88R827 JCG-F
	By: Eckhardt	S.B. No. 219

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to the powers and duties of the Texas Commission on Law
	Enforcement and law enforcement agencies regarding law enforcement
	officers and the use of body worn cameras; authorizing fees.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 1701.154, Occupations Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	Sec. 1701.154.  FEES.  (a) The commission may establish
	reasonable and necessary fees for the administration of this
	chapter, including reasonable and necessary fees for the
	administration of Section 1701.257.
	(b)  The commission shall establish a fee for the issuance of
	a license under this chapter as follows:
	(1)  $80 for an officer license; and
	(2)  $25 for a license issued under this chapter other
	than a license described by Subdivision (1).
	SECTION 2.  Subchapter F, Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, is
	amended by adding Section 1701.272 to read as follows:
	Sec. 1701.272.  MODEL POLICY ON USE OF FORCE. (a)  The
	commission shall develop and make available to all law enforcement
	agencies in this state a model policy and associated training
	materials regarding the use of force by peace officers. The model
	policy must:
	(1)  be designed to minimize the number and severity of
	incidents in which peace officers use force and include an emphasis
	on conflict de-escalation and the use of force in a manner
	proportionate to the threat posed and to the seriousness of the
	alleged offense; and
	(2)  be consistent with the guiding principles on the
	use of force issued by the Police Executive Research Forum.
	(b)  In developing a model policy under this section, the
	commission shall consult with:
	(1)  law enforcement agencies and organizations,
	including the Police Executive Research Forum and other national
	experts on police management and training; and
	(2)  community organizations.
	(c)  On request of a law enforcement agency, the commission
	shall provide the agency with training regarding the policy
	developed under Subsection (a).
	SECTION 3.  Section 1701.307(a), Occupations Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	(a)  The commission shall issue an appropriate officer or
	county jailer license to a person who, as required by this chapter:
	(1)  submits an application;
	(2)  completes the required training;
	(3)  passes the required examination;
	(4)  is declared to be in satisfactory psychological
	and emotional health and free from drug dependency or illegal drug
	use; [and]
	(5)  demonstrates weapons proficiency; and
	(6)  pays any required fees.
	SECTION 4.  Section 1701.3071(a), Occupations Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	(a)  The commission shall issue a telecommunicator license
	to a person who:
	(1)  submits an application;
	(2)  completes the required training;
	(3)  passes the required examination; [and]
	(4)  meets any other requirement of this chapter and
	the rules prescribed by the commission to qualify as a
	telecommunicator; and
	(5)  pays any required fees.
	SECTION 5.  The heading to Subchapter K, Chapter 1701,
	Occupations Code, is amended to read as follows:
	SUBCHAPTER K. DISCIPLINARY GROUNDS AND PROCEDURES
	SECTION 6.  Subchapter K, Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, is
	amended by adding Section 1701.5015 to read as follows:
	Sec. 1701.5015.  CERTAIN GROUNDS FOR DISCIPLINE OF PEACE
	OFFICER. (a)  The commission by rule shall establish grounds under
	which the commission shall suspend or revoke a peace officer
	license on a determination by the commission that the license
	holder's continued performance of duties as a peace officer
	constitutes a threat to the public welfare.
	(b)  The grounds under Subsection (a) must include:
	(1)  lack of competence in performing the license
	holder's duties as a peace officer;
	(2)  illegal drug use or an addiction that
	substantially impairs the license holder's ability to perform the
	license holder's duties as a peace officer;
	(3)  lack of truthfulness in court proceedings or other
	governmental operations, including:
	(A)  making a false statement in an offense report
	or other report as part of an investigation, unless the false
	statement is recanted not later than the 10th day after the date the
	false statement is made;
	(B)  making a false statement to obtain employment
	as a peace officer;
	(C)  making a false entry in court records or
	tampering with evidence; or
	(D)  engaging in conduct designed to impair the
	results or procedure of an examination or testing process
	associated with obtaining employment as a peace officer or a
	promotion to a higher rank;
	(4)  failure to follow the directives of a supervising
	officer or to follow the policies of the employing law enforcement
	agency;
	(5)  discriminatory conduct, including engaging in a
	course of conduct or a single egregious act, based on the race,
	color, religion, sex, pregnancy, national origin, age, disability,
	or sexual orientation of another that would cause a reasonable
	person to believe that the license holder is unable to perform the
	license holder's duties as a peace officer in a fair manner; or
	(6)  conduct indicating a pattern of:
	(A)  excessive use of force;
	(B)  abuse of official capacity;
	(C)  inappropriate relationships with persons in
	the custody of the license holder;
	(D)  sexual harassment or sexual misconduct while
	performing the license holder's duties as a peace officer; or
	(E)  misuse of information obtained as a result of
	the license holder's employment as a peace officer and related to
	the enforcement of criminal offenses.
