By: Metcalf, et al. (Senate Sponsor - Creighton) H.B. No. 634
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 11, 2015;
May 12, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
Justice; May 21, 2015, reported favorably by the following vote:
Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 21, 2015, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE VOTE
YeaNayAbsentPNV
WhitmireX
HuffmanX
BurtonX
CreightonX
HinojosaX
MenéndezX
PerryX
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the rights of a guardian of a person in the criminal
justice system.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 26, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended by adding Article 26.041 to read as follows:
Art. 26.041. PROCEDURES RELATED TO GUARDIANSHIPS. (a) In
this article:
(1) "Guardian" has the meaning assigned by Section
1002.012, Estates Code.
(2) "Letters of guardianship" means a certificate
issued under Section 1106.001(a), Estates Code.
(b) A guardian who provides a court with letters of
guardianship for a defendant may:
(1) provide information relevant to the determination
of indigency; and
(2) request that counsel be appointed in accordance
with this chapter.
SECTION 2. Section 501.010, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (a-1) and (b-1) to
read as follows:
(a) In this section:
(1) "Guardian" has the meaning assigned by Section
1002.012, Estates Code.
(2) "Letters of guardianship" means a certificate
issued under Section 1106.001(a), Estates Code.
(a-1) The institutional division shall allow the governor,
members of the legislature, and members of the executive and
judicial branches to enter at proper hours any part of a facility
operated by the division where inmates are housed or worked, for the
purpose of observing the operations of the division. A visitor
described by this subsection may talk with inmates away from
institutional division employees.
(b-1) The uniform visitation policy must:
(1) allow visitation by a guardian of an inmate to the
same extent as the inmate's next of kin, including placing the
guardian on the inmate's approved visitors list on the guardian's
request and providing the guardian access to the inmate during a
facility's standard visitation hours if the inmate is otherwise
eligible to receive visitors; and
(2) require the guardian to provide the warden with
letters of guardianship before being allowed to visit the inmate.
SECTION 3. Section 507.030, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
read as follows:
(a) In this section:
(1) "Guardian" has the meaning assigned by Section
1002.012, Estates Code.
(2) "Letters of guardianship" means a certificate
issued under Section 1106.001(a), Estates Code.
(a-1) The state jail division shall allow the governor,
members of the legislature, and officials of the executive and
judicial branches to enter during business hours any part of a
facility operated by the division, for the purpose of observing the
operations of the division. A visitor described by this subsection
may talk with defendants away from division employees.
(b) The state jail division shall establish a visitation
policy for persons confined in state jail felony facilities. The
visitation policy must:
(1) allow visitation by a guardian of a defendant
confined in a state jail felony facility to the same extent as the
defendant's next of kin, including placing the guardian on the
defendant's approved visitors list on the guardian's request and
providing the guardian access to the defendant during a facility's
standard visitation hours if the defendant is otherwise eligible to
receive visitors; and
(2) require the guardian to provide the director of
the facility with letters of guardianship before being allowed to
visit the defendant.
SECTION 4. Section 511.009(a), 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; and
(20) adopt reasonable rules and procedures regarding
visitation of a prisoner at a county jail by a guardian, as defined
by Section 1002.012, Estates Code, that:
(A) allow visitation by a guardian to the same
extent as the prisoner's next of kin, including placing the
guardian on the prisoner's approved visitors list on the guardian's
request and providing the guardian access to the prisoner during a
facility's standard visitation hours if the prisoner is otherwise
eligible to receive visitors; and
(B) require the guardian to provide the sheriff
with letters of guardianship issued as provided by Section
1106.001, Estates Code, before being allowed to visit the prisoner.
SECTION 5. Not later than December 1, 2015:
(1) the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shall
revise visitation policies consistent with Sections 501.010 and
507.030, Government Code, as amended by this Act; and
(2) the Commission on Jail Standards shall establish
rules and procedures as required by Section 511.009(a)(20),
Government Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 6. Article 26.041, Code of Criminal Procedure, as
added by this Act, applies to a defendant for whom indigency is at
issue, regardless of whether the defendant is arrested before, on,
or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
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