Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB553 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	81R734 KCR-D
2	2	By: Madden H.B. No. 553
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the establishment of the office of criminal and
8	8	juvenile justice ombudsman.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subtitle G, Title 4, Government Code, is amended
11	11	by adding Chapter 502 to read as follows:
12	12	CHAPTER 502. OFFICE OF CRIMINAL AND JUVENILE JUSTICE OMBUDSMAN
13	13	SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL PROVISIONS
14	14	Sec. 502.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
15	15	(1) "Criminal or juvenile justice agency" means:
16	16	(A) the Department of Public Safety;
17	17	(B) the Texas Department of Criminal Justice;
18	18	(C) the Board of Pardons and Paroles;
19	19	(D) a community supervision and corrections
20	20	department established under Chapter 76;
21	21	(E) the Texas Youth Commission;
22	22	(F) the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission; and
23	23	(G) a local juvenile probation department
24	24	receiving state aid under Subchapter E, Chapter 141, Human
25	25	Resources Code.
26	26	(2) "Office" means the office of criminal and juvenile
27	27	justice ombudsman created under this chapter.
28	28	(3) "Ombudsman" means the individual who has been
29	29	appointed under this chapter to the office of criminal and juvenile
30	30	justice ombudsman.
31	31	Sec. 502.002. ESTABLISHMENT; PURPOSE. The office of
32	32	criminal and juvenile justice ombudsman is a state agency
33	33	established to investigate, evaluate, and secure the rights of
34	34	individuals arrested, detained, confined, released, or supervised
35	35	by or committed to a criminal or juvenile justice agency.
36	36	Sec. 502.003. CONSTRUCTION WITH OTHER LAW OR AGENCY
37	37	POLICIES, PROCEDURES, OR RULES. (a) Notwithstanding any other law
38	38	or any policy, procedure, or rule of a criminal or juvenile justice
39	39	agency, the office of the criminal and juvenile justice ombudsman
40	40	is the single ombudsman for each criminal or juvenile justice
41	41	agency.
42	42	(b) An ombudsman established by an individual criminal or
43	43	juvenile justice agency by policy, procedure, or rule is abolished.
44	44	Sec. 502.004. INDEPENDENCE. (a) The criminal and juvenile
45	45	justice ombudsman in the performance of its duties and powers under
46	46	this chapter acts independently of a criminal or juvenile justice
47	47	agency.
48	48	(b) Funding for the criminal and juvenile justice ombudsman
49	49	is appropriated separately from funding for a criminal or juvenile
50	50	justice agency.
51	51	[Sections 502.005-502.050 reserved for expansion]
52	52	SUBCHAPTER B. APPOINTMENT AND MANAGEMENT OF OFFICE
53	53	Sec. 502.051. APPOINTMENT OF OMBUDSMAN. (a) The executive
54	54	commissioner of the Texas Youth Commission, the executive director
55	55	of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and the public safety
56	56	director of the Department of Public Safety shall jointly appoint
57	57	the criminal and juvenile justice ombudsman for a two-year term of
58	58	office expiring February 1 of each odd-numbered year.
59	59	(b) A person appointed as criminal and juvenile justice
60	60	ombudsman is eligible for reappointment but may not serve more than
61	61	three terms in that capacity.
62	62	Sec. 502.052. ASSISTANTS. The criminal and juvenile
63	63	justice ombudsman may hire assistants to perform, under the
64	64	direction of the ombudsman, the same duties and exercise the same
65	65	powers as the ombudsman.
66	66	Sec. 502.053. CONFLICT OF INTEREST. (a) A person may not
67	67	serve as criminal and juvenile justice ombudsman or as an assistant
68	68	to the ombudsman if the person or the person's spouse:
69	69	(1) is employed by or participates in the management
70	70	of a business entity or other organization receiving funds from a
71	71	criminal or juvenile justice agency;
72	72	(2) owns or controls, directly or indirectly, any
73	73	interest in a business entity or other organization receiving funds
74	74	from a criminal or juvenile justice agency; or
75	75	(3) uses or receives any amount of tangible goods,
76	76	services, or funds from a criminal or juvenile justice agency.
77	77	(b) A person may not serve as criminal and juvenile justice
78	78	ombudsman or as an assistant to the ombudsman if the person or the
79	79	person's spouse is required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter
80	80	305 because of the person's activities for compensation on behalf
81	81	of a profession related to the operation of a criminal or juvenile
82	82	justice agency.
