Bill Text: TX SB975 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to access to certain law enforcement, corrections, and prosecutorial records under the public information law.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-11 - Referred to Jurisprudence [SB975 Detail]

Download: Texas-2021-SB975-Introduced.html

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87R5219 MCK-D
By: West S.B. No. 975

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to access to certain law enforcement, corrections, and
prosecutorial records under the public information law.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 2, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Article 2.13952 to read as follows:
Art. 2.13952. PUBLIC DATABASE. The office of the attorney
general shall establish and maintain on its Internet website a
publicly accessible database of reports submitted to the office
under Articles 2.139 and 2.1395.
SECTION 2. Section 411.00755(b), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) The personnel records of a commissioned officer of the
department may not be disclosed or otherwise made available to the
public, except the department shall release in accordance with
Chapter 552:
(1) any letter, memorandum, or document relating to:
(A) a commendation, congratulation, or honor
bestowed on the officer for an action, duty, or activity that
relates to the officer's official duties; and
(B) misconduct by the officer, if the letter,
memorandum, or document resulted in disciplinary action;
(2) the state application for employment submitted by
the officer, but not including any attachments to the application;
(3) any reference letter submitted by the officer;
(4) any letter of recommendation for the officer;
(5) any employment contract with the officer;
(6) any periodic evaluation of the officer by a
supervisor;
(7) any document recording a promotion or demotion of
the officer;
(8) any request for leave by the officer;
(9) any request by the officer for transfers of shift
or duty assignments;
(10) any documents presented to the commission in
connection with a public hearing under Section 411.007(f);
(11) the officer's:
(A) name;
(B) age;
(C) dates of employment;
(D) positions held; and
(E) gross salary; [and]
(12) information about the location of the officer's
department duty assignments;
(13) a force report, incident report, extraordinary
occurrence report, emergency action report, Taser use report, or
any other report made by the officer concerning the use of force or
firearms by the officer or witnessed by the officer, and any log or
database tracking or compiling those reports by one or more
officers regardless of whether the officer making the report is
identified; and
(14) a fleet occurrence report or any other report
made by an officer concerning physical or property damage caused by
a department vehicle, and any log or database tracking or compiling
those incidents or reports.
SECTION 3. Section 552.108, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (d), (e), and (f) to
read as follows:
(c) This section does not except from the requirements of
Section 552.021:
(1) information that is basic information about an
arrested person, an arrest, [or] a crime, or a criminal
investigation; and
(2) basic information contained in:
(A) a search warrant;
(B) testimony, an affidavit, or other
information used to support a finding of probable cause to execute a
search warrant;
(C) an arrest warrant, an arrest report, an
incident report, or an accident report;
(D) a mug shot;
(E) a report relating to:
(i) an officer-involved shooting; or
(ii) an incident involving the discharge of
a firearm by a peace officer, including the unintentional discharge
of a firearm in the course of duty or in response to a call,
regardless of whether:
(a) a person is hit by gunfire; or
(b) an allegation of misconduct is
made;
(F) a report relating to a peace officer's use of
force resulting in death or serious bodily injury as defined by
Section 1.07, Penal Code; or
(G) a report related to the death or serious
bodily injury of an arrestee or detainee while the person is in the
custodial care of a law enforcement agency.
(d) The exceptions to disclosure provided by Subsections
(a)(2) and (b)(2) do not apply to information, records, or
notations if:
(1) a person who is a subject of the information,
record, or notation, other than a peace officer, is deceased or
incapacitated; or
(2) each person who is a subject of the information,
record, or notation consents to the release of the information,
record, or notation.
(e) This section does not except from the requirements of
Section 552.021 a letter, memorandum, or document regarding a peace
officer's alleged misconduct in the peace officer's personnel file
under Section 143.089, Local Government Code, if:
(1) a person who is a subject of the letter,
memorandum, or document, other than the peace officer, is deceased
or incapacitated; or
(2) each person who is a subject of the letter,
memorandum, or document consents to the release of the letter,
memorandum, or document.
(f) A governmental body that releases information, records,
or notations to a family member of a deceased or incapacitated
person who is a subject of the information, record, or notation is
not considered to have voluntarily made that information available
to the public for purposes of Section 552.007 and does not waive the
ability to assert in the future that the information is excepted
from required disclosure under this section or other law.
SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 552, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 552.030 to read as follows:
Sec. 552.030. RIGHT OF ACCESS TO VIDEO RECORDINGS OF
CRITICAL LAW ENFORCEMENT INCIDENTS. (a) In this section,
"critical incident":
(1) includes:
(A) an officer-involved shooting, including an
unintentional discharge of a firearm while in the course of duty or
in response to a call, regardless of whether:
(i) a person is hit by gunfire; or
(ii) an allegation of misconduct is made;
(B) use of force resulting in death or serious
bodily injury as defined by Section 1.07, Penal Code;
(C) the death of an arrestee or detainee while
the person is in the custodial care of a law enforcement agency; and
(D) any other police encounter in which a law
enforcement agency determines release of a video recording furthers
a law enforcement purpose; and
(2) does not include:
(A) an officer-involved shooting of an animal;
(B) an unintentional discharge of a firearm
during a pre-shift equipment check; or
(C) the discharge of a firearm during training or
qualifications on a firing range.
(b) Not later than the 60th day after the date a critical
incident occurs, a law enforcement agency shall make public any
video recording in the agency's possession involving the critical
incident.
(c) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, a law
enforcement agency shall, not later than the 60th day after the date
