Kyle, Texas, Proposition F, Police Department Oversight Charter Amendment (November 2020)

Kyle Proposition F
Election date November 3, 2020
Topic Local law enforcement
Status a Approved
Type Referral	Origin Lawmakers

A charter amendment authorizing the city council to adopt procedures and a committee to review the police department was on the ballot for Kyle voters in Hays County, Texas, on November 3, 2020. It was approved.

A "yes" vote supported amending the city's charter to authorize the city council to review the city's police department's procedures and policies; require the police chief to submit an annual report about the police department's operations; and establish a committee to review the department's policies, strategies, and resources.

A "no" vote opposed amending the city's charter to authorize the city council to establish procedures and a committee to review the city's police department, thus maintaining the city manager's review of the police department.

A simple majority vote was required for the approval of Proposition F.

Election results

Kyle Proposition F
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		12,088	76.94%
No		3,623	23.06%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Measure design

See also: Text of measure

Proposition F would amend the city's charter to authorize the city council to review the police department's procedures and policies. It would also authorize the city council to establish a committee to review the department's operations and policies. The amendment would require that the police department hold briefings and publish reports quarterly and use social media to engage the community. Lastly, the amendment requires the police chief or a designee to provide a report to the city council regarding the department's operations, crime statistics, training initiatives, and other information requested by the council.

Text of measure

Ballot question

The ballot question was as follows:

“

Shall Article VII, Section 7.06 of the City Charter be amended to provide that police department procedures and policies shall be subject to review and modification by the City Council, to require the Police Chief to provide the City Council with an annual report about police department operations, and to provide for the City Council to establish a committee with oversight over standard operating policies and strategies, data sharing, and use of resources of the police department for the purpose of promoting public safety, transparency, and crime reduction through community policing models?

”

Full text

The full text of the charter amendment can be read here.

Support

Supporters

Officials

• Mayor Travis Mitchell
• Council member Dex Ellison
• Council member Rick Koch
• Council member Robert Rizo
• Council member Tracy Scheel
• Council member Michael Tobias

Arguments

• Councilmember Dex Ellison: "To be abreast to what’s going on and to make sure that we are working with our PD to make sure all of us are building departments, enforcement and community policing that we can all be proud of so we are not in situations that we have seen in other countries."
• Councilmember Alex Villalobos: "I would hope that the department, based on the criteria that they are going to be reporting, is going to be able to advocate for themselves on behalf of the community. They’re going to show and be able to highlight what they are actually doing because they are going to be required to present them and it’s going to be based on data."

Opposition

Ballotpedia did not identify committees, organizations, or individuals opposing the ballot measure. If you are aware of any opponents or opposing arguments, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Background

George Floyd death and protests

See also: Policy changes in response to the killing of and protests about George Floyd

On May 25, 2020, Minneapolis police officers arrested George Floyd, a black man, after receiving a call that he had made a purchase with a counterfeit $20 bill. Floyd died after Derek Chauvin, a white officer, arrived at the scene and pressed his knee onto Floyd's neck as Floyd laid face-down on the street in handcuffs. Both the Hennepin County Medical Examiner and an independent autopsy conducted by Floyd's family ruled Floyd's death as a homicide stemming from the incident. The medical examiner's report, prepared by Dr. Michael Baden and Dr. Allecia Wilson, said that it was "not a legal determination of culpability or intent, and should not be used to usurp the judicial process."

Floyd's death was filmed and shared widely, leading to protests and demonstrations over racism, civil rights, and police use of force. The first protests took place in Minneapolis-St. Paul on May 26. A protest in Chicago organized by Chance the Rapper and Rev. Michael Pfleger took place the same day, making it the first major city outside of Minneapolis to host a protest over Floyd's death.

Click here to read more about responses to the killing of and protests about George Floyd.

