Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB549 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	By: Johnson, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Whitmire) H.B. No. 549
2		-	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 13, 2015;
3		-	May 13, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
4		-	Justice; May 22, 2015, reported favorably by the following vote:
5		-	Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 22, 2015, sent to printer.)
6		-	Click here to see the committee vote
	1	+	H.B. No. 549
7	2
8	3
9		-	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
10	4		AN ACT
11	5		relating to certain duties of the Commission on Jail Standards
12	6		regarding visitation periods for county jail prisoners.
13	7		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
14	8		SECTION 1. Section 511.009, Government Code, is amended by
15	9		amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) to
16	10		read as follows:
17	11		(a) The commission shall:
18	12		(1) adopt reasonable rules and procedures
19	13		establishing minimum standards for the construction, equipment,
20	14		maintenance, and operation of county jails;
21	15		(2) adopt reasonable rules and procedures
22	16		establishing minimum standards for the custody, care, and treatment
23	17		of prisoners;
24	18		(3) adopt reasonable rules establishing minimum
25	19		standards for the number of jail supervisory personnel and for
26	20		programs and services to meet the needs of prisoners;
27	21		(4) adopt reasonable rules and procedures
28	22		establishing minimum requirements for programs of rehabilitation,
29	23		education, and recreation in county jails;
30	24		(5) revise, amend, or change rules and procedures if
31	25		necessary;
32	26		(6) provide to local government officials
33	27		consultation on and technical assistance for county jails;
34	28		(7) review and comment on plans for the construction
35	29		and major modification or renovation of county jails;
36	30		(8) require that the sheriff and commissioners of each
37	31		county submit to the commission, on a form prescribed by the
38	32		commission, an annual report on the conditions in each county jail
39	33		within their jurisdiction, including all information necessary to
40	34		determine compliance with state law, commission orders, and the
41	35		rules adopted under this chapter;
42	36		(9) review the reports submitted under Subdivision (8)
43	37		and require commission employees to inspect county jails regularly
44	38		to ensure compliance with state law, commission orders, and rules
45	39		and procedures adopted under this chapter;
46	40		(10) adopt a classification system to assist sheriffs
47	41		and judges in determining which defendants are low-risk and
48	42		consequently suitable participants in a county jail work release
49	43		program under Article 42.034, Code of Criminal Procedure;
50	44		(11) adopt rules relating to requirements for
51	45		segregation of classes of inmates and to capacities for county
52	46		jails;
53	47		(12) require that the chief jailer of each municipal
54	48		lockup submit to the commission, on a form prescribed by the
55	49		commission, an annual report of persons under 17 years of age
56	50		securely detained in the lockup, including all information
57	51		necessary to determine compliance with state law concerning secure
58	52		confinement of children in municipal lockups;
59	53		(13) at least annually determine whether each county
60	54		jail is in compliance with the rules and procedures adopted under
61	55		this chapter;
62	56		(14) require that the sheriff and commissioners court
63	57		of each county submit to the commission, on a form prescribed by the
64	58		commission, an annual report of persons under 17 years of age
65	59		securely detained in the county jail, including all information
66	60		necessary to determine compliance with state law concerning secure
67	61		confinement of children in county jails;
68	62		(15) schedule announced and unannounced inspections
69	63		of jails under the commission's jurisdiction using the risk
70	64		assessment plan established under Section 511.0085 to guide the
71	65		inspections process;
72	66		(16) adopt a policy for gathering and distributing to
73	67		jails under the commission's jurisdiction information regarding:
74	68		(A) common issues concerning jail
75	69		administration;
76	70		(B) examples of successful strategies for
77	71		maintaining compliance with state law and the rules, standards, and
78	72		procedures of the commission; and
79	73		(C) solutions to operational challenges for
80	74		jails;
81	75		(17) report to the Texas Correctional Office on
82	76		Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments on a jail's compliance
83	77		with Article 16.22, Code of Criminal Procedure;
84	78		(18) adopt reasonable rules and procedures
85	79		establishing minimum requirements for jails to:
86	80		(A) determine if a prisoner is pregnant; and
87	81		(B) ensure that the jail's health services plan
88	82		addresses medical and mental health care, including nutritional
89	83		requirements, and any special housing or work assignment needs for
90	84		persons who are confined in the jail and are known or determined to
91	85		be pregnant; [and]
92	86		(19) provide guidelines to sheriffs regarding
93	87		contracts between a sheriff and another entity for the provision of
94	88		food services to or the operation of a commissary in a jail under
95	89		the commission's jurisdiction, including specific provisions
96	90		regarding conflicts of interest and avoiding the appearance of
97	91		impropriety; and
98	92		(20) adopt reasonable rules and procedures
99	93		establishing minimum standards for prisoner visitation that
100	94		provide each prisoner at a county jail with a minimum of two
101	95		in-person, noncontact visitation periods per week of at least 20
102	96		minutes duration each.
103	97		(a-1) A county jail that as of September 1, 2015, has
104	98		incurred significant design, engineering, or construction costs to
105	99		provide prisoner visitation that does not comply with a rule or
106	100		procedure adopted under Subsection (a)(20), or does not have the
107	101		physical plant capability to provide the in-person prisoner
108	102		visitation required by a rule or procedure adopted under Subsection
109	103		(a)(20), is not required to comply with any commission rule or
110	104		procedure adopted under Subsection (a)(20).
111	105		(a-2) A commission rule or procedure adopted under
112	106		Subsection (a)(20) may not restrict the authority of a county jail
113	107		under the commission's rules in effect on September 1, 2015, to
114	108		limit prisoner visitation for disciplinary reasons.
115	109		SECTION 2. The Commission on Jail Standards shall establish
116	110		the specific standards as required by Section 511.009(a)(20),
117	111		Government Code, as added by this Act, not later than January 1,
118	112		2016.
119	113		SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
120		-	* * * * *
	114	+	______________________________ ______________________________
	115	+	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
	116	+	I certify that H.B. No. 549 was passed by the House on May 12,
	117	+	2015, by the following vote: Yeas 94, Nays 49, 2 present, not
	118	+	voting.
	119	+	______________________________
	120	+	Chief Clerk of the House
	121	+	I certify that H.B. No. 549 was passed by the Senate on May
	122	+	25, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 25, Nays 6.
	123	+	______________________________
	124	+	Secretary of the Senate
	125	+	APPROVED: _____________________
	126	+	Date
	127	+	_____________________
	128	+	Governor