Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB634 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	By: Metcalf, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Creighton) H.B. No. 634
2		-	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 11, 2015;
3		-	May 12, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
4		-	Justice; May 21, 2015, reported favorably by the following vote:
5		-	Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 21, 2015, sent to printer.)
6		-	Click here to see the committee vote
	1	+	H.B. No. 634
7	2
8	3
9		-	COMMITTEE VOTE
10		-	YeaNayAbsentPNV
11		-	WhitmireX
12		-	HuffmanX
13		-	BurtonX
14		-	CreightonX
15		-	HinojosaX
16		-	MenéndezX
17		-	PerryX
18		-	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
19	4		AN ACT
20	5		relating to the rights of a guardian of a person in the criminal
21	6		justice system.
22	7		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
23	8		SECTION 1. Chapter 26, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
24	9		amended by adding Article 26.041 to read as follows:
25	10		Art. 26.041. PROCEDURES RELATED TO GUARDIANSHIPS. (a) In
26	11		this article:
27	12		(1) "Guardian" has the meaning assigned by Section
28	13		1002.012, Estates Code.
29	14		(2) "Letters of guardianship" means a certificate
30	15		issued under Section 1106.001(a), Estates Code.
31	16		(b) A guardian who provides a court with letters of
32	17		guardianship for a defendant may:
33	18		(1) provide information relevant to the determination
34	19		of indigency; and
35	20		(2) request that counsel be appointed in accordance
36	21		with this chapter.
37	22		SECTION 2. Section 501.010, Government Code, is amended by
38	23		amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (a-1) and (b-1) to
39	24		read as follows:
40	25		(a) In this section:
41	26		(1) "Guardian" has the meaning assigned by Section
42	27		1002.012, Estates Code.
43	28		(2) "Letters of guardianship" means a certificate
44	29		issued under Section 1106.001(a), Estates Code.
45	30		(a-1) The institutional division shall allow the governor,
46	31		members of the legislature, and members of the executive and
47	32		judicial branches to enter at proper hours any part of a facility
48	33		operated by the division where inmates are housed or worked, for the
49	34		purpose of observing the operations of the division. A visitor
50	35		described by this subsection may talk with inmates away from
51	36		institutional division employees.
52	37		(b-1) The uniform visitation policy must:
53	38		(1) allow visitation by a guardian of an inmate to the
54	39		same extent as the inmate's next of kin, including placing the
55	40		guardian on the inmate's approved visitors list on the guardian's
56	41		request and providing the guardian access to the inmate during a
57	42		facility's standard visitation hours if the inmate is otherwise
58	43		eligible to receive visitors; and
59	44		(2) require the guardian to provide the warden with
60	45		letters of guardianship before being allowed to visit the inmate.
61	46		SECTION 3. Section 507.030, Government Code, is amended by
62	47		amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
63	48		read as follows:
64	49		(a) In this section:
65	50		(1) "Guardian" has the meaning assigned by Section
66	51		1002.012, Estates Code.
67	52		(2) "Letters of guardianship" means a certificate
68	53		issued under Section 1106.001(a), Estates Code.
69	54		(a-1) The state jail division shall allow the governor,
70	55		members of the legislature, and officials of the executive and
71	56		judicial branches to enter during business hours any part of a
72	57		facility operated by the division, for the purpose of observing the
73	58		operations of the division. A visitor described by this subsection
74	59		may talk with defendants away from division employees.
75	60		(b) The state jail division shall establish a visitation
76	61		policy for persons confined in state jail felony facilities. The
77	62		visitation policy must:
78	63		(1) allow visitation by a guardian of a defendant
79	64		confined in a state jail felony facility to the same extent as the
80	65		defendant's next of kin, including placing the guardian on the
81	66		defendant's approved visitors list on the guardian's request and
82	67		providing the guardian access to the defendant during a facility's
83	68		standard visitation hours if the defendant is otherwise eligible to
84	69		receive visitors; and
85	70		(2) require the guardian to provide the director of
86	71		the facility with letters of guardianship before being allowed to
87	72		visit the defendant.