	(c)  In making a determination under Subsection (a), the
	commission may not consider whether the license holder is
	prosecuted for or convicted of an offense based on the conduct that
	is the ground for suspension or revocation.
	SECTION 7.  Section 1701.655(b), Occupations Code, is
	amended to read as follows:
	(b)  A policy described by Subsection (a) must ensure that a
	body worn camera is activated only for a law enforcement purpose and
	must include:
	(1)  guidelines for when a peace officer should
	activate a camera or discontinue a recording currently in progress,
	considering the need for privacy in certain situations and at
	certain locations;
	(2)  provisions relating to data retention, including a
	provision requiring the retention of video for a minimum period of
	90 days;
	(3)  provisions relating to storage of video and audio,
	creation of backup copies of the video and audio, and maintenance of
	data security;
	(4)  provisions relating to the collection of a body
	worn camera, including the applicable video and audio recorded by
	the camera, as evidence;
	(5)  guidelines for public access, through open records
	requests, to recordings that are public information;
	(6)  [provisions entitling an officer to access any
	recording of an incident involving the officer before the officer
	is required to make a statement about the incident;
	[(7)] procedures for supervisory or internal review;
	and
	(7) [(8)]  the handling and documenting of equipment
	and malfunctions of equipment.
	SECTION 8.  Section 1701.660, Occupations Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	Sec. 1701.660.  RECORDINGS AS EVIDENCE. (a) A [Except as
	provided by Subsections (a-1) and (b), a] recording created with a
	body worn camera and documenting an incident that involves the use
	of deadly force by a peace officer or that is otherwise related to
	an administrative or criminal investigation of an officer may not
	be deleted or [,] destroyed[, or released to the public] until all
	criminal matters have been finally adjudicated and all related
	administrative investigations have concluded.
	(a-1)  A law enforcement agency shall [may] permit a person
	who is depicted in a recording of an incident described by
	Subsection (a) or, if the person is deceased, the person's
	authorized representative, to view the recording, on request of the
	applicable person, provided that [the law enforcement agency
	determines that the viewing furthers a law enforcement purpose and
	provided that] any authorized representative who is permitted to
	view the recording was not a witness to the incident. [A person
	viewing a recording may not duplicate the recording or capture
	video or audio from the recording.] A permitted viewing of a
	recording under this subsection is not considered to be a release of
	public information for purposes of Chapter 552, Government Code.
	(b)  A law enforcement agency shall adopt a policy for
	releasing [may release] to the public a recording described by
	Subsection (a) that prioritizes access to the recording in the
	following order:
	(1)  the civilian oversight system associated with the
	law enforcement agency, if any;
	(2)  the officer who used deadly force or is under
	investigation and the individual who is the subject of the
	recording, or if the individual is deceased, the individual's
	authorized representative, and any attorney representing the
	officer, individual, or representative described in this
	subdivision; and
	(3)  the public [if the law enforcement agency
	determines that the release furthers a law enforcement purpose].
	[(c)  This section does not affect the authority of a law
	enforcement agency to withhold under Section 552.108, Government
	Code, information related to a closed criminal investigation that
	did not result in a conviction or a grant of deferred adjudication
	community supervision.]
	SECTION 9.  Not later than January 1, 2024, the Texas
	Commission on Law Enforcement shall:
	(1)  develop and make available the model policy and
	associated training materials required under Section 1701.272,
	Occupations Code, as added by this Act; and
	(2)  adopt the rules required by Section 1701.5015,
	Occupations Code, as added by this Act.
	SECTION 10.  Section 1701.154, Occupations Code, as amended
	by this Act, applies only to a person who submits an application for
	a license issued under Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, on or after
	the effective date of this Act.  A person who submits an application
	before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
	effect on the date the application was submitted, and the former law
	is continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 11.  Section 1701.5015, Occupations Code, as added
	by this Act, applies only to conduct that occurs on or after January
	1, 2024.  Conduct that occurs before January 1, 2024, is governed by
	the law in effect immediately before the effective date of this Act,
	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 12.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.