BILL ANALYSIS H.B. 2897 By: Longoria 04-18-95 Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND Article 351, Local Government Code prescribes minimum standards for county jails. These standards are enforced by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. The purpose of Chapter 351 is to provide a state regulatory body that follows minimum Federal Constitutional requirements so as to prevent civil rights litigation against counties. The Commission adopts extensive rules governing all aspects of the design, construction, maintenance, and operation of a county jail. Sections 351.005 and 351.006, Local Government Code, provide in statute certain segregation and capacity requirements. These sections act to limit the flexibility of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards when adopting rules on segregation and capacity requirements for county jails. Recently, Federal court decisions as well as congressional action are changing constitutional standards for incarceration. Further, the state has acted to create new classes of inmates that are held in county jails such as Substance Abuse Felony Treatment inmates, State Jail inmates, and others. These new categories have complicated segregation requirements in jails. PURPOSE This bill would remove detailed segregation requirements and capacity requirements for county jails from the Local Government Code, providing the Texas Commission on Jail Standards greater flexibility when adopting rules for segregation and capacity that more closely track Federal requirements. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY HB 2897, in Section 2, expressly grants the Commission on Jail Standards the authority to adopt rules relating to requirements for the segregation of classes of inmates and to capacities for county jails. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1: Amends Section 511.009(a), Government Code by adding subsection (11) authorizing the Texas Jail Standards Commission to adopt rules relating to requirements for segregation of classes of inmates and to capacities for county jails. SECTION 2: Repeals Sections 351.005 and 351.006, Local Government Code. SECTION 3: The Commission on Jail Standards shall adopt rules required to be adopted under Section 511.009(a), Government Code, as amended by this Act, not later than the 90th day after the effective date of this Act. SECTION 4: Emergency clause. SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE ACTION HB 2897 was considered by the County Affairs Committee in a public hearing on 4/5/95. The following persons testified for HB 2897: Don Lee, W.J. Bryant, Dan Smith, Jim Allison. The following person testified neutrally on HB 2897: Jack Crump. The chair left HB 2897 pending. HB 2897 was considered by the County Affairs Committee as pending business in a public hearing on 4/12/95. HB 2897 was reported favorably with the recommendation that it do pass and be printed and be sent to the Committee on Local and Consent Calendars, by the record vote of 8 ayes, 0 nays, 0 pnv, 1 absent.