| 1 | 1 | | 81R5092 PEP-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Madden H.B. No. 1870 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the manner in which inmates may receive certain cash |
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| 8 | 8 | | payments on discharge or release from the Texas Department of |
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| 9 | 9 | | Criminal Justice. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Section 501.015, Government Code, is amended by |
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| 12 | 12 | | amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (g) to read as |
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| 13 | 13 | | follows: |
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| 14 | 14 | | (a) When an inmate is discharged or is released on parole, |
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| 15 | 15 | | mandatory supervision, or conditional pardon, the department |
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| 16 | 16 | | [institutional division] shall provide the inmate with: |
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| 17 | 17 | | (1) suitable civilian clothing; |
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| 18 | 18 | | (2) money held in the inmate's trust account by the |
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| 19 | 19 | | director; and |
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| 20 | 20 | | (3) cash, in an amount and in the manner described by |
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| 21 | 21 | | Subsection (b) and, if applicable, Subsection (g). |
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| 22 | 22 | | (g) The department may contract with an appropriate |
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| 23 | 23 | | financial institution in this state, without cost to the state, to |
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| 24 | 24 | | make the payments to inmates required by Subsection (b) in the form |
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| 25 | 25 | | of a prepaid debit card that: |
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| 26 | 26 | | (1) authorizes the inmate in whose name the card is |
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| 27 | 27 | | issued to communicate a request to an unmanned teller machine or a |
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| 28 | 28 | | customer convenience terminal, without charge for the initial |
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| 29 | 29 | | transaction, or to obtain property or services by debit to an |
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| 30 | 30 | | account at a financial institution, without charge for any |
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| 31 | 31 | | point-of-sale transaction; |
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| 32 | 32 | | (2) is offered by a financial institution the deposits |
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| 33 | 33 | | of which are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation |
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| 34 | 34 | | and that complies with any applicable requirements of federal law; |
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| 35 | 35 | | and |
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| 36 | 36 | | (3) maintains a clear audit trail to simplify the |
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| 37 | 37 | | auditing process for purposes of reports to the comptroller. |
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| 38 | 38 | | SECTION 2. Section 499.155(c), Government Code, is amended |
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| 39 | 39 | | to read as follows: |
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| 40 | 40 | | (c) If an inmate is discharged or released on parole or |
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| 41 | 41 | | mandatory supervision from a transfer facility, the inmate is |
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| 42 | 42 | | entitled to receive release or discharge money from the department |
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| 43 | 43 | | [institutional division] in the same amount and manner as an inmate |
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| 44 | 44 | | is entitled to receive on release or discharge from any other |
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| 45 | 45 | | facility of the department [institutional division] under Section |
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| 46 | 46 | | 501.015. |
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| 47 | 47 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 48 | 48 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 49 | 49 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 50 | 50 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 51 | 51 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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