83	83	(c) A person may not serve as criminal and juvenile justice
84	84	ombudsman or as an assistant to the ombudsman if the person or the
85	85	person's spouse is an officer, employee, manager, or paid
86	86	consultant of a Texas trade association in the field of criminal or
87	87	juvenile justice.
88	88	(d) For the purposes of this section, a Texas trade
89	89	association is a nonprofit, cooperative, and voluntarily joined
90	90	association of business or professional competitors in this state
91	91	designed to assist its members and its industry or profession in
92	92	dealing with mutual business or professional problems and in
93	93	promoting their common interest.
94	94	Sec. 502.054. SUNSET PROVISION. The office is subject to
95	95	review under Chapter 325 (Texas Sunset Act) but is not abolished
96	96	under that chapter. The office shall be reviewed during the periods
97	97	in which state agencies reviewed or abolished in 2011 and every 12th
98	98	year after 2011 are reviewed.
99	99	Sec. 502.055. REPORT. (a) The criminal and juvenile
100	100	justice ombudsman shall submit on a quarterly basis to the
101	101	governor, the lieutenant governor, the state auditor, and each
102	102	member of the legislature a report that is both aggregated and
103	103	disaggregated by each criminal or juvenile justice agency and
104	104	describes:
105	105	(1) the work of the criminal and juvenile justice
106	106	ombudsman;
107	107	(2) the results of any review or investigation
108	108	undertaken by the ombudsman, including reviews or investigation of
109	109	services contracted by a criminal or juvenile justice agency; and
110	110	(3) any recommendations that the ombudsman has in
111	111	relation to the duties of the ombudsman.
112	112	(b) The criminal and juvenile justice ombudsman shall
113	113	immediately report to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the
114	114	speaker of the house of representatives, the state auditor, and the
115	115	executive officer of the relevant criminal or juvenile justice
116	116	agency any particularly serious or flagrant:
117	117	(1) case of abuse or injury of an individual arrested,
118	118	detained, confined, released, or supervised by or committed to the
119	119	agency;
120	120	(2) problem concerning the administration of an agency
121	121	program or operation;
122	122	(3) problem concerning the delivery of services in a
123	123	facility operated by or under contract with the agency; or
124	124	(4) interference by the agency with an investigation
125	125	conducted by the office.
126	126	Sec. 502.056. COMMUNICATION AND CONFIDENTIALITY. (a) A
127	127	criminal or juvenile justice agency shall allow any individual
128	128	arrested, detained, confined, released, or supervised by or
129	129	committed to the agency to communicate with the criminal and
130	130	juvenile justice ombudsman or an assistant to the ombudsman. The
131	131	communication:
132	132	(1) may be in person, by mail, or by any other means;
133	133	and
134	134	(2) is confidential and privileged.
135	135	(b) The records of the criminal and juvenile justice
136	136	ombudsman are confidential, except that the ombudsman shall:
137	137	(1) share with the executive officer of the relevant
138	138	criminal or juvenile justice agency a communication with an
139	139	individual that may involve the abuse or neglect of the individual;
140	140	and
141	141	(2) disclose the nonprivileged records of the office,
142	142	if required by a court order on a showing of good cause.
143	143	(c) The criminal and juvenile justice ombudsman may make
144	144	reports relating to an investigation public after the investigation
145	145	is complete but only if the names of any individual arrested,
146	146	detained, confined, released, or supervised by or committed to a
147	147	criminal or juvenile justice agency and employees of the agency are
148	148	redacted from the report and remain confidential.
149	149	(d) The name, address, or other personally identifiable
150	150	information of a person who files a complaint with the office,
151	151	information generated by the office in the course of an
152	152	investigation, and confidential records obtained by the office are
153	153	confidential and not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552,
154	154	except that the information and records, other than confidential
155	155	information and records concerning a pending law enforcement
156	156	investigation or criminal action, may be disclosed to the
157	157	appropriate person if the office determines that disclosure is:
158	158	(1) in the general public interest;
159	159	(2) necessary to enable the office to perform the
160	160	responsibilities provided under this section; or
161	161	(3) necessary to identify, prevent, or treat the abuse
162	162	or neglect by a criminal or juvenile justice agency of an individual
163	163	arrested, detained, confined, released, or supervised by or
164	164	committed to the agency.
165	165	Sec. 502.057. PROMOTION OF AWARENESS OF OFFICE. The
166	166	criminal and juvenile justice ombudsman shall promote awareness
167	167	among the public and individuals arrested, detained, confined,
168	168	released, or supervised by or committed to a criminal or juvenile
169	169	justice agency of:
170	170	(1) how the office may be contacted;
171	171	(2) the purpose of the office; and
172	172	(3) the services the office provides.
