87R2144 JRR-D
By: Cortez H.B. No. 2331
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to procedures governing declared disasters for the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice and the Board of Pardons and
Paroles.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 491.001(a)(1), Government Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(1) "Board" means the Texas Board of Criminal Justice,
except as provided by Sections [Section] 508.001 and 509A.001.
SECTION 2. Subtitle G, Title 4, Government Code, is amended
by adding Chapter 509A to read as follows:
CHAPTER 509A. PROCEDURES FOR DECLARED DISASTERS
Sec. 509A.001. DEFINITIONS. (a) In this chapter:
(1) "Board" means the Board of Pardons and Paroles.
(2) "Declared disaster" means a disaster declared by:
(A) the governor under Chapter 418; or
(B) the president of the United States under the
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
U.S.C. Section 5121 et seq.), if any part of this state is named in
the federally declared disaster area.
Sec. 509A.002. ADVISORY BOARD. (a) An advisory board is
established to provide the department and the board with
recommendations for the emergency response plan developed under
Section 509A.003 and to update those recommendations annually.
(b) The advisory board is composed of:
(1) the executive director or the executive director's
designee;
(2) the commissioner of public health of the
Department of State Health Services or the commissioner's designee;
(3) the presiding officer of the board; and
(4) the following members appointed by the governor:
(A) at least two members each of whom has
previously been incarcerated;
(B) two members each of whom is a family member of
an inmate;
(C) one member who has a background in emergency
planning and has previously created an emergency management program
for accreditation purposes; and
(D) one member with a background in public health
who is capable of ascertaining vulnerabilities to emerging diseases
or infections that could affect the department's operations.
(c) In developing and updating the recommendations required
by this section:
(1) the department and the board shall provide the
advisory board with access to all relevant information necessary to
make the recommendations; and
(2) the advisory board may access any facility
operated by or under contract with the department.
(c-1) Not later than March 1, 2022, the advisory board shall
develop the recommendations required by this section and submit
those recommendations to the department and the board. This
subsection expires September 1, 2022.
(d) Not later than March 1 of each year, the advisory board
shall update the recommendations developed under this section and
submit those recommendations to the department and the board.
(e) If the department's or the board's response to a
declared disaster is inconsistent with the recommendations
submitted under this section, the advisory board may obtain any
relevant data and reports and may conduct interviews with inmates
and other relevant persons to identify any consequences of the
department's or board's response.
(f) Chapter 2110 does not apply to the composition or
duration of the advisory board.
Sec. 509A.003. EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN. (a) The
department and the board shall jointly develop an emergency
response plan to be implemented by each agency when responding to a
declared disaster.
(b) The emergency response plan must:
(1) specify procedures governing the release of
inmates on parole during the expedited parole approval process
required under Section 509A.004, including:
(A) the criteria a parole panel must consider
when determining whether to approve an inmate for release on
parole, such as:
(i) the age, health, and medical
vulnerability of an inmate;
(ii) whether an inmate is pregnant;
(iii) an inmate's progress in completing
any classes or programs that the board has required the inmate to
complete before being released on parole; and
(iv) if an inmate has not completed the
classes or programs described by Subparagraph (iii), whether the
inmate will be able to participate in those classes or programs, or
substantially similar classes or programs, through a parole officer
or community provider after the inmate is released on parole;
(B) the procedures for parole officers and
community providers to provide classes or programs described by
Paragraph (A)(iii) to inmates described by Paragraph (A)(iv); and
(C) the procedures authorizing the use of funds
described by Section 508.157(d) to provide housing vouchers or
direct payments to extended stay hotels or alternative housing
providers to ensure that inmates have temporary post-release
housing; and
(2) specify the operating procedures that will be
implemented by a correctional facility during a declared disaster,
including:
(A) evacuation procedures for inmates and
employees of the facility;
(B) guidelines for employees of the facility to
ensure their safety and well-being; and
(C) provisions to:
(i) prevent or minimize extended lockdowns
or periods of inmate segregation in a correctional facility;
(ii) ensure that an inmate may continue to
participate in any classes or programs that the board has required
the inmate to complete before being released on parole;
(iii) ensure that inmates have commissary
access at regular intervals during any extend period of a declared
disaster;
(iv) ensure that the department, the board,
and each correctional facility have sufficient quantities of
personal protective equipment for employees and inmates;
(v) ensure that an inmate is not denied
access to medical care, medication, or personal hygiene items;
(vi) require the department to waive any
fee charged to an inmate for medical care, including the health care
service fee required under Section 501.063;
(vii) prohibit a correctional facility from
suspending in-person inmate visitation for an extended period,
provided that a correctional facility may temporarily institute
video visitation for the health and safety of inmates and staff; and
(viii) prohibit an inmate from being
required to work without the inmate's consent and without
compensation if engaging in the work would endanger the health or
safety of the inmate.
Sec. 509A.004. PROCEDURES GOVERNING RELEASE ON PAROLE
DURING DECLARED DISASTER. (a) During a declared disaster, the
board shall:
(1) implement an expedited parole approval process in
accordance with the procedures described by Section 509A.003(b)(1)
for inmates who are eligible for release on parole; and
(2) modify existing parole policies and previous
parole decisions as necessary to allow an inmate who is eligible for
release on parole to complete, after being released on parole, any
remaining classes or programs that the board has previously ordered
the inmate to complete before being released on parole.
(b) The expedited parole process must allow for the board to
reconsider for release on parole an inmate who has previously been
denied release at a date earlier than the date designated under the
policy established under Section 508.141.
(c) Notwithstanding any other law, when determining whether
to approve an inmate for release on parole during a declared
emergency, a parole panel:
(1) must consider the criteria developed under Section
509A.003(b)(1)(A); and
(2) may release an inmate on parole regardless of
whether:
(A) the requirements of Section 508.141(e)(1)
are met; or
(B) the inmate has completed the programs or
classes described by Subsection (a)(2).
SECTION 3. (a) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice and
the Board of Pardons and Paroles shall jointly develop the
emergency response plan required by Section 509A.003, Government
Code, as added by this Act, not later than the 180th day after the
date the advisory board submits recommendations to the department
and the board as required by Section 509A.002(c-1), Government
Code, as added by this Act.
(b) The Board of Pardons and Paroles and a parole panel are
not required to comply with Section 509A.004, Government Code, as
added by this Act, until the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
and the board jointly develop the emergency response plan required
by Section 509A.003, Government Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.