging the officer's official duties to
  immediately and as necessary request emergency medical services
  personnel to provide the person with emergency medical services
  and, while waiting for emergency medical services personnel to
  arrive, provide first aid or treatment to the person to the extent
  of the officer's skills and training, unless the request for
  emergency medical services personnel or the provision of first aid
  or treatment would expose the officer or another person to a risk of
  bodily injury or the officer is injured and physically unable to
  make the request or provide the treatment.
         SECTION 3.  Subchapter F, Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, is
  amended by adding Sections 1701.269 and 1701.270 to read as
  follows:
         Sec. 1701.269.  TRAINING PROGRAM AND POLICIES FOR PEACE
  OFFICERS. (a) The commission, in consultation with the Bill
  Blackwood Law Enforcement Management Institute of Texas and other
  interested parties chosen by the commission, shall develop and
  maintain a model training curriculum and model policies for law
  enforcement agencies and peace officers.
         (b)  The model training curriculum and model policies
  developed under Subsection (a) must include:
               (1)  curriculum and policies for banning the use of a
  choke hold, carotid artery hold, or similar neck restraint by a
  peace officer in searching or arresting a person, unless the
  officer reasonably believes the restraint is necessary to prevent
  serious bodily injury to or the death of the peace officer or
  another person;
               (2)  curriculum and policies regarding the duty of a
  peace officer to intervene to stop or prevent another peace officer
  from using force against a person suspected of committing an
  offense if:
                     (A)  the amount of force exceeds that which is
  reasonable under the circumstances; and
                     (B)  the officer knows or should know that the
  other officer's use of force:
                           (i)  violates state or federal law;
                           (ii)  puts a person at risk of bodily injury,
  as that term is defined by Section 1.07, Penal Code, and is not
  immediately necessary to avoid imminent bodily injury to a peace
  officer or other person; and
                           (iii)  is not required to apprehend the
  person suspected of committing an offense; and
               (3)  curriculum and policies regarding the duty of a
  peace officer who encounters an injured person while discharging
  the officer's official duties to immediately and as necessary
  request emergency medical services personnel to provide the person
  with emergency medical services and, while waiting for emergency
  medical services personnel to arrive, provide first aid or
  treatment to the person to the extent of the officer's skills and
  training, unless the request for emergency medical services
  personnel or the provision of first aid or treatment would expose
  the officer or another person to a risk of bodily injury or the
  officer is injured and physically unable to make the request or
  provide the treatment.
         Sec. 1701.270.  REQUIRED POLICIES FOR LAW ENFORCEMENT
  AGENCIES. Not later than the 180th day after the date the
  commission provides the model policies described by Section
  1701.269(b), each law enforcement agency in this state shall adopt
  a policy on the topics described by that subsection. A law
  enforcement agency may adopt the model policies developed by the
  commission under that subsection. 
         SECTION 4.  Section 1701.351, Occupations Code, is amended
  by adding Subsection (a-2) to read as follows:
         (a-2)  Before the first day of each 24-month training unit
  during which peace officers are required to complete 40 hours of
  continuing education programs under Subsection (a), the commission
  shall specify the mandated topics to be covered in up to 16 of the
  required hours.
         SECTION 5.  (a) Not later than January 1, 2022, the Texas
  Commission on Law Enforcement shall modify the curriculum of the
  basic peace officer training course as necessary to comply with
  Section 1701.2551, Occupations Code, as added by this Act.
         (b)  The minimum hour and content requirements for the basic
  peace officer training course under Section 1701.2551, Occupations
  Code, as added by this Act, apply only to a person who first begins
  the course on or after July 1, 2022.
         SECTION 6.  Not later than January 1, 2022, the Texas
  Commission on Law Enforcement shall develop and make available the
  model training curriculum and model policies required by Section
  1701.269, Occupations Code, as added by this Act.
         SECTION 7.  Section 1701.351(a-2), Occupations Code, as
  added by this Act, applies only to a training unit that begins on or
  after the effective date of this Act.
         SECTION 8.  The Texas Commission on Law Enforcement is
  required to implement a provision of this Act only if the
  legislature appropriates money specifically for that purpose. If
  the legislature does not appropriate money specifically for that
  purpose, the commission may, but is not required to, implement a
  provision of this Act using other appropriations available for that
  purpose.
         SECTION 9.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
 
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