37 TAC § 217.8. Contesting an Employment Termination Report

(a) A person who is the subject of an employment termination report is entitled to file a petition contesting information included in the employment termination report. The written petition for correction of the report must be filed with the executive director on a form currently prescribed by the commission and a copy must be served on the law enforcement agency.

(b) A petition described in subsection (a) of this section must be received by the executive director not later than the 30th day after the person receives a copy of the report of separation.

(c) Upon receipt of the petition the executive director will refer the dispute to SOAH.

(d) A proceeding conducted pursuant to subsection (c) of this section is a contested case under Chapter 2001, Texas Government Code. The parties to the proceeding shall be the person contesting the employment termination and the chief administrative officer of the law enforcement agency. The Commission is not considered a party in a proceeding conducted by SOAH. The chief administrative officer of the law enforcement agency shall have the burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence. Following the contested case hearing, the administrative law judge shall issue a final order on the petition.

(e) If the alleged misconduct is not supported by a preponderance of the evidence, the administrative law judge shall order the commission to change the report. The commission shall send the changed report to the law enforcement agency that prepared the original employment termination report. The law enforcement agency shall replace the original employment termination report with the changed report.

(f) Any party to a proceeding described in subsection (d) of this section may file exceptions to the administrative law judge's final order in accordance with SOAH rules and procedures.

(g) The results of a hearing described in subsection (d) of this section are enforceable by the commission pursuant to Chapter 1701, Texas Occupations Code and Chapter 2001, Texas Government Code.

(h) The results of a hearing described in subsection (d) of this section are appealable in accordance with Chapter 2001, Texas Government Code.

(i) A chief administrative officer of a law enforcement agency who fails to comply with the results of a hearing after all appeals available to the agency have been exhausted is subject to disciplinary action pursuant to Chapter 1701, Texas Occupations Code, and Chapter 223 of this title.

(j) All information submitted under subsection (d) of this section is exempt from disclosure under the Public Information Act, Chapter 552, Texas Government Code, unless the individual resigned or was terminated due to substantiated incidents of excessive force or violations of law other than traffic offenses, and is subject to subpoena only in a judicial proceeding.

(k) The effective date of this section is February 1, 2014.