Bill Text: TX SB972 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced


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

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-11 - Referred to Jurisprudence [SB972 Detail]

Download: Texas-2021-SB972-Introduced.html
  87R9171 MCK-D
 
  By: West S.B. No. 972
 
 
 
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.  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 4.  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 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
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