86R5942 MAW-D
By: White H.B. No. 2701
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to county jailer training and continuing education
requirements regarding interacting with pregnant women confined in
jail.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 511, Government Code, is amended by
adding Section 511.00906 to read as follows:
Sec. 511.00906. TRAINING PROGRAM REGARDING PREGNANT
PRISONERS. The commission shall adopt a training program for
county jailers that consists of education and training concerning
interacting with pregnant prisoners. The program must be based on
obstetrical and gynecological best practices and include general
information on:
(1) pregnancy, labor, delivery, and recovery;
(2) identifying when a woman is in labor;
(3) appropriate prenatal and postnatal care and first
aid techniques specific to pregnant women; and
(4) factors that increase the risk of a miscarriage.
SECTION 2. Section 1701.310(a), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (e), a person may not
be appointed as a county jailer, except on a temporary basis, unless
the person has satisfactorily completed a preparatory training
program, as required by the commission, in the operation of a county
jail at a school operated or licensed by the commission. The
training program must:
(1) consist of at least eight hours of mental health
training approved by the commission and the Commission on Jail
Standards; and
(2) include training concerning interacting with
pregnant women confined in jail based on the program adopted under
Section 511.00906, Government Code.
SECTION 3. Section 1701.352, Occupations Code, is amended
by adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
(b-1) The commission shall require a county that appoints or
employs a county jailer to provide each jailer with the training
program adopted under Section 511.00906, Government Code, at least
once every 48 months. The training must be provided by a medical
professional.
SECTION 4. Section 1701.310(a), Occupations Code, as
amended by this Act, applies only to a person appointed as a county
jailer on or after January 1, 2020. A person appointed as a county
jailer before January 1, 2020, is governed by the law in effect
immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the former
law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 5. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act:
(1) the Commission on Jail Standards shall adopt the
training program required by Section 511.00906, Government Code, as
added by this Act; and
(2) the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement shall
adopt rules necessary to implement Section 1701.352(b-1),
Occupations Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.