Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2135 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R7158 AAF-D
2	2	By: Lucio S.B. No. 2135
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to services provided to veterans who have been arrested
8	8	for a misdemeanor or felony offense.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 434, Government Code, is
11	11	amended by adding Sections 434.024 and 434.025 to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 434.024. COORDINATION WITH MUNICIPALITIES. The Texas
13	13	Veterans Commission and a Veterans County Service Office created
14	14	under Subchapter B in a county in which a veterans treatment court
15	15	program has been established under Chapter 124 shall:
16	16	(1) contact the municipalities in that county and
17	17	inform the municipalities of the benefits and services provided by
18	18	the veterans treatment court program; and
19	19	(2) develop procedures by which municipalities in that
20	20	county may inform the Veterans County Service Office that a veteran
21	21	has been arrested in the municipality for a misdemeanor or felony
22	22	offense.
23	23	Sec. 434.025. WORK GROUP ON VETERANS TREATMENT COURT
24	24	PROGRAMS. (a) In this section:
25	25	(1) "Commission" means the Texas Veterans Commission.
26	26	(2) "Veterans treatment court program" has the meaning
27	27	assigned by Section 124.001.
28	28	(3) "Work group" means the Work Group on Veterans
29	29	Treatment Court Programs.
30	30	(b) The commission shall establish the Work Group on
31	31	Veterans Treatment Court Programs:
32	32	(1) to develop and make recommendations for
33	33	strengthening veterans treatment court programs; and
34	34	(2) composed of the following members:
35	35	(A) providers of services to veterans;
36	36	(B) members of the judiciary;
37	37	(C) representatives from the United States
38	38	Department of Veterans Affairs; and
39	39	(D) members of interested nonprofit and private
40	40	organizations, including national foundations for veterans.
41	41	(c) The work group shall develop recommendations:
42	42	(1) identifying additional funding mechanisms for
43	43	veterans treatment court programs; and
44	44	(2) for increasing the use and effectiveness of
45	45	veterans treatment court programs.
46	46	(d) In developing the recommendations described by
47	47	Subsection (c)(2), the work group shall collaborate with veterans
48	48	county service officers appointed under Section 434.033.
49	49	(e) Not later than October 1 of each even-numbered year, the
50	50	work group shall submit to the commission a written report of the
51	51	work group's recommendations described by Subsection (c). The work
52	52	group may electronically deliver the report to the commission.
53	53	(f) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year,
54	54	the commission shall evaluate the work group's report and submit to
55	55	the legislature a report outlining legislative recommendations to
56	56	strengthen veterans treatment court programs. The commission may
57	57	electronically deliver the report to the legislature.
58	58	SECTION 2. Section 434.039, Government Code, is amended to
59	59	read as follows:
60	60	Sec. 434.039. COORDINATION WITH COUNTY SERVICE OFFICERS AND
61	61	COMMISSIONERS COURTS. The commission shall develop and adopt
62	62	procedures to coordinate with county service officers and county
63	63	commissioners courts to:
64	64	(1) identify the shared objectives of the commission,
65	65	county service officers, and counties with a county service office
66	66	in serving veterans;
67	67	(2) develop a plan for encouraging service officers to
68	68	become accredited by the United States Department of Veterans
69	69	Affairs;
70	70	(3) develop a procedure for consulting with counties
71	71	to evaluate the state's overall approach to service delivery by
72	72	county service officers and commission claims staff as part of the
73	73	state's veterans assistance network;
74	74	(4) define the commission's responsibilities in
75	75	overseeing claims and appeals prepared by county service officers
76	76	for instances when the commission has been designated as a
77	77	veteran's agent under a power of attorney;
78	78	(5) develop a process for collecting information
79	79	regarding claims filed by county service officers for instances
80	80	when the commission has been designated as a veteran's agent under a
81	81	power of attorney, for providing technical assistance to county
82	82	service officers, and for providing evaluative information, on
83	83	request, to county judges or other local officials who supervise
84	84	county service officers;
85	85	(6) incorporate county service officers into United
86	86	States Department of Veterans Affairs appeals hearings either to
87	87	represent veterans or to appear as witnesses, as needed;
88	88	(7) explore opportunities for funding county service
89	89	officer travel to participate in United States Department of
90	90	Veterans Affairs appeals hearings; [and]
91	91	(8) develop procedures to regularly update county
92	92	service officers on changes in United States Department of Veterans
93	93	Affairs policies and procedures, and other information; and
94	94	(9) develop procedures for county commissioners
95	95	courts in counties in which a veterans treatment court program has
96	96	been established under Chapter 124 to inform an officer for that
97	97	county that a veteran in that county has been arrested for a
98	98	misdemeanor or felony offense.
99	99	SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 434, Government Code, is
100	100	amended by adding Sections 434.040, 434.041, and 434.042 to read as
101	101	follows:
102	102	Sec. 434.040. NOTIFICATION TO COUNTY SERVICE OFFICERS OF
103	103	ARRESTED VETERANS. (a) A municipality or a county commissioners
104	104	court in a county in which a veterans treatment court program has
105	105	been established under Chapter 124 shall notify the officer for
106	106	that county:
107	107	(1) that a veteran in that county or municipality, as
108	108	applicable, has been arrested for a misdemeanor or felony offense;
109	109	and
110	110	(2) of the type of misdemeanor or felony offense for
111	111	which the veteran was arrested.
112	112	(b) A county commissioners court shall notify an officer of
113	113	a veteran's arrest under Subsection (a) not later than 24 hours
114	114	after the arrest.
115	115	(c) To satisfy the requirements of Subsection (a), a
116	116	municipality or a county commissioners court may:
117	117	(1) follow the procedures developed by the commission
118	118	to notify officers of arrested veterans under Section 434.024 or
119	119	434.039, as applicable; or
120	120	(2) establish its own procedures to notify officers of
121	121	arrested veterans.
122	122	Sec. 434.041. VISITATION OF VETERANS IN JAIL. After an
123	123	officer for a county learns that a veteran has been arrested for a
124	124	misdemeanor or felony offense and is confined in jail, the officer
125	125	shall visit the veteran in the:
126	126	(1) county jail not later than 72 hours after
127	127	receiving notification under Section 434.040; or
128	128	(2) municipal jail as soon as practicable after
129	129	receiving notification under Section 434.040.
130	130	Sec. 434.042. RECOMMENDATION FOR VETERANS TREATMENT COURT
131	131	PROGRAM. (a) After visitation of a veteran under Section 434.041,
132	132	an officer, in consultation with the county commissioners court and
133	133	the commission, shall determine whether the veteran is eligible
134	134	under Section 124.002 to participate in a veterans treatment court
135	135	program established under Chapter 124.
136	136	(b) If the officer determines under Subsection (a) that a
137	137	veteran is eligible for participation in a veterans treatment court
138	138	program established under Chapter 124, the officer shall recommend
139	139	to the court in which the criminal case is pending that the veteran
140	140	participate in the program.
141	141	SECTION 4. The Work Group on Veterans Treatment Court
142	142	Programs established under Section 434.025, Government Code, as
143	143	added by this Act, shall hold the group's initial meeting not later
144	144	than November 1, 2017.
145	145	SECTION 5. Not later than December 1, 2017, the Texas
146	146	Veterans Commission shall adopt rules and procedures necessary to
147	147	implement the changes in law made by this Act to Chapter 434,
148	148	Government Code.
149	149	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
150	150	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
151	151	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
152	152	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
153	153	Act takes effect September 1, 2017.