Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4117 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1	1		85R20647 JRR-F
2	2		By: Coleman, Springer H.B. No. 4117
	3	+	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 4117:
	4	+	By: Thierry C.S.H.B. No. 4117
3	5
4	6
5	7		A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	8		AN ACT
7	9		relating to the provision of telemental health services to
8	10		prisoners confined in county jails, including the creation of the
9	11		county jail telemental health fund, and to certain rules and
10	12		procedures relating to the safety of those prisoners.
11	13		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	14		SECTION 1. Section 511.009(a), Government Code, as amended
13	15		by Chapters 281 (H.B. 875), 648 (H.B. 549), and 688 (H.B. 634), Acts
14	16		of the 84th Legislature, Regular Session, 2015, is reenacted and
15	17		amended to read as follows:
16	18		(a) The commission shall:
17	19		(1) adopt reasonable rules and procedures
18	20		establishing minimum standards for the construction, equipment,
19	21		maintenance, and operation of county jails;
20	22		(2) adopt reasonable rules and procedures
21	23		establishing minimum standards for the custody, care, and treatment
22	24		of prisoners;
23	25		(3) adopt reasonable rules establishing minimum
24	26		standards for the number of jail supervisory personnel and for
25	27		programs and services to meet the needs of prisoners;
26	28		(4) adopt reasonable rules and procedures
27	29		establishing minimum requirements for programs of rehabilitation,
28	30		education, and recreation in county jails;
29	31		(5) revise, amend, or change rules and procedures if
30	32		necessary;
31	33		(6) provide to local government officials
32	34		consultation on and technical assistance for county jails;
33	35		(7) review and comment on plans for the construction
34	36		and major modification or renovation of county jails;
35	37		(8) require that the sheriff and commissioners of each
36	38		county submit to the commission, on a form prescribed by the
37	39		commission, an annual report on the conditions in each county jail
38	40		within their jurisdiction, including all information necessary to
39	41		determine compliance with state law, commission orders, and the
40	42		rules adopted under this chapter;
41	43		(9) review the reports submitted under Subdivision (8)
42	44		and require commission employees to inspect county jails regularly
43	45		to ensure compliance with state law, commission orders, and rules
44	46		and procedures adopted under this chapter;
45	47		(10) adopt a classification system to assist sheriffs
46	48		and judges in determining which defendants are low-risk and
47	49		consequently suitable participants in a county jail work release
48	50		program under Article 42.034, Code of Criminal Procedure;
49	51		(11) adopt rules relating to requirements for
50	52		segregation of classes of inmates and to capacities for county
51	53		jails;
52	54		(12) require that the chief jailer of each municipal
53	55		lockup submit to the commission, on a form prescribed by the
54	56		commission, an annual report of persons under 17 years of age
55	57		securely detained in the lockup, including all information
56	58		necessary to determine compliance with state law concerning secure
57	59		confinement of children in municipal lockups;
58	60		(13) at least annually determine whether each county
59	61		jail is in compliance with the rules and procedures adopted under
60	62		this chapter;
61	63		(14) require that the sheriff and commissioners court
62	64		of each county submit to the commission, on a form prescribed by the
63	65		commission, an annual report of persons under 17 years of age
64	66		securely detained in the county jail, including all information
65	67		necessary to determine compliance with state law concerning secure
66	68		confinement of children in county jails;
67	69		(15) schedule announced and unannounced inspections
68	70		of jails under the commission's jurisdiction using the risk
69	71		assessment plan established under Section 511.0085 to guide the
70	72		inspections process;
71	73		(16) adopt a policy for gathering and distributing to
72	74		jails under the commission's jurisdiction information regarding:
73	75		(A) common issues concerning jail
74	76		administration;
75	77		(B) examples of successful strategies for
76	78		maintaining compliance with state law and the rules, standards, and
77	79		procedures of the commission; and
78	80		(C) solutions to operational challenges for
79	81		jails;
80	82		(17) report to the Texas Correctional Office on
81	83		Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments on a jail's compliance
