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Austin, Texas, implements new police CBA following oversight and accountability debates (2024)

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November 27, 2024

The city of Austin, Texas, and the Austin Police Association signed a new collective bargaining agreement (CBA), effective Oct. 29. The contract was signed following over a year of negotiations between the city and the union after the previous contract expired in September 2022.[1][2]

Negotiations over the new CBA largely focused on the inclusion of provisions of the Austin Police Oversight Act (APOA)—a May 2023 city ballot measure related to law enforcement accountability and records accessibility.

The city released a statement contending the new contract "will help improve recruitment, retention, [and] strengthen police oversight." The new CBA, in part, includes the following provisions:[3]

  • extending the time frame in which officers can be disciplined for misconduct,
  • eliminating confidential personnel files, and
  • enhancing the promotion process by providing additional training for promotion assessors, among other provisions.

Equity Action, the nonprofit organization behind the 2023 ballot measure, filed a lawsuit in October to block the city from voting on the proposed contract. They argued the CBA did not clearly implement certain provisions of the APOA, specifically provisions related to making confidential police files, referred to as G-files, publicly available.[4]

Kathy Mitchell, a representative of Equity Action, argued, "We really just want to see the city live up to the promises that it made during the process. We heard very clearly that the intent here was to fully implement the APOA. … We are still waiting for much of that implementation." Equity Action later dropped the lawsuit after the contract was approved.[5]

Supporters of the contract applauded the new oversight measures it included. Austin City Manager T.C. Broadnax argued, "The agreement not only includes groundbreaking measures to enhance police oversight but also provisions for improving the Austin Police Department's hiring and promotion process."[6]

The background

Voters approved the Austin Police Oversight Act in May 2023 by a vote of 79.9%-20.1%. The act made changes to the city's civilian oversight system including requiring officer disciplinary records to be publicly available and authorizing the director of the Office of Police Oversight to access personnel records regarding misconduct investigations, use-of-force reports, and body-worn camera video records, among other provisions.

Equity Action, the nonprofit organization behind the ballot measure, filed a lawsuit against the city and the police union in December 2023, arguing they had not followed through on implementing the required provisions of the measure, specifically provisions related to the public release of G-files.

A Texas district court judge in an August ruling claimed the Austin Police Department and the city had "unlawfully failed to perform their mandatory duty to end the City of Austin's use of the 'g file.'"[7]

Contract negotiations resumed in September after the city and union agreed to follow the court guidance on implementing the police oversight provisions of the APOA. City administration argued the proposed contract complied with the court order, but Equity Action argued the language of the proposed CBA undermined the APOA.[6][8]

The Austin City Council voted 10-1 on Oct. 24 to approve the new five-year contract. According to reports, the vote followed more than eight hours of public comment from approximately 300 people who signed up to speak about the contract.[9]

A closer look at the Austin CBA

The new CBA between the city of Austin, Texas, and the Austin Police Association went into effect on Oct. 29 and is set to expire on Sept. 30, 2029.

The CBA includes a provision eliminating confidential personnel records. Article 16 Section 4 states the following:

“

a) For complaints of alleged misconduct which occurred prior to the effective date of this Agreement, the department shall follow TLGC 143.089. Effective upon execution of this Agreement and for complaints for alleged misconduct which occurred after that date, the City shall not maintain a confidential police department personnel file under TLGC 143.089(g), nor shall the Department itself. The City and Department shall maintain police personnel files in accordance with 143.089(a), which shall prospectively include records that would have previously been placed in the departmental file in accordance with 143.089(g). This provision shall specifically preempt and override any inconsistent provisions in TLGC 143.089 and shall be considered prospective from the effective date of this Agreement.

b) If a request is submitted under the Texas Open Records Act, to the City or the Department for any documents relating to an Officer that are maintained in the 143.089(a) file pursuant to the exception to 143.089(g) in Section 4(a) above, the ASSOCIATION shall be notified and provided a written copy of the open records request with redactions that would otherwise be in accordance with Texas Public Information Act. Such notification shall occur in the same time frame the City or Department requests the documents from appropriate city or department personnel. [10]

”

The CBA also includes a provision extending the statute of limitations for disciplining officers accused of misconduct. Article 17 Section 8 states the following:

“

Effective upon execution of this Agreement and for alleged misconduct which occurred after that date, the Police Chief retains the authority to discipline officers for misconduct for 365 calendar days starting from the date that a complaint is submitted to the City of Austin or the conduct in question becomes known to the Police Chief or any Assistant Police Chief, whichever is earlier, so long as such discipline occurs within three years of the date of the incident in question. [...] If the Police Chief has not issued disciplinary action within 180 calendar days from the date the complaint is submitted to the City of Austin or the conduct in question becomes known to the Police Chief or any Assistant Chief, whichever is earlier, the Police Chief shall advise the subject Officer in writing as to the reason the Police Chief needs additional time beyond the 180 day period and every 90 days thereafter. [10]

”

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Fox 7 Austin, "City of Austin, police union formally sign 5-year contract for APD," October 29, 2024
  2. ↑ Austin, Texas, Agreement Between The City of Austin and The Austin Police Association," November 15, 2018
  3. ↑ austintexas.gov, "Austin City Council approves Contract with Austin Police Association," October 24, 2024
  4. ↑ District Court 201st Judicial District Travis County, Texas, "Cause No. D-1-GN-23-008687," October 22, 2024
  5. ↑ KUT News, "Nonprofit drops lawsuit against Austin over new police contract," November 8, 2024
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 CBS Austin, "Austin Police contract is signed with 90% approval from the police union and city council," October 29, 2024
  7. ↑ KXAN, "Judge says city leaders 'failed to end' APD's 'g-files,'" August 31, 2024
  8. ↑ KUT News, "Opponents move to block Austin's vote on a new police labor contract," October 23, 2024
  9. ↑ Austin Monitor, "Austin City Council passes new police contract," October 25, 2024
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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