HB1531

HB 1531 would not only thwart the efforts of the Sunshine Project to open up police records at the Austin Police Department, it would also close records at the Travis County Sheriff's Department and literally hundreds of local law enforcement entities statewide. The following bill analysis was submitted to the Urban Affairs Committee of the Texas House of Representatives March 10, 1999 as a supplement to oral testimony by Hall of Shame webmaster Scott Henson.

Analysis of HB 1531

By Scott Henson, Sunshine Project for Police Accountability, 3-10-99

This bill presents at least three significant problems:

HB 1531 closes access to the public to traditionally available records of public complaints and the disciplinary process for police and firefighters statewide.

Currently, in cities and counties which have not adopted the civil service code, all complaints, the officer's or firefighter's response to the complaints, investigations of complaints and the final outcomes are public. This bill would close that. There's a public interest in these documents being public, affording greater opportunity for public oversight of these important public safety functions.

HB 1531 takes away municipalities' ability to choose how they want their local police and firefighters governed.

In hundreds of counties and municipalities statewide, local communities have made decisions whether to adopt the civil service code. Many have chosen not to do so because it imposes onerous restrictions on disciplining employees and closes most of the disciplinary process to the public. This bill would impose restrictions on open records even on municipalities which did not choose them.

HB 1531 restricts information about complaints even to police supervisors and managers which might assist them in personnel management.

Not only does HB 1531 restrict access to these important records to the public, but it also orders police departments in both civil service and non-civil service cities to expunge these records from the police and fire departments internal personnel files. Thus the information is not available for supervisors to assist them in handling their personnel management duties.

Background:

Presently there are two laws under which a local municpal government might fall related to open records about disciplinary actions against police and firefighters. Some cities have, via election, "opted in" to the state's civil service statutes, which contain significant restrictions on what records may be made public. All other municipalities are governed in this matter by the Public Information Act, section 552.108. Under Texas' civil service code, municipalities may only release "sustained complaints which result in disciplinary action." By contrast, under court interpretations of section 552.108 of the Public Information Act, the public may view all complaints, officers' response to complaints, material from the investigations, and any documents reflecting the final outcome.

Recommendation:

Instead of closing more records for police and firefighters, this committee should retain current open records protections for non-civil service municipalities.

The committee should take the opposite step, repealing section 143.089 (c) and (d) of the civil service code, so that the disciplinary process in civil service cities would become subject to the Texas Public Information Act just like the rest of the state.