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House halts SB 15 after floor debate over confidentiality of law-enforcement department files
Summary
The Texas House debated Senate Bill 15 on the floor, a measure to standardize personnel and department file practices and restrict disclosure of unsubstantiated complaints, but a point of order was sustained that the bill's subject was not included in the governor's special-session call.
The Texas House floor considered Senate Bill 15, a measure to codify a model policy distinguishing officers' personnel files from department files and to restrict public disclosure of certain records held in the latter. Sponsors and opponents traded arguments about accountability, transparency, and the risk that confidential department files could be used to defame officers or to hide misconduct.
Representative Heffner, who laid out the bill, said the measure would standardize practices and keep unsubstantiated complaints out of publicly disclosed personnel files. “Unsubstantiated complaints of peace officer misconduct in particular should not be released to the public,” Heffner said, describing concerns that background or family information has been made public in some cases. Supporters argued the bill strikes a…
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