By: Coleman H.B. No. 4149
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to county jailers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 1701.310, Occupations Code, is amended
to read as follows:
Sec. 1701.310. APPOINTMENT OF COUNTY JAILER; TRAINING
REQUIRED. (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 consist of at least eight hours of mental
health training approved by the commission and the Commission on
Jail Standards.
(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.
(c) A county jailer serving under permanent appointment
before September 1, 1979, regardless of whether the person's
employment was terminated before that date because of failure to
satisfy standards adopted under Chapter 511, Government Code, is
not required to meet a requirement of this section as a condition of
continued employment or promotion unless:
(1) in an attempt to meet the standards the person took an
examination and failed or was not allowed to finish the examination
because the person acted dishonestly in regard to the examination;
(2) the person forged a document purporting to show that the
person meets the standards; or
(3) the person seeks a new appointment as a county jailer on
or after September 1, 1984.
(d) A county jailer serving under permanent appointment
before September 1, 1979, is eligible to attend training courses in
the operation of a county jail, subject to commission rules.
(e) A person trained and certified by the Texas Department
of Criminal Justice to serve as a corrections officer in that
agency's correctional institutions division is not required to
complete the training requirements of this section to be appointed
a part-time county jailer. Examinations under Section 1701.304 and
psychological examinations under Section 1701.306 apply.
(f) A county jailer appointed on a temporary basis may not
be promoted to a supervisory position in a county jail.
(g) The commission and the Commission on Jail Standards may
develop additional training for county jailers serving under
permanent appointments to promote health and safety in county
jails.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.