86R23682 JRR-D
By: Romero, Jr., Sherman, Sr. H.B. No. 3311
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3311:
By: Flynn C.S.H.B. No. 3311
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 501.024(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(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; and
(2) use the 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,
including mailing any related paperwork, application, or other
correspondence on behalf of and at no charge to the inmate.
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;
(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;
(20) adopt reasonable rules and procedures
establishing minimum standards for prisoner visitation that
provide each prisoner at a county jail with a minimum of two
in-person, noncontact visitation periods per week of at least 20
minutes duration each;
(21) require the sheriff of each county to:
(A) investigate and verify the veteran status of
each prisoner during the intake process 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, including providing the prisoner on verification of the
prisoner's veteran status with a prepaid postcard that is supplied
by the Texas Veterans Commission for purposes of requesting
assistance in applying for veterans benefits;
(22) 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;
and
(23) adopt reasonable rules and procedures to ensure
the safety of prisoners, including rules and procedures that
require a county jail to:
(A) give prisoners the ability to access a mental
health professional at the jail through a telemental health service
24 hours a day;
(B) give prisoners the ability to access a health
professional at the jail or through a telehealth service 24 hours a
day or, if a health professional is unavailable at the jail or
through a telehealth service, provide for a prisoner to be
transported to access a health professional; and
(C) if funding is available under Section
511.019, install automated electronic sensors or cameras to ensure
accurate and timely in-person checks of cells or groups of cells
confining at-risk individuals.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.