Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that authorizes the governor to award grants for body-worn cameras to certain law enforcement agencies, effective September 1, 2015.

Highlights:

• Authorizes a police department of a municipality, a sheriff of a county, or the Department of Public Safety to apply for a grant to equip peace officers with body-worn cameras (Sec. 1).
• Requires a law enforcement agency receiving a grant to adopt a policy for the use of body-worn cameras that includes, but is not limited to, the following guidelines (Sec. 1):
• Provisions relating to the activation and de-activation of the body-worn camera in certain private situations and locations, including any non-confrontational encounter or interview with a witness or victim;
• Provisions requiring camera data to be retained for at least 90 days;
• Provisions relating to the storage of audio and video, backup copies of audio and video, and  maintenance of data security; and
• Provisions authorizing an officer to access recordings of an incident involving him or her.
• Requires the agency to train peace officers who will wear the body-worn cameras and any other individual who will come into contact with the body-worn camera’s audio and video data (Sec. 1).
• Requires a law enforcement agency receiving a grant to report the annual cost of implementing a body-worn camera program, including equipment and data storage costs, to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (Sec. 1).
• Requires the commission to submit a compilation of the information submitted to the governor and legislature no later than December 1 of each year (Sec. 1).
• Classifies the unauthorized release of a recording created with a body-worn camera as a Class A misdemeanor (Sec. 1).

Full Bill Text