SGN H.B. 2324 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS
CORRECTIONS
H.B. 2324
By: Allen
4-9-97
Committee Report (Unamended)
BACKGROUND
The statutes governing prison industry within the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice are in Subchapters A-C, Chapter 497, Government Code.
Article 9007, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes also contains some additional
authority for this program. These statutes have become somewhat confusing
and internally contradictory. In addition, despite the long-standing
existence of industry programs that do not yield an identifiable "article
or product," the law does not clearly allow inmates to engage in such
activities.
PURPOSE
H.B. 2324 rearranges the statutes governing prison industry in a more
logical format, with Subchapter A containing the general provisions, and
Subchapter B focusing on sales of inmatemade goods. The following
substantive changes are also made: repeal of Sec 496.051, the TDCJ
"direct purchase" statute; defines "articles and products" to include
inmate service activities; allows the purchase of real property using the
industrial revolving fund; gives the Board of Criminal Justice discretion
whether to utilize an Industry Advisory Committee; and amends the Penal
Code to make it a felony for an inmate to possess personal information
gained by working in an industry program.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill expressly grants additional
rulemaking authority in SECTION 1, Subchapter A, Chapter 497, Sec.
497.004(b), Government Code, to the Board of Criminal Justice and in
SECTION 3, Subchapter F, Chapter 497, Sec. 497.113(b), Government Code, to
the Board of Criminal Justice.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Subchapters A and B, Chapter 497, Government Code, as
follows:
SUBCHAPTER A. TEXAS CORRECTIONAL INDUSTRIES
Sec. 497.001. TEXAS CORRECTIONAL INDUSTRIES; DEFINITIONS.
(a) Defines Texas Correctional Industries as an office in the department.
(b) Provides that in this subchapter and Subchapter B:
(1) "Office" means Texas Correctional Industries.
(2) "Articles and products" include services provided through
the use of inmate labor.
Sec. 497.002. PURPOSE; IMPLEMENTATION.
(a) Provides that the purposes of the office are to implement this
subchapter and Subchapter (B) to:
(1) provide adequate, regular, and suitable employment for the vocational
training and rehabilitation of inmates, consistent with proper
correctional purposes;
(2) use the labor of inmates for self-maintenance;
(3) reimburse the state for expenses caused by the crimes of inmates and
the cost of their imprisonment;
(4) provide for the requisition and disbursement of department articles
and products through established state authorities to eliminate the
possibility of unlawful private profit from the distribution of those
articles and products;
(5) provide materials, products, or articles for sale to the public, to
private enterprises, or to agencies of the state or political subdivisions
of the state; and
(6) develop and expand public and private prison industry operations.
(b) Allows the department to establish and operate a prison industries
program at each correctional facility that the department considers
suitable for such a program to implement the purposes of the office.
Sec. 497.003. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. Allows the board to establish a prison
industries advisory committee. Provides that if the board establishes a
prison industries advisory committee, it must be composed of nine members
appointed by the board. Members of the advisory committee, if
established, serve staggered three-year terms with the terms of three
members expiring February 1 of each odd-numbered year.
Sec. 497.004. INMATE LABOR, PAY.
(a) Requires the department to use inmate labor in prison industries to
the greatest extent feasible and to develop and expand prison industries
by pursuing arrangements with business for the use of inmate labor.
(b) Allows the board, by rule, to develop and the department to
administer an incentive pay scale for inmates who participate in prison
industries. Prison industries may be financed through contributions
donated for this purpose by private businesses contracting with the
department. Requires the department to apportion pay earned by an inmate
in the same manner as is required by Section 497.051.
Sec. 497.005. INDUSTRIAL REVOLVING ACCOUNT.
(a) Provides that the legislature may appropriate money to an industrial
revolving account in the general revenue fund.
(b) Requires the Texas Correctional Industries office to administer the
industrial revolving account.
(c) Allows the office to use money in the industrial revolving account to
purchase real property, erect buildings, improve facilities, buy equipment
and tools, install or replace equipment,
and pay for other necessary expenses for the administration of this
subchapter and Subchapter B.
