Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4468 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New		Differences
1		-	H.B. No. 4468
	1	+	By: Coleman, Davis of Dallas, Collier H.B. No. 4468
	2	+	(Senate Sponsor - Whitmire)
	3	+	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 13, 2019;
	4	+	May 13, 2019, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
	5	+	Justice; May 17, 2019, reported favorably by the following vote:
	6	+	Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 17, 2019, sent to printer.)
	7	+	Click here to see the committee vote
2	8
3	9
	10	+	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
4	11		AN ACT
5	12		relating to county jails and community mental health programs in
6	13		certain counties.
7	14		BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	15		SECTION 1. Section 511.009(a), Government Code, is amended
9	16		to read as follows:
10	17		(a) The commission shall:
11	18		(1) adopt reasonable rules and procedures
12	19		establishing minimum standards for the construction, equipment,
13	20		maintenance, and operation of county jails;
14	21		(2) adopt reasonable rules and procedures
15	22		establishing minimum standards for the custody, care, and treatment
16	23		of prisoners;
17	24		(3) adopt reasonable rules establishing minimum
18	25		standards for the number of jail supervisory personnel and for
19	26		programs and services to meet the needs of prisoners;
20	27		(4) adopt reasonable rules and procedures
21	28		establishing minimum requirements for programs of rehabilitation,
22	29		education, and recreation in county jails;
23	30		(5) revise, amend, or change rules and procedures if
24	31		necessary;
25	32		(6) provide to local government officials
26	33		consultation on and technical assistance for county jails;
27	34		(7) review and comment on plans for the construction
28	35		and major modification or renovation of county jails;
29	36		(8) require that the sheriff and commissioners of each
30	37		county submit to the commission, on a form prescribed by the
31	38		commission, an annual report on the conditions in each county jail
32	39		within their jurisdiction, including all information necessary to
33	40		determine compliance with state law, commission orders, and the
34	41		rules adopted under this chapter;
35	42		(9) review the reports submitted under Subdivision (8)
36	43		and require commission employees to inspect county jails regularly
37	44		to ensure compliance with state law, commission orders, and rules
38	45		and procedures adopted under this chapter;
39	46		(10) adopt a classification system to assist sheriffs
40	47		and judges in determining which defendants are low-risk and
41	48		consequently suitable participants in a county jail work release
42	49		program under Article 42.034, Code of Criminal Procedure;
43	50		(11) adopt rules relating to requirements for
44	51		segregation of classes of inmates and to capacities for county
45	52		jails;
46	53		(12) require that the chief jailer of each municipal
47	54		lockup submit to the commission, on a form prescribed by the
48	55		commission, an annual report of persons under 17 years of age
49	56		securely detained in the lockup, including all information
50	57		necessary to determine compliance with state law concerning secure
51	58		confinement of children in municipal lockups;
52	59		(13) at least annually determine whether each county
53	60		jail is in compliance with the rules and procedures adopted under
54	61		this chapter;
55	62		(14) require that the sheriff and commissioners court
56	63		of each county submit to the commission, on a form prescribed by the
57	64		commission, an annual report of persons under 17 years of age
58	65		securely detained in the county jail, including all information
59	66		necessary to determine compliance with state law concerning secure
60	67		confinement of children in county jails;
61	68		(15) schedule announced and unannounced inspections
62	69		of jails under the commission's jurisdiction using the risk
63	70		assessment plan established under Section 511.0085 to guide the
64	71		inspections process;
65	72		(16) adopt a policy for gathering and distributing to
66	73		jails under the commission's jurisdiction information regarding:
67	74		(A) common issues concerning jail
68	75		administration;
69	76		(B) examples of successful strategies for
70	77		maintaining compliance with state law and the rules, standards, and
71	78		procedures of the commission; and
72	79		(C) solutions to operational challenges for
73	80		jails;
74	81		(17) report to the Texas Correctional Office on
75	82		Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments on a jail's compliance
76	83		with Article 16.22, Code of Criminal Procedure;
77	84		(18) adopt reasonable rules and procedures
78	85		establishing minimum requirements for jails to:
79	86		(A) determine if a prisoner is pregnant; and
80	87		(B) ensure that the jail's health services plan
81	88		addresses medical and mental health care, including nutritional
82	89		requirements, and any special housing or work assignment needs for
83	90		persons who are confined in the jail and are known or determined to
84	91		be pregnant;
85	92		(19) provide guidelines to sheriffs regarding
86	93		contracts between a sheriff and another entity for the provision of
87	94		food services to or the operation of a commissary in a jail under
88	95		the commission's jurisdiction, including specific provisions
89	96		regarding conflicts of interest and avoiding the appearance of
90	97		impropriety;
91	98		(20) adopt reasonable rules and procedures
92	99		establishing minimum standards for prisoner visitation that
93	100		provide each prisoner at a county jail with a minimum of two
94	101		in-person, noncontact visitation periods per week of at least 20
95	102		minutes duration each;
96	103		(21) require the sheriff of each county to:
97	104		(A) investigate and verify the veteran status of
98	105		each prisoner by using data made available from the Veterans
99	106		Reentry Search Service (VRSS) operated by the United States
100	107		Department of Veterans Affairs or a similar service; and
101	108		(B) use the data described by Paragraph (A) to
102	109		assist prisoners who are veterans in applying for federal benefits
103	110		or compensation for which the prisoners may be eligible under a
104	111		program administered by the United States Department of Veterans
105	112		Affairs;
106	113		(22) adopt reasonable rules and procedures regarding
107	114		visitation of a prisoner at a county jail by a guardian, as defined
108	115		by Section 1002.012, Estates Code, that:
109	116		(A) allow visitation by a guardian to the same
110	117		extent as the prisoner's next of kin, including placing the
111	118		guardian on the prisoner's approved visitors list on the guardian's
112	119		request and providing the guardian access to the prisoner during a
113	120		facility's standard visitation hours if the prisoner is otherwise
114	121		eligible to receive visitors; and
115	122		(B) require the guardian to provide the sheriff
116	123		with letters of guardianship issued as provided by Section
117	124		1106.001, Estates Code, before being allowed to visit the prisoner;
118	125		and
119	126		(23) adopt reasonable rules and procedures to ensure
120	127		the safety of prisoners, including rules and procedures that
121	128		require a county jail to:
122	129		(A) give prisoners the ability to access a mental
123	130		health professional at the jail or through a telemental health
124	131		service 24 hours a day or, if a mental health professional is not at
125	132		the county jail at the time, then require the jail to use all
126	133		reasonable efforts to arrange for the inmate to have access to a
127	134		mental health professional within a reasonable time;
128	135		(B) give prisoners the ability to access a health
129	136		professional at the jail or through a telehealth service 24 hours a
130	137		day or, if a health professional is unavailable at the jail or
131	138		through a telehealth service, provide for a prisoner to be
132	139		transported to access a health professional; and
133	140		(C) if funding is available under Section
134	141		511.019, install automated electronic sensors or cameras to ensure
135	142		accurate and timely in-person checks of cells or groups of cells
136	143		confining at-risk individuals.