Related 2020 ballot measures

See also: Local police-related ballot measures following the killing of and protests about George Floyd (November 2020)

Ballotpedia identified 18 local police-related or law enforcement measures on the ballot for November 3, 2020, that qualified following the death of George Floyd. The local ballot measures were on the ballot in nine cities and four counties within six states. The local ballot measures concerned police practices, police oversight boards and auditors, police staffing and funding levels, recordings from police body and dashboard cameras, and other policies.

State	Jurisdiction	Title	Description	Result
California	Los Angeles County	Measure J	Requires that no less than 10% of the county's general fund be appropriated to community programs and alternatives to incarceration	a
California	Oakland	Measure S1	Changes the powers, duties, and staffing of the Oakland Police Commission and creates the Office of Inspector General	a
California	San Diego	Measure B	Replaces the Community Review Board on Police Practices with the Commission on Police Practices that would be appointed by the city council to conduct investigations and subpoena witnesses and documents related to deaths resulting from police interactions and complaints made against police officers	a
California	San Francisco	Proposition D	Creates the Sheriff's Department Oversight Board and the Sheriff's Department Office of Inspector General	a
California	San Francisco	Proposition E	Removes the mandatory police staffing level from the city's charter	a
California	San Jose	Measure G	Authorizes the independent police auditor to review reports and records related to officer-involved shootings and uses of force	a
California	Sonoma County	Measure P	Makes changes to the powers and duties of the Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach (IOLERO)	a/ot
Illinois	DuPage County	Law Enforcement Budget Advisory Referendum	Advises the county to continue to consider law enforcement and public safety as its top budgeting priority	a
Illinois	DuPage County	Law Enforcement Injury Risk Training Advisory Referendum	Advises the county to continue to fund and support law enforcement training methods that decrease the risk of injury to officers and suspects	a
Ohio	Akron	Release of Recordings from Police Body and Dashboard Cameras after Use of Force Charter Amendment	Requires recordings from police body and dashboard cameras documenting police use of force that results in death or serious injury to be released to the public	a
Ohio	Columbus	Issue 2	Creates the Civilian Police Review Board to investigate alleged police misconduct, subpoena testimony and evidence during the investigations, make recommendations to the Division of Police, and appoint and manage the new position of Inspector General for the Division of Police	a
Oregon	Portland	Measure 26-217	Establishes a new police oversight board in the city's charter	a
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	Question 1	Adds language to the Philadelphia City Charter calling on the police department to "eliminate the practice of unconstitutional stop and frisk, consistent with judicial precedent"	a
Pennsylvania	Philadelphia	Question 3	Creates a Citizens Police Oversight Commission to replace the Police Advisory Commission	a
Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh	Independent Citizen Police Review Board Charter Amendment	Requires police officers to cooperate with investigations conducted by the Independent Citizen Police Review Board	a
Texas	Kyle	Proposition F	Amends the city charter to authorize the city council to adopt procedures and a committee to review the police department	a
Washington	King County	Charter Amendment 1	Requires investigations into all police-related deaths and to provide public attorneys to represent the decedent's family in the investigation	a
Washington	King County	Charter Amendment 4	Amends the county charter to authorize the Office of Law Enforcement Oversight (OLEO) to subpoena witnesses, documents, and other evidence in its investigations of law enforcement personnel	a
Washington	King County	Charter Amendment 5	Returns the office of the sheriff from an elected position to an appointed position that is appointed by the county executive and confirmed by the county council	a
Washington	King County	Charter Amendment 6	Gives the county council the authority to specify the duties of the sheriff	a

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing local ballot measures in Texas

This measure was put on the ballot through a unanimous vote of the Kyle City Council.

See also

Local measures

• Local measures in 2020
• Local law enforcement on the ballot
• Local charter amendments on the ballot
• Hays County measures

Texas

• November 3, 2020 measures in Texas
• Local ballot measures, Texas
• Kyle, Texas

News and analysis

• State and local preemption conflicts
• Measures advancing national agendas

External links

Suggest a link

• Search Google News for this topic
• Kyle Elections Office website