(d) Requires the office to remit money received from the sale of articles
and products produced under this subchapter and Subchapter B to the
comptroller to be deposited in the industrial revolving account.
(e) Requires the governor and the Legislative Budget Board, upon
determining that the industrial revolving account contains money in an
amount that exceeds the amount necessary for the administration of this
subchapter and Subchapter B, to certify that fact to the comptroller, who
shall transfer the excess amount to the unobligated portion of the general
revenue fund.
(f) Provides that Section 403.095, Government Code, Use of Dedicated
Revenue, does not apply to the industrial revolving account.
Sec. 497.006. CONTRACTS WITH PRIVATE BUSINESS. Allows the prison
industries office, to encourage the development and expansion of prison
industries, to enter into necessary contracts to produce articles and
products to be sold on the open market. Allows the office, with the
approval of the board, to enter into a contract with a private business to
conduct a program on or off property operated by the department. Provides
that a contract entered into under this section must comply with the
Private Sector/Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program operated
by the Bureau of Justice Assistance and authorized by 18 U.S.C. Section
1761. Requires the department, in determining under Section 497.051 the
number of inmates employed in conditional work programs, to count the
number of inmates participating in a work program under a contract entered
into under this section.
Sec. 497.007. GRANTS. Allows the office to accept any grant designated
for inmate vocational rehabilitation. Requires the office to maintain
records relating to the receipt and disbursement of grant funds, and to
annually report to the board on the administration of grant funds.
Sec. 497.008. LEASE OF LAND. Allows the department to lease prison land
to a private business, to further the expansion and development of prison
industries. Provides that a lease under this section may not exceed a
term of 50 years, and the business must lease the land at fair market
value and may construct or convert plant facilities on the land.
Sec. 497.009. CERTIFICATION FOR FRANCHISE TAX CREDIT. Requires the
department or the office on behalf of the department to prepare and issue
a certification that a corporation requires to establish eligibility for
the franchise tax credit for wages paid to inmates or employees who were
inmates under Subchapter L, Chapter 171, Tax Code.
Sec. 497.010. OFFENSE: SALE OR OFFER OF SALE OF PRISON-PRODUCED
ARTICLES OR PRODUCTS.
(a) Provides that a person commits an offense if the person intentionally
sells or offers to sell on the open market in this state an article or
product the person knows was manufactured in whole or in part by an inmate
of the department or an inmate in any correctional facility or reformatory
institution in this state or in any other state, other than an inmate:
(1) who was on community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision;
(2) employed by an enterprise that has employed the inmate in order to
take advantage of the franchise tax credit offered under Subchapter L,
Chapter 171, Tax Code, at the time of manufacture; or
(3) participating in a federally certified prison industry enhancement
program.
b) Provides that an offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor.
SUBCHAPTER B. SALES OF PRISON-MADE ARTICLES OR PRODUCTS
Sec. 497.021. AUTHORITY. Provides that this subchapter governs the sale
of prison-made products to governmental agencies.
Sec. 497.022. CONTRACTS. Allows the department to contract with:
(1) another state, the federal government, a foreign government, or an
agency of any of those governments to manufacture for or sell to those
governments prison-made articles or products; or
(2) a private school or a visually handicapped person in this state to
manufacture Braille textbooks or other instructional aids for the
education of visually handicapped persons.
Sec. 497.023. PRIORITIES. Requires the office, under this subchapter and
Subchapter A, to produce products and articles first to fulfill the needs
of agencies of the state and second to fulfill the needs of political
subdivisions or other purchasers.
Sec. 497.024. AGENCIES AND POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS: DUTIES TO PURCHASE.
(a) Provides that if the office produces an article or product under this
subchapter, an agency of the state or a political subdivision may purchase
the article or product only from the office.
(b) Provides that if the General Services Commission determines that an
article or product produced by the office under this subchapter does not
meet the requirements of an agency of the state or a political
subdivision, or that the office has determined that the office is unable
to fill a requisition for an article or product, the agency or subdivision
may purchase the article or product from another source.