173	173	Sec. 502.058. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY. The office by rule
174	174	shall establish policies and procedures for the operations of the
175	175	office of criminal and juvenile justice ombudsman.
176	176	Sec. 502.059. AUTHORITY OF STATE AUDITOR. The office is
177	177	subject to audit by the state auditor in accordance with Chapter
178	178	321.
179	179	[Sections 502.060-502.100 reserved for expansion]
180	180	SUBCHAPTER C. DUTIES AND POWERS
181	181	Sec. 502.101. DUTIES AND POWERS. (a) The criminal and
182	182	juvenile justice ombudsman shall:
183	183	(1) review any procedures established by each criminal
184	184	or juvenile justice agency and evaluate the delivery of services to
185	185	individuals arrested, detained, confined, released, or supervised
186	186	by or committed to a criminal or juvenile justice agency to ensure
187	187	that the rights of those individuals are fully observed;
188	188	(2) review complaints filed with the ombudsman
189	189	concerning the actions of a criminal or juvenile justice agency and
190	190	investigate each complaint in which it appears that an individual
191	191	described by Subdivision (1) may be in need of assistance from the
192	192	ombudsman;
193	193	(3) conduct investigations of complaints, other than
194	194	complaints alleging criminal behavior, if the office determines
195	195	that:
196	196	(A) an individual described by Subdivision (1) or
197	197	the individual's family may be in need of assistance from the
198	198	office; or
199	199	(B) a systemic issue in the provision of services
200	200	by a criminal or juvenile justice agency is raised by a complaint;
201	201	(4) review or inspect periodically the facilities,
202	202	whether public or private, and the procedures of any criminal or
203	203	juvenile justice agency to ensure that the rights of individuals
204	204	described by Subdivision (1) are fully observed;
205	205	(5) provide assistance to an individual described by
206	206	Subdivision (1), or the individual's family, who the ombudsman
207	207	determines is in need of assistance, including advocating with an
208	208	agency, provider, or other person in the best interests of the
209	209	individual;
210	210	(6) review court orders as necessary to fulfill the
211	211	office's duties;
212	212	(7) recommend changes in any procedure relating to the
213	213	treatment of individuals described by Subdivision (1);
214	214	(8) make appropriate referrals under any of the duties
215	215	and powers listed in this subsection; and
216	216	(9) supervise assistants who are serving as advocates
217	217	in their representation of individuals described by Subdivision (1)
218	218	in internal administrative and disciplinary hearings.
219	219	(b) The criminal and juvenile justice ombudsman may apprise
220	220	a person who has legal custody, care, or control of an individual
221	221	described by Subsection (a)(1) of the individual's rights.
222	222	(c) To assess if an individual's rights have been violated,
223	223	the criminal and juvenile justice ombudsman may, in any matter that
224	224	does not involve alleged criminal behavior, contact or consult with
225	225	an administrator, employee, child, parent, expert, or any other
226	226	individual in the course of its investigation or to secure
227	227	information.
228	228	(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter,
229	229	the criminal and juvenile justice ombudsman may not investigate
230	230	alleged criminal behavior.
231	231	Sec. 502.102. TREATMENT OF AGENCY EMPLOYEES WHO COOPERATE
232	232	WITH OMBUDSMAN. A criminal or juvenile justice agency may not
233	233	discharge or in any manner discriminate or retaliate against an
234	234	employee who in good faith makes a complaint to the office of
235	235	criminal and juvenile justice ombudsman or cooperates with the
236	236	office in an investigation.
237	237	Sec. 502.103. TRAINING. The criminal and juvenile justice
238	238	ombudsman shall attend annual professional training sessions.
239	239	[Sections 502.104-502.150 reserved for expansion]
240	240	SUBCHAPTER D. ACCESS TO INFORMATION
241	241	Sec. 502.151. ACCESS TO INFORMATION OF GOVERNMENTAL
242	242	ENTITIES. (a) A criminal or juvenile justice agency shall allow
243	243	the criminal and juvenile justice ombudsman access to the agency's
244	244	records relating to an individual arrested, detained, confined,
245	245	released, or supervised by or committed to the agency.
246	246	(b) The Department of Public Safety shall allow the criminal
247	247	and juvenile justice ombudsman access to the juvenile justice
248	248	information system established under Subchapter B, Chapter 58,
249	249	Family Code, and the computerized criminal history system
250	250	established under Chapter 60, Code of Criminal Procedure.
