By: Coleman H.B. No. 3401
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the authority of the Commission on Jail Standards and
addressing mental health issues in jail.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 511.009, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The commission shall:
(1) adopt reasonable rules and procedures
establishing minimum standards for the construction, equipment,
maintenance, and operation of county jails;
(2) adopt reasonable rules and procedures
establishing minimum standards for the custody, care, and treatment
of prisoners;
(3) adopt reasonable rules establishing minimum
standards for the number of jail supervisory personnel and for
programs and services to meet the needs of prisoners;
(4) adopt reasonable rules and procedures
establishing minimum requirements for programs of rehabilitation,
education, and recreation in county jails;
(5) revise, amend, or change rules and procedures if
necessary;
(6) provide to local government officials
consultation on and technical assistance for county jails;
(7) review and comment on plans for the construction
and major modification or renovation of county jails;
(8) require that the sheriff and commissioners of each
county submit to the commission, on a form prescribed by the
commission, an annual report on the conditions in each county jail
within their jurisdiction, including all information necessary to
determine compliance with state law, commission orders, and the
rules adopted under this chapter;
(9) review the reports submitted under Subdivision (8)
and require commission employees to inspect county jails regularly
to ensure compliance with state law, commission orders, and rules
and procedures adopted under this chapter;
(10) adopt a classification system to assist sheriffs
and judges in determining which defendants are low-risk and
consequently suitable participants in a county jail work release
program under Article 42.034, Code of Criminal Procedure;
(11) adopt rules relating to requirements for
segregation of classes of inmates and to capacities for county
jails;
(12) require that the chief jailer of each municipal
lockup submit to the commission, on a form prescribed by the
commission, an annual report of persons under 17 years of age
securely detained in the lockup, including all information
necessary to determine compliance with state law concerning secure
confinement of children in municipal lockups;
(13) at least annually determine whether each county
jail is in compliance with the rules and procedures adopted under
this chapter;
(14) require that the sheriff and commissioners court
of each county submit to the commission, on a form prescribed by the
commission, an annual report of persons under 17 years of age
securely detained in the county jail, including all information
necessary to determine compliance with state law concerning secure
confinement of children in county jails;
(15) schedule announced and unannounced inspections
of jails under the commission's jurisdiction using the risk
assessment plan established under Section 511.0085 to guide the
inspections process;
(16) adopt a policy for gathering and distributing to
jails under the commission's jurisdiction information regarding:
(A) common issues concerning jail
administration;
(B) examples of successful strategies for
maintaining compliance with state law and the rules, standards, and
procedures of the commission; and
(C) solutions to operational challenges for
jails;
(17) report to the Texas Correctional Office on
Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments on a jail's compliance
with Article 16.22, Code of Criminal Procedure;
(18) adopt reasonable rules and procedures
establishing minimum requirements for jails to:
(A) determine if a prisoner is pregnant; and
(B) ensure that the jail's health services plan
addresses medical and mental health care, including nutritional
requirements, and any special housing or work assignment needs for
persons who are confined in the jail and are known or determined to
be pregnant; and
(19) provide guidelines to sheriffs regarding
contracts between a sheriff and another entity for the provision of
food services to or the operation of a commissary in a jail under
the commission's jurisdiction, including specific provisions
regarding conflicts of interest and avoiding the appearance of
impropriety.
(b) A commission rule or procedure is not unreasonable
because compliance with the rule or procedure requires major
modification or renovation of an existing jail or construction of a
new jail.
(c) Notwithstanding any other law [At any time and on the
application of the county commissioners court or sheriff], the
commission may not grant a variance of a requirement of state law
[reasonable variances, including variances that are to last for the
life of a facility, clearly justified by the facts,] for the
operation of a facility [not in strict compliance with state
law. A variance may not permit unhealthy, unsanitary, or unsafe
conditions].
(d) In addition to the rules and procedures required under
Subsection (a), the commission shall adopt reasonable rules and
standards to ensure that jails under the commission's jurisdiction
adequately screen inmates for mental illness and refer inmates with
mental illness to appropriate diversion programs designed to treat
the mental illness.
SECTION 2. On the effective date of this Act, a variance
granted by the Commission on Jail Standards before the effective
date of this Act is no longer in effect.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.