Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1446 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Cortez H.B. No. 1446
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to procedures governing declared disasters for the Texas
7	7	Department of Criminal Justice.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Subtitle G, Title 4, Government Code, is amended
10	10	by adding Chapter 509A to read as follows:
11	11	CHAPTER 509A. PROCEDURES FOR DECLARED DISASTERS
12	12	Sec. 509A.001. DEFINITION. In this chapter, "declared
13	13	disaster" means a disaster declared by:
14	14	(1) the governor under Chapter 418; or
15	15	(2) the president of the United States under the
16	16	Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42
17	17	U.S.C. Section 5121 et seq.), if any part of this state is named in
18	18	the federally declared disaster area.
19	19	Sec. 509A.002. ADVISORY BOARD. (a) An advisory board is
20	20	established to provide the department with recommendations for the
21	21	emergency response plan developed under Section 509A.003 and to
22	22	update those recommendations annually.
23	23	(b) The advisory board is composed of:
24	24	(1) the executive director or the executive director's
25	25	designee;
26	26	(2) the commissioner of public health of the
27	27	Department of State Health Services or the commissioner's designee;
28	28	and
29	29	(3) the following members appointed by the governor:
30	30	(A) at least two members, each of whom is a
31	31	correctional officer employed by the department at the level of
32	32	sergeant or lower and is a member of an employee organization the
33	33	majority of the membership of which consists of department
34	34	employees;
35	35	(B) one member who has a background in emergency
36	36	planning and has previously created an emergency management program
37	37	for accreditation purposes; and
38	38	(C) one member with a background in public health
39	39	who is capable of ascertaining vulnerabilities to emerging diseases
40	40	or infections that could affect the department's operations.
41	41	(c) In developing and updating the recommendations required
42	42	by this section:
43	43	(1) the advisory board shall consider all strategies
44	44	to plan for emergency situations, including plans to prevent
45	45	interruptions to the provision of educational and rehabilitative
46	46	programming to inmates;
47	47	(2) the advisory board may access any facility
48	48	operated by or under contract with the department; and
49	49	(3) the department shall provide the advisory board
50	50	with access to all relevant information necessary to make the
51	51	recommendations.
52	52	(c-1) Not later than March 1, 2024, the advisory board shall
53	53	develop the initial recommendations required by this section and
54	54	submit those recommendations to the department. This subsection
55	55	expires September 1, 2024.
56	56	(d) Not later than March 1 of each year, the advisory board
57	57	shall update the recommendations developed under this section and
58	58	submit those recommendations to the department.
59	59	(e) If the department's response to a declared disaster is
60	60	inconsistent with the recommendations submitted under this
61	61	section, the advisory board may obtain any relevant data and
62	62	reports and may conduct interviews with inmates and other relevant
63	63	persons to identify any consequences of the department's response.
64	64	(f) Chapter 2110 does not apply to the composition or
65	65	duration of the advisory board.
66	66	Sec. 509A.003. EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN. (a) The
67	67	department shall develop an emergency response plan to be
68	68	implemented when responding to a declared disaster.
69	69	(b) The emergency response plan must specify the operating
70	70	procedures that will be implemented by a correctional facility
71	71	during a declared disaster, including:
72	72	(1) evacuation procedures for inmates and employees of
73	73	the facility;
74	74	(2) guidelines for employees of the facility to ensure
75	75	their safety and well-being; and
76	76	(3) provisions to:
77	77	(A) prevent or minimize extended lockdowns or
78	78	periods of inmate segregation in a correctional facility;
79	79	(B) ensure that an inmate may continue to
80	80	participate, during any extended period of a declared disaster, in
81	81	any classes or programs that the Board of Pardons and Paroles has
82	82	required the inmate to complete before being released on parole;
83	83	(C) ensure that inmates have commissary access at
84	84	regular intervals during any extended period of a declared
85	85	disaster;
86	86	(D) ensure that the department and each
87	87	correctional facility have sufficient quantities of personal
88	88	protective equipment for employees and inmates;
89	89	(E) ensure that an inmate is not denied access to
90	90	medical care, medication, or personal hygiene items; and
91	91	(F) prohibit a correctional facility from
92	92	suspending in-person inmate visitation during any extended period
93	93	of a declared disaster, provided that a correctional facility may
94	94	temporarily institute video visitation for the health and safety of
95	95	inmates and staff.
96	96	SECTION 2. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice shall
97	97	develop the emergency response plan required by Section 509A.003,
98	98	Government Code, as added by this Act, not later than the 180th day
99	99	after the date the advisory board submits recommendations to the
100	100	department as required by Section 509A.002(c-1), Government Code,
101	101	as added by this Act.
102	102	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.