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Committee adopts limits on ticket quotas, permits targets for citizen contacts and grant-funded shifts
Summary
The House panel approved Substitute 4 to SB243, which bars quotas that require a fixed number of tickets or arrests but allows agencies to require a number of "citizen interactions" per shift and to maintain metrics tied to certain grant-funded operations; the substitute passed unanimously in committee.
Representative Todd Wyler (floor sponsor) told the committee the substitute seeks to preserve officer discretion while addressing concerns about inactivity on some shifts and undue pressure to generate tickets. "I think where we come to this is in a much better place," Wyler said of the compromise.
The substitute prohibits a quota that requires a specific number of citations or arrests. It does not, however, prohibit departmental requirements that officers make a set number of citizen interactions—defined operationally by agencies to include traffic stops, business checks, park checks, pedestrian contacts or similar proactive work. The substitute also allows metrics tied to federal or other grant-funded operations when those grants require specific deliverables.
The sponsor described the change as aimed at ensuring accountability without pressuring officers to issue citations when a warning is more appropriate. Representative Gwynn and others questioned how agencies would record interactions; police representatives said sergeants typically task officers and the activity is recorded through dispatch or reporting systems.
The committee adopted Substitute 4 and passed SB243 with a favorable recommendation by voice vote; the transcript recorded the outcome as unanimous. Supporters urged clear operational definitions be handled at the agency level and recommended monitoring implementation.
