Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1509 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R7939 KCR-D
2	2	By: Carona S.B. No. 1509
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the Correctional Facility Capacity Commission.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Subtitle G, Title 4, Government Code, is amended
10	10	by adding Chapter 512 to read as follows:
11	11	CHAPTER 512. CORRECTIONAL FACILITY CAPACITY COMMISSION
12	12	SUBCHAPTER A. GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
13	13	Sec. 512.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
14	14	(1) "Commission" means the Correctional Facility
15	15	Capacity Commission.
16	16	(2) "Correctional facility" means:
17	17	(A) any place described by Section 1.07(14),
18	18	Penal Code; and
19	19	(B) a secure detention facility or secure
20	20	correctional facility, as defined by Section 51.02, Family Code.
21	21	Sec. 512.002. SUNSET PROVISION. The Correctional Facility
22	22	Capacity Commission is subject to Chapter 325 (Texas Sunset Act).
23	23	Unless continued in existence as provided by that chapter, the
24	24	commission is abolished and this chapter expires September 1, 2021.
25	25	Sec. 512.003. ADMINISTRATIVE ATTACHMENT. The commission is
26	26	administratively attached to the Texas Department of Criminal
27	27	Justice.
28	28	Sec. 512.004. COMPOSITION OF COMMISSION. (a) The
29	29	commission is composed of 20 members as follows:
30	30	(1) 15 public members appointed as follows:
31	31	(A) five public members appointed by the
32	32	governor;
33	33	(B) five public members appointed by the
34	34	lieutenant governor; and
35	35	(C) five public members appointed by the speaker
36	36	of the house of representatives; and
37	37	(2) five ex officio members as follows:
38	38	(A) the executive director of the Texas
39	39	Department of Criminal Justice;
40	40	(B) the executive commissioner of the Texas Youth
41	41	Commission;
42	42	(C) the chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court;
43	43	(D) the president of the Texas Police Chiefs
44	44	Association; and
45	45	(E) the president of the Sheriffs' Association of
46	46	Texas.
47	47	(b) The speaker of the house of representatives shall
48	48	designate a member of the house and the lieutenant governor shall
49	49	designate a member of the senate to advise the commission.
50	50	Sec. 512.005. PUBLIC MEMBERS: ELIGIBILITY; APPOINTMENT;
51	51	VACANCY. (a) A person appointed as a public member of the
52	52	commission must be a resident of this state.
53	53	(b) Public members of the commission must include:
54	54	(1) persons who have served prominently as leaders of
55	55	or spokespersons for public or private organizations that advocate
56	56	for or on behalf of individuals confined in a correctional facility
57	57	in this state; and
58	58	(2) persons who have significant professional
59	59	experience in the fields of criminal justice, statistics, and
60	60	demographics.
61	61	(c) Appointments of public members to the commission shall
62	62	be made:
63	63	(1) without regard to the race, color, disability,
64	64	sex, religion, age, or national origin of an appointee; and
65	65	(2) so that each geographic area of this state is
66	66	represented on the commission.
67	67	(d) The original appointing authority shall fill any
68	68	vacancy in an appointed position on the commission for the
69	69	unexpired portion of the term.
70	70	Sec. 512.006. EX OFFICIO MEMBERS: ELIGIBILITY; DESIGNATION
71	71	OF REPRESENTATIVE. (a) An ex officio member of the commission
72	72	vacates the person's position on the commission if the person
73	73	ceases to hold the position that qualifies the person for service on
74	74	the commission.
75	75	(b) An ex officio member may designate a representative to
76	76	serve on the commission in the member's absence. A representative
77	77	designated under this subsection must be an officer or employee of
78	78	the state agency or entity that employs the ex officio member.
79	79	Sec. 512.007. REMOVAL OF PUBLIC MEMBER. (a) It is a ground
80	80	for removal of a public member from the commission if the member:
81	81	(1) is ineligible for public membership under Section
82	82	512.005(a);
83	83	(2) cannot because of illness or disability discharge
84	84	the member's duties for a substantial part of the term for which the
85	85	member is appointed; or
86	86	(3) is absent from more than three consecutive
87	87	regularly scheduled commission meetings that the member is eligible
88	88	to attend during a calendar year unless the absence is excused by
89	89	majority vote of the commission.
90	90	(b) The validity of an action of the commission is not
91	91	affected by the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal of a
92	92	commission member exists.
93	93	(c) If a member of the commission has knowledge that a
94	94	potential ground for removal exists, the member shall notify the
95	95	presiding officer of the commission of the potential ground. The
96	96	presiding officer shall then notify the governor and the attorney
97	97	general that a potential ground for removal exists.
98	98	Sec. 512.008. TERM OF PUBLIC MEMBER. (a) A public member
99	99	of the commission serves a term of four years.
100	100	(b) A public member is eligible for reappointment to another
101	101	term or part of a term.
