The law of the state G would close certain open records at APD (Art by Zeke Barbaro / Getty Images)
Legislators in Texas consider invoices that would enable the law enforcement agencies throughout the state to hide certain disciplinary documents from the public and to create a way for the Austin police department, which will regain the confidentiality that they have lost when Austin Austin Police Oversight Act approved in 2023.
In the legislation (House Bill 2486 and Senate Bill 781), all law enforcement agencies (police authorities of the city, transit, university and school district, Sheriff’s Offices and state law enforcement agencies) must build a confidential personnel file for every officer within the department. Records in this file would not be accessible by “another agency or person” (unless the official applied for a job from another agency). The legislative templates would include prison officials who would hinder the independent investigation of the deaths of the prison death, which are required by the Sandra Bland Act.
The co-founder and executive director of the Texas Jail Project, Krish Gundu, told a committee last week that outside the agenture and the Texas Rangers-Niche would be able to access the full personnel files for prison managers who are involved in a death examination.
Among other things, the file would contain symptoms against civil servants who did not lead to disciplinary measures. This can include unfounded allegations, but also complaints that had proven to be true but were undisciplined. The legal templates would essentially create a mirror of the state legal provision of “G file” that is available to the Texas cities who are interested in police officers and firefighters with unique jobs (the voters in cities who want to accept these protective measures must do so by choice; Austin voter 1948).
The difference is that the confidential G file recordings are something in which police officers and firefighters decide.
Austin Justice Advocates, who worked with urban officials as well as the leaders of the nationals and the head of the state police against the Austin Police Department’s Austin Police Department, who removed the voters of Austin with overwhelming adoption by Austin Police Oversight Act two years ago. Finally, the supporters won, and the city and Austin Police Association signed an employment contract that ensures that APD does not maintain a G file for the five-year term of the contract.
“The way this law is written is constantly underground and buried.” -Senator Boris Mills, D-Houston
According to the recommendation of the Sunset Commission of the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement, the law was introduced in 2023 that the legislator introduces laws to the standardization of personnel records of the peace officer. In the hearing of the House of Representatives and the Senate Committee, the supporters said that the legislation should prevent the approval of personal data from civil servants (social security numbers, house addresses, names family members, etc.) and evidence from misconduct that did not lead to discipline. Followers of the secret personnel file argue that the publication of non -proven complaints could cause the official to call.
However, the invoices also seem to be in response to Austin’s step to remove the G file from APD. According to statements that are offered at a hearing in the committee for budgetary and veterans of the house on March 26, the Committee on Public Security and Veterans of the House, it seems that the police union managers consider the invoices to be a way to undermine the contract and to restore the secret personnel files at APD.
“We don’t want to be like the city of Austin,” said Jennifer Szimanski, who acts as deputy executive director of the combined law enforcement associations of Texas (the nationwide police union), the committee. Szimanski, a former police officer of Austin, continued: “If we say goodbye to this draft law, the police officers of Austin will soon return to this provision (of the state law) that they have had for decades.”
Cleat did not respond to our questions about Szimanski’s certificate, but her statement implies that Cleat or APA could use the new law to submit complaints against the city to restore the G file of the APD.
The Rep. Cole Hefner, author of HB 2486, also signaled that the invoice was motivated by the fight for the G file in Austin. “Personnel files for civil servants of the Texas law enforcement agencies have become a political peasant in recent years,” said Hefner when they set the legislative proposal at the meeting of the committee committee for the security of Homeland Security, public security and veterans. “Confidentiality should not depend on which law enforcement authorities … they are busy.”
At least some of the records (such as sensitive personal information) are already exempt from publication to the public from the Texas Public Information Act. And in Austin, when G -Feden material was published to the public -in particular complaints about misconduct that did not lead to disciplinary measures -the evidence was published together with the claim. For example, we reported on a complaint submitted in 2020. We received the complaint about misconduct by public information request, but we also received records from the examination of internal affairs that refuted the claim and were able to check the camera recordings of the incident in question.
Members of the House Committee showed little interest in examining disadvantages of legislation. However, senators in the criminal judicial committee of the upper chamber seemed to be more concerned. Senator Boris Mills, the Democrat from Houston, who previously worked in law enforcement, said intensively on how the invoices would reduce the accountability and the transparency of the police.
“The way this law is written,” said Miles at the committee meeting on March 25, “complaints will continue and further buried and buried.”
Both legal templates remained pending so that legislators could issue concerns during each hearing.
(Tagstotranslate) 89. Legislature seat