137	144		SECTION 2. Section 511.011, Government Code, is amended to
138	145		read as follows:
139	146		Sec. 511.011. REPORT ON NONCOMPLIANCE. (a) If the
140	147		commission finds that a county jail does not comply with state law,
141	148		including Chapter 89, Health and Safety Code, or the rules,
142	149		standards, or procedures of the commission, it shall report the
143	150		noncompliance to the county commissioners and sheriff of the county
144	151		responsible for the county jail and shall send a copy of the report
145	152		to the governor.
146	153		(b) If a notice of noncompliance is issued to a facility
147	154		operated by a private entity under Section 351.101 or 361.061,
148	155		Local Government Code, the compliance status of the facility shall
149	156		be reviewed at the next meeting of the Commission on Jail Standards.
150	157		SECTION 3. Section 511.019(d), Government Code, is amended
151	158		to read as follows:
152	159		(d) The commission by rule may establish a grant program to
153	160		provide grants to counties to fund capital improvements described
154	161		by Subsection (c). The commission may only provide a grant to a
155	162		county for capital improvements to a county jail with a capacity of
156	163		not more than 288 [96] prisoners.
157	164		SECTION 4. Section 539.002, Government Code, is amended by
158	165		amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
159	166		follows:
160	167		(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), the [The]
161	168		department shall require each entity awarded a grant under this
162	169		section to:
163	170		(1) leverage additional funding or in-kind
164	171		contributions from private sources in an amount that is at least
165	172		equal to the amount of the grant awarded under this section;
166	173		(2) provide evidence of significant coordination and
167	174		collaboration between the entity, local mental health authorities,
168	175		municipalities, local law enforcement agencies, and other
169	176		community stakeholders in establishing or expanding a community
170	177		collaborative funded by a grant awarded under this section; and
171	178		(3) provide evidence of a local law enforcement policy
172	179		to divert appropriate persons from jails or other detention
173	180		facilities to an entity affiliated with a community collaborative
174	181		for the purpose of providing services to those persons.
175	182		(c) The department may award a grant under this chapter to
176	183		an entity for the purpose of establishing a community mental health
177	184		program in a county with a population of less than 250,000, if the
178	185		entity leverages additional funding from private sources in an
179	186		amount equal to one-quarter of the amount of the grant to be awarded
180	187		under this section, and the entity otherwise meets the requirements
181	188		of Subsections (b)(2) and (3).
182	189		SECTION 5. Section 1701.310(b), Occupations Code, is
183	190		amended to read as follows:
184	191		(b) A county jailer appointed on a temporary basis who does
185	192		not satisfactorily complete the preparatory training program
186	193		before the first anniversary of the date that the person is
187	194		appointed shall be removed from the position. A county jailer
188	195		appointed on a temporary basis shall be enrolled in the preparatory
189	196		training program on or before the 90th day after their temporary
190	197		appointment. A temporary appointment may not be renewed[, except
191	198		that not earlier than the first anniversary of the date that a
192	199		person is removed under this subsection, the sheriff may petition
193	200		the commission for reinstatement of the person to a temporary
194	201		appointment].
195	202		SECTION 6. Section 1701.310, Occupations Code, is amended
196	203		by adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
197	204		(f) A county jailer appointed on a temporary basis may not
198	205		be promoted to a supervisory position in a county jail.
199	206		SECTION 7. Not later than January 1, 2020, the Commission on
200	207		Jail Standards shall update rules and procedures as necessary to
201	208		comply with Section 511.009(a)(23), Government Code, as amended by
202	209		this Act.
203	210		SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
204		-	______________________________ ______________________________
205		-	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
206		-	I certify that H.B. No. 4468 was passed by the House on May
207		-	10, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 128, Nays 13, 2 present, not
208		-	voting.
209		-	______________________________
210		-	Chief Clerk of the House
211		-	I certify that H.B. No. 4468 was passed by the Senate on May
212		-	22, 2019, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
213		-	______________________________
214		-	Secretary of the Senate
215		-	APPROVED: _____________________
216		-	Date
217		-	_____________________
218		-	Governor
	211	+	* * * * *