102	102	(c) A public member may not serve more than two consecutive
103	103	terms. For purposes of this prohibition, a member is considered to
104	104	have served a term only if the member has served more than half of
105	105	the term.
106	106	Sec. 512.009. OFFICERS; SUBCOMMITTEES. (a) The governor
107	107	shall designate a public member of the commission as presiding
108	108	officer to serve in that capacity at the pleasure of the governor.
109	109	(b) The presiding officer of the commission may appoint a
110	110	subcommittee for any purpose consistent with the duties of the
111	111	commission under this chapter.
112	112	Sec. 512.010. COMPENSATION; EXPENSES. (a) A public member
113	113	of the commission and an ex officio member of the commission that is
114	114	not employed by an agency or an entity of this state is not entitled
115	115	to compensation but is entitled to reimbursement for the travel
116	116	expenses incurred by the member while transacting commission
117	117	business, as provided by the General Appropriations Act.
118	118	(b) For an ex officio member employed by an agency or an
119	119	entity of this state, the member's service on the commission is an
120	120	additional duty of the underlying position that qualifies the
121	121	member for service on the commission. The entitlement of the ex
122	122	officio member to compensation or to reimbursement for travel
123	123	expenses incurred while transacting commission business is
124	124	governed by the law that applies to the member's service in that
125	125	underlying position, and any payment to the member for either
126	126	purpose must be made from money that may be used for the purpose and
127	127	is available to the agency or entity of this state that the member
128	128	serves in that underlying position.
129	129	Sec. 512.011. MEETINGS; QUORUM; VOTING; PUBLIC ACCESS. (a)
130	130	The commission shall meet at least quarterly at the times and places
131	131	in this state that the commission designates.
132	132	(b) Eight voting members of the commission constitute a
133	133	quorum for transacting commission business.
134	134	(c) An ex officio member of the commission may not vote on
135	135	commission business.
136	136	(d) The commission shall develop and implement policies
137	137	that provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to appear
138	138	before the commission and speak on any issue under the jurisdiction
139	139	of the commission.
140	140	Sec. 512.012. COORDINATOR. The Texas Department of
141	141	Criminal Justice shall provide one part-time employee to serve as
142	142	the coordinator for the commission to transact commission business.
143	143	[Sections 512.013-512.050 reserved for expansion]
144	144	SUBCHAPTER B. POWERS AND DUTIES; FUNDING
145	145	Sec. 512.051. ADVISORY STATUS OF COMMISSION. (a) In
146	146	implementing its powers and duties under this chapter, the
147	147	commission functions only in an advisory capacity. Membership on
148	148	the commission does not constitute a public office.
149	149	(b) Chapter 2110 does not apply to the commission.
150	150	Sec. 512.052. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMISSION. (a)
151	151	The commission shall:
152	152	(1) analyze the most recent available census
153	153	information regarding projected population growth in this state and
154	154	any attendant projected increase in the crime rate in this state;
155	155	(2) examine the current capacity of all correctional
156	156	facilities in this state; and
157	157	(3) make recommendations concerning whether to
158	158	increase, decrease, or maintain at the same level the number of
159	159	correctional facility beds in this state over the 10-year period
160	160	following the date of a report issued under Subsection (b).
161	161	(b) The commission shall issue a report containing the
162	162	information described by Subsection (a) not later than the first
163	163	anniversary of the date the population of this state reaches 29
164	164	million and the first anniversary of each later date the population
165	165	of this state increases by 5 million. The commission shall deliver
166	166	the report to:
167	167	(1) the governor;
168	168	(2) the lieutenant governor;
169	169	(3) the speaker of the house of representatives; and
170	170	(4) the standing committees of the senate and house of
171	171	representatives with primary jurisdiction over correctional
172	172	facilities in this state.
173	173	(c) The commission shall adopt rules as necessary for its
174	174	own procedures.
175	175	(d) The commission may appoint advisory committees to
176	176	advise the commission.
177	177	Sec. 512.053. FUNDING. (a) The commission may accept gifts
178	178	and grants from a public or private source for the commission to use
179	179	in performing the commission's powers and duties under this
180	180	chapter.
181	181	(b) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice may provide
182	182	staff and may support functions and activities of the commission
183	183	from money available to the department that may be used for this
184	184	purpose. The legislature may also specifically appropriate money
185	185	to the department to provide staff and to otherwise support
186	186	functions and activities of the commission.
187	187	SECTION 2. As soon as practicable after the effective date
188	188	of this Act, appointments of public members shall be made to the
189	189	Correctional Facility Capacity Commission as provided by Chapter
190	190	512, Government Code, as added by this Act. Notwithstanding
191	191	Section 512.008, Government Code, as added by this Act, the terms of
192	192	initial public members appointed to the Correctional Facility
193	193	Capacity Commission expire February 1, 2015.
194	194	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.