88	73		SECTION 4. Section 511.009(a), Government Code, is amended
89	74		to read as follows:
90	75		(a) The commission shall:
91	76		(1) adopt reasonable rules and procedures
92	77		establishing minimum standards for the construction, equipment,
93	78		maintenance, and operation of county jails;
94	79		(2) adopt reasonable rules and procedures
95	80		establishing minimum standards for the custody, care, and treatment
96	81		of prisoners;
97	82		(3) adopt reasonable rules establishing minimum
98	83		standards for the number of jail supervisory personnel and for
99	84		programs and services to meet the needs of prisoners;
100	85		(4) adopt reasonable rules and procedures
101	86		establishing minimum requirements for programs of rehabilitation,
102	87		education, and recreation in county jails;
103	88		(5) revise, amend, or change rules and procedures if
104	89		necessary;
105	90		(6) provide to local government officials
106	91		consultation on and technical assistance for county jails;
107	92		(7) review and comment on plans for the construction
108	93		and major modification or renovation of county jails;
109	94		(8) require that the sheriff and commissioners of each
110	95		county submit to the commission, on a form prescribed by the
111	96		commission, an annual report on the conditions in each county jail
112	97		within their jurisdiction, including all information necessary to
113	98		determine compliance with state law, commission orders, and the
114	99		rules adopted under this chapter;
115	100		(9) review the reports submitted under Subdivision (8)
116	101		and require commission employees to inspect county jails regularly
117	102		to ensure compliance with state law, commission orders, and rules
118	103		and procedures adopted under this chapter;
119	104		(10) adopt a classification system to assist sheriffs
120	105		and judges in determining which defendants are low-risk and
121	106		consequently suitable participants in a county jail work release
122	107		program under Article 42.034, Code of Criminal Procedure;
123	108		(11) adopt rules relating to requirements for
124	109		segregation of classes of inmates and to capacities for county
125	110		jails;
126	111		(12) require that the chief jailer of each municipal
127	112		lockup submit to the commission, on a form prescribed by the
128	113		commission, an annual report of persons under 17 years of age
129	114		securely detained in the lockup, including all information
130	115		necessary to determine compliance with state law concerning secure
131	116		confinement of children in municipal lockups;
132	117		(13) at least annually determine whether each county
133	118		jail is in compliance with the rules and procedures adopted under
134	119		this chapter;
135	120		(14) require that the sheriff and commissioners court
136	121		of each county submit to the commission, on a form prescribed by the
137	122		commission, an annual report of persons under 17 years of age
138	123		securely detained in the county jail, including all information
139	124		necessary to determine compliance with state law concerning secure
140	125		confinement of children in county jails;
141	126		(15) schedule announced and unannounced inspections
142	127		of jails under the commission's jurisdiction using the risk
143	128		assessment plan established under Section 511.0085 to guide the
144	129		inspections process;
145	130		(16) adopt a policy for gathering and distributing to
146	131		jails under the commission's jurisdiction information regarding:
147	132		(A) common issues concerning jail
148	133		administration;
149	134		(B) examples of successful strategies for
150	135		maintaining compliance with state law and the rules, standards, and
151	136		procedures of the commission; and
152	137		(C) solutions to operational challenges for
153	138		jails;
154	139		(17) report to the Texas Correctional Office on
155	140		Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments on a jail's compliance
156	141		with Article 16.22, Code of Criminal Procedure;
157	142		(18) adopt reasonable rules and procedures
158	143		establishing minimum requirements for jails to:
159	144		(A) determine if a prisoner is pregnant; and
160	145		(B) ensure that the jail's health services plan
161	146		addresses medical and mental health care, including nutritional
162	147		requirements, and any special housing or work assignment needs for
163	148		persons who are confined in the jail and are known or determined to
164	149		be pregnant; [and]
165	150		(19) provide guidelines to sheriffs regarding
166	151		contracts between a sheriff and another entity for the provision of
167	152		food services to or the operation of a commissary in a jail under
168	153		the commission's jurisdiction, including specific provisions
169	154		regarding conflicts of interest and avoiding the appearance of
170	155		impropriety; and
171	156		(20) adopt reasonable rules and procedures regarding
172	157		visitation of a prisoner at a county jail by a guardian, as defined
173	158		by Section 1002.012, Estates Code, that:
174	159		(A) allow visitation by a guardian to the same
175	160		extent as the prisoner's next of kin, including placing the
176	161		guardian on the prisoner's approved visitors list on the guardian's
177	162		request and providing the guardian access to the prisoner during a
178	163		facility's standard visitation hours if the prisoner is otherwise
179	164		eligible to receive visitors; and
180	165		(B) require the guardian to provide the sheriff
181	166		with letters of guardianship issued as provided by Section
182	167		1106.001, Estates Code, before being allowed to visit the prisoner.
183	168		SECTION 5. Not later than December 1, 2015:
184	169		(1) the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shall
185	170		revise visitation policies consistent with Sections 501.010 and
186	171		507.030, Government Code, as amended by this Act; and
187	172		(2) the Commission on Jail Standards shall establish
188	173		rules and procedures as required by Section 511.009(a)(20),
189	174		Government Code, as added by this Act.
190	175		SECTION 6. Article 26.041, Code of Criminal Procedure, as
191	176		added by this Act, applies to a defendant for whom indigency is at
192	177		issue, regardless of whether the defendant is arrested before, on,
193	178		or after the effective date of this Act.
194	179		SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
195		-	* * * * *
	180	+	______________________________ ______________________________
	181	+	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
	182	+	I certify that H.B. No. 634 was passed by the House on May 8,
	183	+	2015, by the following vote: Yeas 142, Nays 0, 2 present, not
	184	+	voting.
	185	+	______________________________
	186	+	Chief Clerk of the House
	187	+	I certify that H.B. No. 634 was passed by the Senate on May
	188	+	26, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
	189	+	______________________________
	190	+	Secretary of the Senate
	191	+	APPROVED: _____________________
	192	+	Date
	193	+	_____________________
	194	+	Governor