Austin opened up police misconduct files. Now, state lawmakers want to lock them back up.

A bill that’s making its way through the Texas Legislature could target Austin’s management of its police department. Now, Senate Bill 781, authored by Republican state Sen. Phil King, could undo years of litigation, a citywide referendum and countless hours of public back-and-forth related to the Austin Police Oversight Act. Those behind the 2023 measure, which passed by a 4-to-1 margin, worry the state could undo it altogether.

How did we get here?

Austin and lawmakers in the Texas Capitol have, for years, been locked in what could be described as a choreographed dance. Austin zigs, passing local rules on everything from trees to police funding to property taxes to ride-hailing to worksite protections to, even, plastic bags. State lawmakers zag, targeting those local rules, often undoing them altogether.

In Texas, police are legally required to release files related to complaints against police officers if they’re disciplined. That could be anything from firing an officer to a couple days’ suspension.

Complaints that don’t result in discipline are, in some departments, confidential. That was the case at Austin Police Department for years, but the Austin Police Oversight Act (APOA) made them publicly available – along with the suggestions from the city’s civilian-led Office of Police Oversight.

Kathy Mitchell, who works with Equity Action, pushed to get the APOA on the ballot in 2023, and said the measure gives more insight into how APD’s disciplinary system works. Mitchell said prior to APOA’s rollout, the police department would announce that an officer was suspended, or fired, but the statements lacked any real detail.

Mitchell said publishing stuff like this holds the department’s feet to the fire. Opponents said the scrutiny would have a chilling effect on police officers. But so far, Mitchell said that hasn’t been the case.

“The sky has not fallen,” she said.

Austin City Council Member Chito Vela said King’s bill wouldn’t necessarily be the end for the Austin Police Oversight Act. When the city and Austin’s police union agreed to a new contract last year, it locked in the APOA – and the contract “may trump the bill,” Vela said.

“Regardless of what the Legislature does, we’re going to have full access … to police disciplinary records for the next five years,” Vela said.

Vela and others at City Hall knew a bill like this would be filed during the legislative session; that’s why they pushed so hard to pass the police contract before lawmakers convened in January. He said the bill wouldn’t overrule the city’s agreement with APD’s union.

“If we had said no to the contract, this kind of bill could have gotten filed and could have gotten passed …. We would have been in a worse position,” he said. “That’s why I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity that we had to lock in that transparency and accountability.”

Not all law enforcement agencies have a failsafe like Austin does

If state Sen. King’s bill passes, law enforcement agencies across the state will be required to bar police discipline records from public view. That includes the Texas Department of Public Safety, and major city police departments, like Dallas, that don’t have permanent contracts on the books.

Sen. King did not respond to an interview request for this story, but Vela said if King’s bill passes as written, it would be a “horrible blow” to police transparency in Texas.

“Sunshine is the best disinfectant,” Vela said. “We have to be able to see what our public servants are doing – whether they’re city managers or police officers or transportation workers. The public has to have access to these records in order to understand their government, in order to be informed, and in order to provide oversight and accountability which ultimately lies with the people.”

Mitchell said the bill is nearly guaranteed to get a hearing – and could make it through the Texas Senate’s Criminal Justice Committee. For now, she said, Austin’s police transparency policy is protected, though she’s not as optimistic as Vela.

“We have a little more transparency … that’s what we have,” she said. “That’s what voters voted for.”

This story was produced as part of the Austin Monitor’s reporting partnership with KUT.

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