HBA-ATS H.B. 2665 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2665
By: George
Civil Practices
4/13/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current standards set by the Texas Commission of Law Enforcement
Officer Standards and Education, an applicant for a position as a law
enforcement officer must undergo a thorough, comprehensive background
investigation to determine whether the applicant is of good moral
character.  It is difficult to perform a thorough and comprehensive
background if a current or former employer of an applicant provides only
the dates of employment and a description of the position held.  These
employers may be unwilling to divulge more information because of fear that
they may be held liable under the law for disclosing or withholding
information about current and former employees.  

Although H.B. 2665 requires an employer to disclose job performance
information about a current or former employee, upon request of a law
enforcement agency, it provides immunity from civil liability for that
disclosure or any damages proximately caused by that disclosure, unless the
preponderance of the evidence proves that the information disclosed was
known by that employer to be false at the time of the disclosure.  The same
standard applies to a managerial employee or other representative of the
employer who is authorized to provide and who does provide such
information. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Title 4, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, by adding
Chapter 97, as follows: 

CHAPTER 97.  EMPLOYER IMMUNITY FOR INFORMATION PROVIDED TO LAW ENFORCEMENT
AGENCIES 

Sec. 97.001.  IMMUNITY FROM CIVIL LIABILITY.  Provides that an employer who
discloses information on request to a law enforcement agency (agency) about
a current or former employee of the employer is immune from civil liability
for that disclosure or any damages proximately caused by that disclosure
unless it is proven by a preponderance of the evidence that the information
disclosed was known by that employer to be false at the time the disclosure
was made. Provides that this section applies to a managerial employee or
other representative of the employer who is authorized to provide and who
does provide information under this section in the same manner that it
applies to an employer. 

SECTION 2.Effective date: September 1, 1999.
  Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 3.Emergency clause.