82	84		with Article 16.22, Code of Criminal Procedure;
83	85		(18) adopt reasonable rules and procedures
84	86		establishing minimum requirements for jails to:
85	87		(A) determine if a prisoner is pregnant; and
86	88		(B) ensure that the jail's health services plan
87	89		addresses medical and mental health care, including nutritional
88	90		requirements, and any special housing or work assignment needs for
89	91		persons who are confined in the jail and are known or determined to
90	92		be pregnant;
91	93		(19) provide guidelines to sheriffs regarding
92	94		contracts between a sheriff and another entity for the provision of
93	95		food services to or the operation of a commissary in a jail under
94	96		the commission's jurisdiction, including specific provisions
95	97		regarding conflicts of interest and avoiding the appearance of
96	98		impropriety; [and]
97	99		(20) adopt reasonable rules and procedures
98	100		establishing minimum standards for prisoner visitation that
99	101		provide each prisoner at a county jail with a minimum of two
100	102		in-person, noncontact visitation periods per week of at least 20
101	103		minutes duration each;
102	104		(21) [(20)] require the sheriff of each county to:
103	105		(A) investigate and verify the veteran status of
104	106		each prisoner by using data made available from the Veterans
105	107		Reentry Search Service (VRSS) operated by the United States
106	108		Department of Veterans Affairs or a similar service; and
107	109		(B) use the data described by Paragraph (A) to
108	110		assist prisoners who are veterans in applying for federal benefits
109	111		or compensation for which the prisoners may be eligible under a
110	112		program administered by the United States Department of Veterans
111	113		Affairs;
112	114		(22) [(20)] adopt reasonable rules and procedures
113	115		regarding visitation of a prisoner at a county jail by a guardian,
114	116		as defined by Section 1002.012, Estates Code, that:
115	117		(A) allow visitation by a guardian to the same
116	118		extent as the prisoner's next of kin, including placing the
117	119		guardian on the prisoner's approved visitors list on the guardian's
118	120		request and providing the guardian access to the prisoner during a
119	121		facility's standard visitation hours if the prisoner is otherwise
120	122		eligible to receive visitors; and
121	123		(B) require the guardian to provide the sheriff
122	124		with letters of guardianship issued as provided by Section
123	125		1106.001, Estates Code, before being allowed to visit the prisoner;
124	126		and
125	127		(23) adopt reasonable rules and procedures to ensure
126	128		the safety of prisoners, including rules and procedures that
127	129		require a county jail to have the ability to access a mental health
128	130		professional on site or through a telemental health service 24
129	131		hours a day.
130	132		SECTION 2. Chapter 511, Government Code, is amended by
131	133		adding Section 511.019 to read as follows:
132	134		Sec. 511.019. COUNTY JAIL TELEMENTAL HEALTH FUND. (a) The
133	135		county jail telemental health fund is a dedicated account in the
134	136		general revenue fund.
135	137		(b) The county jail telemental health fund consists of:
136	138		(1) appropriations of money to the fund by the
137	139		legislature; and
138	140		(2) gifts, grants, including grants from the federal
139	141		government, and other donations received for the fund.
140	142		(c) Money in the fund may be appropriated only to the
141	143		commission to pay for programs, training, and capital improvements
142	144		necessary to implement or improve telemental health services in a
143	145		county jail with a certified capacity of 96 prisoners or fewer.
144	146		(d) The commission by rule may establish a grant program to
145	147		provide grants to counties to fund programs, training, or capital
146	148		improvements in a county jail described by Subsection (c).
147	149		SECTION 3. Not later than September 1, 2018, the Commission
148	150		on Jail Standards shall adopt the rules and procedures required by
149	151		Section 511.009(a)(23), Government Code, as added by this Act. On
150	152		and after September 1, 2020, a county jail shall comply with any
151	153		rule or procedure adopted by the Commission on Jail Standards under
152	154		that section.
153	155		SECTION 4. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails
154	156		over another Act of the 85th Legislature, Regular Session, 2017,
155	157		relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
156	158		codes.
157	159		SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.