By: Farias, Guillen (Senate Sponsor - Menéndez) H.B. No. 875
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 4, 2015;
May 5, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
Justice; May 13, 2015, reported favorably by the following vote:
Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 13, 2015, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the verification of the veteran status of inmates and
prisoners.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 501.023, Government Code, as added by
Chapter 261 (H.B. 634), Acts of the 83rd Legislature, Regular
Session, 2013, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 501.023. VERIFICATION OF INMATE VETERAN STATUS. (a)
The department, during the diagnostic process, shall record
information relating to an inmate's military history in the
inmate's admission sheet and intake screening form, or any other
similar document [In this section, "system" means the Public
Assistance Reporting Information System (PARIS) operated by the
Administration for Children and Families of the United States
Department of Health and Human Services].
(b) The department shall:
(1) in consultation with the Texas Veterans
Commission, investigate and verify the veteran status of each
inmate by using the best available federal data [made available
from the system through the Health and Human Services Commission];
and
(2) use the [system] data described by Subdivision (1)
to assist inmates who are veterans in applying for federal benefits
or compensation for which the inmates may be eligible under a
program administered by the United States Department of Veterans
Affairs.
SECTION 2. 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) require the sheriff of each county to:
(A) investigate and verify the veteran status of
each prisoner by using data made available from the Veterans
Reentry Search Service (VRSS) operated by the United States
Department of Veterans Affairs or a similar service; and
(B) use the data described by Paragraph (A) to
assist prisoners who are veterans in applying for federal benefits
or compensation for which the prisoners may be eligible under a
program administered by the United States Department of Veterans
Affairs.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
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