a critical incident occurs, begin providing copies of a video
recording of the critical incident to persons who request a copy.
If the law enforcement agency determines the video recording cannot
be released as required by this subsection, the agency shall, not
later than the 45th day after the date the critical incident occurs,
begin notifying persons who request a copy of the video recording of
the reasons for the agency's decision and providing an explanation
as to when the agency will make copies of the video recording
available to requestors.
(d) Section 552.108 does not apply to a video recording of a
critical incident in a law enforcement agency's possession.
(e) The video recordings to which Subsections (b) and (c)
apply include body worn camera video recordings, digital in-car
video recordings, other video recordings captured by a law
enforcement agency, and video recordings captured by a third party
that are in a law enforcement agency's possession.
(f) A law enforcement agency may withhold a video recording
of a critical incident if the agency is prohibited from releasing
the recording by law or a court order. The agency may redact or edit
the video recording to protect juveniles and victims of certain
crimes or to protect the privacy interests of other individuals who
appear in the recording. The agency may not redact or edit a video
recording in a manner that compromises the depiction of what
occurred during the critical incident, including the officers
involved in the incident.
(g) A law enforcement agency may delay the release of a
video recording of a critical incident to protect:
(1) the safety of the individuals involved in the
critical incident, including officers, witnesses, bystanders, or
other third parties;
(2) the integrity of an active criminal or
administrative investigation or a criminal prosecution;
(3) confidential sources or investigative techniques;
or
(4) the constitutional rights of an accused.
(h) If a law enforcement agency determines that Subsection
(g) applies to a video recording of a critical incident, the agency
shall:
(1) not later than the 45th day after the date the
critical incident occurs, begin notifying persons who request a
copy of the recording of the specific, factual reasons for the
delay; and
(2) update persons who request a copy of the recording
every 15 days regarding the continuing justification for the delay
until the copies are released.
(i) Not later than 48 hours before the time a law
enforcement agency releases a video recording of a critical
incident, the agency shall make a reasonable attempt to notify and
consult with:
(1) the officers depicted in the recording or
significantly involved in the use of force;
(2) the individual upon whom force was used or the
individual's:
(A) next of kin if the individual is deceased;
(B) parent or legal guardian if the individual is
a juvenile; or
(C) legal counsel if the individual is
represented by legal counsel;
(3) the district attorney's office, county attorney's
office, or city attorney's office that has jurisdiction over the
critical incident depicted in the video; and
(4) any other individual or entity connected to the
critical incident the law enforcement agency deems appropriate.
SECTION 5. Section 143.089, Local Government Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (g) and adding Subsection (h) to
read as follows:
(g) A fire or police department may maintain a personnel
file on a fire fighter or police officer employed by the department
to store sensitive personal information, including the
individual's home address, home telephone number, personal
cellular telephone number, emergency contact information, social
security number, personal financial information, information that
reveals whether the person has family members, and any other
personal information the disclosure of which would constitute a
clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. The [for the
department's use, but the] department may not release any
information contained in the department file to any agency or
person requesting information relating to a fire fighter or police
officer, other than information in a police officer's personnel
file relating to a police officer's alleged misconduct, as
permitted by Section 552.108, Government Code. The department
shall refer to the director or the director's designee a person or
agency that requests information that is maintained in the fire
fighter's or police officer's personnel file.
(h) Notwithstanding any other law, a fire or police
department shall disclose law enforcement disciplinary record
information reasonably necessary to identify an allegation against
a fire fighter or police officer that resulted in a sustained
finding of misconduct, including:
(1) any record created in furtherance of a law
enforcement disciplinary proceeding;
(2) each complaint, allegation, and charge against the
employee;
(3) the name of the employee complained of or charged;
(4) the transcript of any disciplinary trial or
hearing, including any exhibit introduced at the trial or hearing;
(5) the disposition of any disciplinary proceeding;
and
(6) the final written opinion or memorandum supporting
the disposition and discipline imposed, including the agency's:
(A) complete factual findings; and
(B) analysis of the conduct and appropriate
discipline of the covered employee.
SECTION 6. Section 1701.651(1), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(1) "Body worn camera" means a recording device that
is:
(A) capable of recording, or transmitting to be
recorded remotely, video and [or] audio simultaneously; and
(B) worn on the person of a peace officer, which
includes being attached to the officer's clothing or worn as
glasses.
SECTION 7. Sections 1701.661(a) and (b), Occupations Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) For purposes of Chapter 552, Government Code,
information recorded by a body worn camera is considered to be a
video representation held in computer memory [A member of the
public is required to provide the following information when
submitting a written request to a law enforcement agency for
information recorded by a body worn camera:
[(1) the date and approximate time of the
recording;
[(2) the specific location where the recording
occurred; and
[(3) the name of one or more persons known to be a
subject of the recording].
(b) A law enforcement agency shall treat a written request
for [failure to provide all of the] information recorded [required]
by a body worn camera as [Subsection (a) to be part of] a request for
public [recorded] information under Chapter 552, Government Code
[does not preclude the requestor from making a future request for
the same recorded information].
SECTION 8. Section 1701.661(f), Occupations Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 9. The changes in law made by this Act apply to
information produced or maintained before, on, or after the
effective date of this Act.
SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.