Efforts to limit police transparency by shielding some complaints from public view have failed multiple times during the 2025 legislative season—most recently in the form of House Bill 15, which died this week—fueled ultimately by proponents’ unwillingness to alter the sweeping language of the proposed bills in any substantial way.
Republican state Senator Phil King filed nearly identical bills in the regular and two special sessions, with similar or identical bills being filed in the House. The bills, if passed into law, would have created confidential catch-all “department files” for records not contained in officers’ personnel files, including unsubstantiated and uninvestigated complaints. Many Texas cities already keep some records including unfounded complaints in a confidential “G-File,” but the proposed measures would have created a more expansive secret file and implemented it statewide.
