Enrolled Bill Summary

House Bill 2071 amends the Government Code to authorize the Commission on Jail Standards to grant a reasonable variance that may last for the life of the facility for operation of a jail facility not in strict compliance with state law, if the variance is clearly justified by the facts and does not permit unhealthy, unsanitary, or unsafe conditions. The bill changes the appeal process to allow a county commissioner or sheriff to seek review of an order to bring a county jail into compliance, and it provides that procedure in such a contested case is governed by the Administrative Procedure Act and rules of the commission.