By Allen H.B. No. 2782
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the responsibility for the prison industries program
1-3 within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 171.651, Tax Code, is amended to read as
1-6 follows:
1-7 Sec. 171.651. Definitions. In this subchapter:
1-8 (1) "Department" means the Texas Department of
1-9 Criminal Justice.
1-10 (2) "Inmate" means an inmate in a prison industries
1-11 program operated by the prison industries office of the department
1-12 <institutional division> under Subchapter A, Chapter 497,
1-13 Government Code.
1-14 <(2) "Institutional division" means the institutional
1-15 division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.>
1-16 SECTION 2. Sections 171.653(a) and (b), Tax Code, are
1-17 amended to read as follows:
1-18 (a) The amount of the credit for wages paid by a corporation
1-19 to an inmate is equal to 10 percent of that portion of the wages
1-20 paid that the department <institutional division> apportions to the
1-21 state under Section 497.004(b)(3), Government Code, as
1-22 reimbursement for the cost of the inmate's confinement.
1-23 (b) A corporation is eligible for the credit under this
2-1 section only if it receives before the due date of its franchise
2-2 tax report for the privilege period for which the credit is claimed
2-3 a written certification from the department <institutional
2-4 division> stating the amount of the wages that the corporation paid
2-5 to an inmate during the privilege period and the amount of those
2-6 wages that the department <institutional division> apportioned to
2-7 the state as reimbursement for the cost of the inmate's
2-8 confinement.
2-9 SECTION 3. Sections 171.654(a) and (b), Tax Code, are
2-10 amended to read as follows:
2-11 (a) The amount of the credit for wages paid by a corporation
2-12 to an employee who was employed by the corporation when the
2-13 employee was an inmate is equal to 10 percent of that portion of
2-14 the wages paid that, were the employee still an inmate, the
2-15 department <institutional division> would apportion to the state
2-16 under Section 497.004(b)(3), Government Code, as reimbursement for
2-17 the cost of the inmate's confinement.
2-18 (b) A corporation is eligible for the credit under this
2-19 section only if:
2-20 (1) the employee who was formerly an inmate was
2-21 continuously employed for not less than six months while an inmate
2-22 and has been continuously employed by the corporation for at least
2-23 one year after the date that the employee was released from prison;
2-24 (2) the nature of the employment is substantially
2-25 similar to the employment the employee had with the corporation
3-1 when the employee was an inmate or the employment requires more
3-2 skills or provides greater opportunities for the employee;
3-3 (3) the corporation has provided the department
3-4 <institutional division> a statement of the amount of wages paid
3-5 the employee during the accounting period on which the credit is
3-6 computed; and
3-7 (4) the corporation receives before the due date of
3-8 its franchise tax report for the privilege period for which the
3-9 credit is claimed a written certification from the department
3-10 <institutional division> stating the amount of the wages that, were
3-11 the employee still an inmate, the department <institutional
3-12 division> would have apportioned to the state as reimbursement for
3-13 the cost of the inmate's confinement.
3-14 SECTION 4. Section 497.001, Government Code, is amended to
3-15 read as follows:
3-16 Sec. 497.001. Prison Industries Office. The prison
3-17 industries office is an office in the department <institutional
3-18 division>. The office is under the control of the executive
3-19 director <of the institutional division>.
3-20 SECTION 5. Section 497.002(b), Government Code, is amended
3-21 to read as follows:
3-22 (b) To implement the purposes of the office, the executive
3-23 director <of the institutional division> may establish and operate
3-24 a prison industries program at each correctional facility that the
3-25 executive director considers suitable for such a program.
4-1 SECTION 6. Section 497.004, Government Code, is amended to
4-2 read as follows:
4-3 Sec. 497.004. Inmate Labor, Pay. (a) The executive
4-4 director <of the institutional division> shall use inmate labor in
4-5 the prison industries program to the greatest extent feasible and
4-6 shall develop and expand the prison industries program by pursuing
4-7 arrangements with business for the use of inmate labor.
4-8 (b) The board may develop and administer an incentive pay
4-9 scale for inmates <confined in the institutional division> who
4-10 participate in the prison industries program. The program may be
4-11 financed through contributions donated for this purpose by private
4-12 businesses contracting with the department <institutional
4-13 division>. The department <institutional division> shall apportion
4-14 pay earned by an inmate under this subchapter to the following
4-15 persons and entities, in amounts determined at the discretion of
4-16 the department division:
4-17 (1) persons to whom the inmate has been ordered by a
4-18 court to pay restitution;
4-19 (2) the inmate's family and dependents;
4-20 (3) the state, as reimbursement for the cost of the
4-21 inmate's confinement;
4-22 (4) the compensation to victims of crime fund, created
4-23 by Section 14, Crime Victims Compensation Act (Article 8309-1,
4-24 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes); and
4-25 (5) the inmate's trust fund.
5-1 SECTION 7. Section 497.005, Government Code, is amended to
5-2 read as follows:
5-3 Sec. 497.005. Proceeds From Prison Industries. Proceeds
5-4 received from the operation of a prison industries program shall be
5-5 deposited in the industrial revolving fund. The proceeds may be
5-6 used by the department <institutional division> for the
5-7 administration of this subchapter.
5-8 SECTION 8. Section 497.006, Government Code, is amended to
5-9 read as follows:
5-10 Sec. 497.006. Contracts. To encourage the development and
5-11 expansion of the prison industries program, the prison industries
5-12 office may enter into necessary contracts related to the prison
5-13 industries program. With the approval of the board, the office may
5-14 enter into a contract with a private business to conduct a program
5-15 on or off property operated by the department <institutional
5-16 division>.
5-17 SECTION 9. Section 497.008, Government Code, is amended to
5-18 read as follows:
5-19 Sec. 497.008. Lease of Land. To further the expansion and
5-20 development of the prison industries program, the department
5-21 <institutional division> may lease prison land to a private
5-22 business. A lease under this section may not exceed a term of 50
5-23 years. The business must lease the land at fair market value and
5-24 may construct or convert plant facilities on the land.
5-25 SECTION 10. Section 497.009, Government Code, is amended to
6-1 read as follows:
6-2 Sec. 497.009. Certification for Franchise Tax Credit. The
6-3 department <institutional division> or the prison industries office
6-4 on behalf of the department <institutional division> shall prepare
6-5 and issue a certification that a corporation requires to establish
6-6 eligibility for the franchise tax credit for wages paid to inmates
6-7 or employees who were inmates under Subchapter L, Chapter 171, Tax
6-8 Code.
6-9 SECTION 11. The importance of this legislation and the
6-10 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
6-11 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
6-12 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
6-13 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
6-14 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
6-15 passage, and it is so enacted.