BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1282

By: Plesa

County Affairs

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Texas has an increasing population of justice-involved veterans in our county jails. According to a study by the National Institutes of Health published in 2012, "Criminal Justice Involvement, Trauma, and Negative Affect in Iraq and Afghanistan War Era Veterans," nine percent of U.S. service members returning from deployment to the Middle East have ended up arrested and even more have encounters with law enforcement. Understanding the unique needs, medical characteristics, and military culture of such veterans will empower jailers to better serve them and be proactive in creating a safe jail environment for all inmates and personnel. C.S.H.B. 1282 seeks to improve outcomes for justice-involved veterans and create safer jail environments by requiring the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE), in consultation with the Texas Veterans Commission, to update their existing county jailer training program to include training on justice-involved veterans. The legislation would allow TCOLE to incorporate the aforementioned training into the initial county jailer certification training without increasing the amount of training hours. County jailers licensed before, on, or after the bill's effective date will be required to complete the justice-involved veteran training program not later than August 31, 2025, which aligns with TCOLE's continuing education requirement deadline.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 1282 amends the Occupations Code to require the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE), in consultation with the Texas Veterans Commission (TVC), to develop a training program for county jailers on interacting with veterans in the criminal justice system. The bill requires the training program to be included in the training that a person must complete before being appointed as a county jailer on a permanent basis.

C.S.H.B. 1282 applies to a licensed county jailer regardless of whether their license was issued before, on, or after the bill's effective date. The bill requires a county jailer who, on the bill's effective date, holds a county jailer license to complete the training program not later than August 31, 2025.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 1282 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

Both the introduced and the substitute provide for county jailers to complete a training program on interacting with veterans in the criminal justice system. Whereas the introduced required TCOLE to require a county jailer who has been licensed as a county jailer for more than one year to complete a one-time training program on interacting with veterans in the criminal justice system, the substitute instead requires TCOLE, in consultation with TVC, to develop a training program for county jailers on interacting with those veterans.

The substitute includes a provision absent from the introduced requiring the training program to be included in the training that a person must complete before being appointed as a county jailer on a permanent basis. The substitute omits the option from the introduced for the training program to be completed online.

Whereas the introduced required a county jailer who, as of the bill's effective date, has been licensed as a county jailer for more than one year to complete the training program not later than September 1, 2025, the substitute requires a county jailer who, on the bill's effective date, holds a county jailer license to complete the training program not later than August 31, 2025.