By: Coleman H.B. No. 4468
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 4468:
By: Stickland C.S.H.B. No. 4468
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to county jails and community mental health programs in
certain counties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 511.009(a)(23)(A), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(A) give prisoners the ability to access a mental
health professional at the jail or through a telemental health
service 24 hours a day or,
if a mental health professional is not at
the county jail at the time, then require the jail to use all
reasonable efforts to arrange for the inmate to have access to a
mental health professional within a reasonable time;
SECTION 2. Section 511.011, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 511.011. REPORT ON NONCOMPLIANCE. (a) If the
commission finds that a county jail does not comply with state law,
including Chapter 89, Health and Safety Code, or the rules,
standards, or procedures of the commission, it shall report the
noncompliance to the county commissioners and sheriff of the county
responsible for the county jail and shall send a copy of the report
to the governor.
(b) If a notice of non-compliance is issued to a facility
operated by a private entity under the provisions of Local
Government Code 351.101 or 361.061, the compliance status of the
facility shall be reviewed at the next meeting of the Commission on
Jail Standards.
SECTION 3. Chapter 511.019(d), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) The commission by rule may establish a grant program to
provide grants to counties to fund capital improvements described
by Subsection (c). The commission may only provide a grant to a
county for capital improvements to a county jail with a capacity of
not more than 288 [96] prisoners.
SECTION 4. Section 539.002, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
follows:
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the [The]
department shall require each entity awarded a grant under this
section to:
(1) leverage additional funding or in-kind
contributions from private sources in an amount that is at least
equal to the amount of the grant awarded under this section;
(2) provide evidence of significant coordination and
collaboration between the entity, local mental health authorities,
municipalities, local law enforcement agencies, and other
community stakeholders in establishing or expanding a community
collaborative funded by a grant awarded under this section; and
(3) provide evidence of a local law enforcement policy
to divert appropriate persons from jails or other detention
facilities to an entity affiliated with a community collaborative
for the purpose of providing services to those persons.
(c) The department may award a grant under this chapter to
an entity for the purpose of establishing a community mental health
program in a county with a population of less than 250,000, if the
entity leverages additional funding from private sources in an
amount equal to one-quarter of the amount of the grant to be awarded
under this section, and the entity otherwise meets the requirements
of Subsections (b)(2) and (3).
SECTION 5. Section 1701.310(b), Occupations Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(b) A county jailer appointed on a temporary basis who does
not satisfactorily complete the preparatory training program
before the first anniversary of the date that the person is
appointed shall be removed from the position. A county jailer
appointed on a temporary basis shall be enrolled in the preparatory
training program on or before the 90th day after their temporary
appointment. A temporary appointment may not be renewed[, except
that not earlier than the first anniversary of the date that a
person is removed under this subsection, the sheriff may petition
the commission for reinstatement of the person to a temporary
appointment].
SECTION 6. Section 1701.310(f), Occupations Code, is added
to read as follows:
(f) a county jailer appointed on a temporary basis may not
be promoted to a supervisory position in a county jail.
SECTION 7. Not later than January 1, 2020, the Commission on
Jail Standards shall update rules and procedures as necessary to
comply with Section 511.009(a)(23), Government Code, as amended by
this Act.
SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.