251	251	(c) A local law enforcement agency shall allow the criminal
252	252	and juvenile justice ombudsman access to the agency's records
253	253	relating to any individual arrested, detained, confined, released,
254	254	or supervised by or committed to a criminal or juvenile justice
255	255	agency.
256	256	Sec. 502.152. ACCESS TO INFORMATION OF PRIVATE ENTITIES.
257	257	The criminal and juvenile justice ombudsman shall have access to
258	258	the records of a private entity that relate to an individual
259	259	arrested, detained, confined, released, or supervised by or
260	260	committed to a criminal or juvenile justice agency.
261	261	SECTION 2. Chapter 60, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
262	262	amended by adding Article 60.022 to read as follows:
263	263	Art. 60.022. ACCESS TO COMPUTERIZED CRIMINAL HISTORY SYSTEM
264	264	BY NONCRIMINAL JUSTICE AGENCY. The Department of Public Safety
265	265	shall give the office of criminal and juvenile justice ombudsman
266	266	established under Chapter 502, Government Code, access to the
267	267	computerized criminal history system.
268	268	SECTION 3. Section 58.106(a), Family Code, is amended to
269	269	read as follows:
270	270	(a) Except as otherwise provided by this section,
271	271	information contained in the juvenile justice information system is
272	272	confidential information for the use of the department and may not
273	273	be disseminated by the department except:
274	274	(1) with the permission of the juvenile offender, to
275	275	military personnel of this state or the United States;
276	276	(2) to a person or entity to which the department may
277	277	grant access to adult criminal history records as provided by
278	278	Section 411.083, Government Code;
279	279	(3) to a juvenile justice agency;
280	280	(4) to the Texas Youth Commission and the Texas
281	281	Juvenile Probation Commission for analytical purposes; and
282	282	(5) to the office of criminal and juvenile justice
283	283	[independent] ombudsman established under Chapter 502, Government
284	284	Code [of the Texas Youth Commission].
285	285	SECTION 4. Section 61.0763(a), Human Resources Code, as
286	286	added by Section 49, Chapter 263 (S.B. 103), Acts of the 80th
287	287	Legislature, Regular Session, 2007, is amended to read as follows:
288	288	(a) The commission, in consultation with advocacy and
289	289	support groups such as those described in Section 61.0386(a), shall
290	290	develop a parent's bill of rights for distribution to the parent or
291	291	guardian of a child who is under 18 years of age and committed to the
292	292	commission. The parent's bill of rights must include:
293	293	(1) a description of the commission's grievance
294	294	policies and procedures, including contact information for the
295	295	office of inspector general and the office of criminal and juvenile
296	296	justice [the independent] ombudsman established under Chapter 502,
297	297	Government Code [Chapter 64];
298	298	(2) a list of possible incidents that require parental
299	299	notification;
300	300	(3) policies concerning visits and telephone
301	301	conversations with a child committed to the commission;
302	302	(4) a description of commission caseworker
303	303	responsibilities;
304	304	(5) a statement that the commission caseworker
305	305	assigned to a child may assist the child's parent or guardian in
306	306	obtaining information and services from the commission and other
307	307	resources concerning:
308	308	(A) counseling, including substance abuse and
309	309	mental health counseling;
310	310	(B) assistance programs, including financial and
311	311	travel assistance programs for visiting a child committed to the
312	312	commission;
313	313	(C) workforce preparedness programs;
314	314	(D) parenting programs; and
315	315	(E) commission seminars; and
316	316	(6) information concerning the indeterminate
317	317	sentencing structure at the commission, an explanation of reasons
318	318	that a child's commitment at the commission could be extended, and
319	319	an explanation of the review process under Sections 61.0815 and
320	320	61.0816 for a child committed to the commission without a
321	321	determinate sentence.
322	322	SECTION 5. Chapter 64, Human Resources Code, is repealed.
323	323	SECTION 6. The executive commissioner of the Texas Youth
324	324	Commission, the executive director of the Texas Department of
325	325	Criminal Justice, and the public safety director of the Department
326	326	of Public Safety shall jointly appoint the criminal and juvenile
327	327	justice ombudsman under Section 502.051, Government Code, as added
328	328	by this Act, as soon as practicable after the effective date of this
329	329	Act, and in no event later than January 1, 2010.
330	330	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
331	331	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
332	332	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
333	333	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
334	334	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.