88R12728 MCF-D
By: Bryant H.B. No. 3427
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the ombudsman office for the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 493, Government Code, is amended by
adding Section 493.0165 to read as follows:
Sec. 493.0165. OMBUDSMAN OFFICE; REPORT. (a) The
department shall establish an ombudsman office to assist the
department in performing its duties under Section 493.016.
(b) The ombudsman office shall:
(1) establish a process by which an employee of the
department may anonymously submit a complaint regarding:
(A) the department;
(B) an inmate;
(C) another employee; or
(D) a facility operated by or under contract with
the department;
(2) investigate complaints submitted under
Subdivision (1); and
(3) refer complaints submitted under Subdivision (1)
involving criminal conduct to the appropriate agency for
investigation.
(c) The identity of an employee who submits a complaint
under Subsection (b) must remain anonymous unless the employee
chooses to disclose the employee's identity.
(d) Not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year,
the ombudsman office shall prepare and publish on the department's
Internet website a report that includes:
(1) the number of complaints submitted under
Subsection (b) during the two-year period preceding the date of the
report;
(2) a summary of any trends regarding the complaints;
and
(3) a description of the actions taken in response to
the complaints.
(e) The report described by Subsection (d) may not include
identifying information about any person involved in a complaint.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.