Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB2620 Compare Versions

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1	1	H.B. No. 2620
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to the confinement in a county jail of a person pending a
6	6	transfer to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and to
7	7	compensation to a county for certain costs of confinement.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Section 499.071, Government Code, is amended to
10	10	read as follows:
11	11	Sec. 499.071. SCHEDULED ADMISSIONS POLICY. The board shall
12	12	adopt and enforce a scheduled admissions policy that requires
13	13	[permits] the department [institutional division] to:
14	14	(1) review documents received under Section 8(a) or
15	15	(c), Article 42.09, Code of Criminal Procedure, and certify the
16	16	documents or notify the county that the documents require
17	17	corrective action within the time period required by Section 8(b)
18	18	of that article; and
19	19	(2) accept persons [inmates] within the time period
20	20	[45 days of processing as] required by Section 499.1215(b)
21	21	[499.121(c)].
22	22	SECTION 2. Subchapter F, Chapter 499, Government Code, is
23	23	amended by adding Section 499.1215 to read as follows:
24	24	Sec. 499.1215. TRANSFER TO DEPARTMENT; COMPENSATION TO
25	25	COUNTIES. (a) In this section, "cost of confinement" means the
26	26	amount that would have been incurred by the department to confine a
27	27	person. The term does not include costs for medical, behavioral, or
28	28	pharmaceutical care.
29	29	(b) The department shall take custody of a person awaiting
30	30	transfer to the department following conviction of a felony and
31	31	sentencing to death or to a term of imprisonment in the department
32	32	or confinement in a state jail not later than the 45th day following
33	33	the date on which all documents required by Sections 8(a) and (c),
34	34	Article 42.09, Code of Criminal Procedure, have been certified as
35	35	required by Section 8(b) of that article.
36	36	(c) If the department does not take custody of a person
37	37	within the period prescribed by Subsection (b), the department
38	38	shall compensate the county for the cost of confinement for each day
39	39	the person remains confined in the county jail following the
40	40	expiration of that period.
41	41	(d) If a person remains confined in the county jail
42	42	following the expiration of the period prescribed by Subsection (b)
43	43	due to a delay caused by the county:
44	44	(1) the county is not entitled to compensation under
45	45	Subsection (c) for any day that the person remains confined due to
46	46	the delay caused by the county; and
47	47	(2) the county and the department shall arrange to
48	48	transfer the person to the department as soon as practicable after
49	49	the delay.
50	50	SECTION 3. Section 8, Article 42.09, Code of Criminal
51	51	Procedure, is amended by amending Subsection (b) and adding
52	52	Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
53	53	(b) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice shall not take
54	54	a defendant into custody under this article until the designated
55	55	officer receives the documents required by Subsections (a) and (c)
56	56	of this section and determines that the documents do not contain any
57	57	errors or deficiencies requiring corrective action by the county.
58	58	Not later than the fifth business day after the date of receipt of
59	59	[The designated officer shall certify under the seal of the
60	60	department] the documents, the designated officer shall:
61	61	(1) certify the documents under the seal of the
62	62	department if the designated officer determines the documents do
63	63	not require any corrective action; or
64	64	(2) notify the county that the designated officer has
65	65	determined that the documents require corrective action [received
66	66	under Subsections (a) and (c) of this section].
67	67	(b-1) A document certified under Subsection (b) [this
68	68	subsection] is self-authenticated for the purposes of Rules 901 and
69	69	902, Texas Rules of Evidence.
70	70	SECTION 4. Section 499.121(c), Government Code, is
71	71	repealed.
72	72	SECTION 5. Not later than September 30, 2023, the Texas
73	73	Board of Criminal Justice shall adopt the scheduled admissions
74	74	policy required by Section 499.071, Government Code, as amended by
75	75	this Act.
76	76	SECTION 6. Section 499.1215, Government Code, as added by
77	77	this Act, applies only to compensation to a county for the costs
78	78	described by that section related to the confinement of a person
79	79	that occurs on or after October 1, 2023, regardless of whether the
80	80	requirements under that section for transfer of the person to the
81	81	Texas Department of Criminal Justice are completed before, on, or
82	82	after that date.
83	83	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
84	84	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
85	85	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
86	86	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
87	87	Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
88	88	______________________________ ______________________________
89	89	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
90	90	I certify that H.B. No. 2620 was passed by the House on April
91	91	21, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 139, Nays 0, 1 present, not
92	92	voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
93	93	No. 2620 on May 25, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 143, Nays 0,
94	94	2 present, not voting.
95	95	______________________________
96	96	Chief Clerk of the House
97	97	I certify that H.B. No. 2620 was passed by the Senate, with
98	98	amendments, on May 21, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
99	99	0.
100	100	______________________________
101	101	Secretary of the Senate
102	102	APPROVED: __________________
103	103	Date
104	104	__________________
105	105	Governor