(c) Provides that an agency of the state or a political subdivision may
not evade the intent of this subchapter by requesting an article or
product that varies slightly from standards for articles or products
established under Section 497.027, if the office produces a similar
article or product that is in compliance with established standards and is
reasonably suited to the actual needs of the agency or subdivision.
Sec. 497.025. PURCHASING PROCEDURE.
(a) Provides that an agency of the state that purchases articles and
products under this subchapter must requisition the purchase through the
General Services Commission except for purchases of articles or products
not included in an established contract. Provides that the purchase of
articles or products not included in an established contract and that do
not exceed the dollar limits established under Section 2155.132 may be
acquired directly from the office on the agency's obtaining an informal or
a formal quotation for the item and issuing a proper purchase order to the
office.
(b) Allows a political subdivision to purchase articles and products
under this subchapter directly from the office.
(c) Provides that if an agency or political subdivision purchasing goods
under this subchapter desires to purchase goods or articles from the
office, it may do so without complying with any other state law otherwise
requiring the agency or political subdivision to request competitive bids
for the article or product. Nothing herein shall be interpreted to
require a political subdivision to purchase goods or articles from the
office if the political subdivision determines that the goods or articles
can be purchased elsewhere at a lower price or an agency to purchase goods
or articles from the office if the agency determines, and the General
Services Commission certifies, that the goods or articles can be purchased
elsewhere at a lower price.
Sec. 497.026. PRICES. Requires the office and the General Services
Commission to determine the sales price of articles and products produced
under this subchapter.
Sec. 497.027. SPECIFICATIONS.
(a) Requires the General Services Commission to establish
specifications for articles and products produced under this subchapter.
An article or product produced under this subchapter must meet
specifications established under this subsection in effect when the
article or product is produced.
(b) Allows the office to manufacture articles and products to meet
commercial specifications for the article or product if the General
Services Commission has not established specifications for the article or
product and the commission approves the commercial specifications.
Sec. 497.028. CATALOGS. Requires the office to prepare catalogs that
accurately and completely describe articles and products produced under
this subchapter. Requires the office to send copies of the catalogs to
all state agencies and make the catalogs available to political
subdivisions.
Sec. 497.029. NEW ARTICLES AND PRODUCTS. Allows the General Services
Commission to request the office to produce additional articles or
products under this subchapter.
Sec. 497.030. GENERAL SERVICES COMMISSION REPORTS.
(a) Requires the General Services Commission, not later than the 31st day
before the first day of each fiscal year, to submit to the office a report
that summarizes the types and amounts of articles and products sold under
this subchapter in the preceding nine months.
(b) Requires the General Services Commission, not later than the 100th
day after the last day of each fiscal year, to submit to the office a
report that states the types and amounts of articles and products sold
under this subchapter in the preceding fiscal year.
(c) Provides that a report submitted by the General Services Commission
under this section must describe the articles and products to the extent
possible in the manner those articles and products are described in
catalogs prepared under Section 497.028.
SECTION 2. Amends Section 497.091, Government Code, by adding Subsection
(d) to allow the department to contract with nonprofit organizations that
provide services to the general public and enhance social welfare and the
general well-being of the community to provide inmate labor to those
organizations.
SECTION 3. Amends Subchapter F, Chapter 497, Government Code, by adding
Section 497.113 to read as follows:
Sec. 497.113. SURPLUS AGRICULTURAL PROPERTY AND PRODUCTS.
(a) Allows the board to authorize the sale or disposal of surplus
agricultural products and personal property owned by the department, other
than products or property produced for sale by the department.
(b) Requires products and property described by Subsection (a) to be sold
under rules adopted by the board and at prices and terms set pursuant to
those rules.
(c) The department may use surplus agricultural capacity to provide
agricultural products to a nonprofit organization at no profit to the
department.
SECTION 4. Amends Section 38.111(a), Penal Code, to provide that an
inmate of the institutional division or a person confined in a state jail
felony facility commits an offense if with intent to obtain a benefit or
with intent to harm or defraud another the inmate or person possesses,
discloses, or uses personal information about another that the inmate or
person has access to by means of participation in a work program operated
by or for the institutional division or state jail division.
SECTION 5. Repeals Section 496.051, Government Code, Purchasing
Procedures, and Section 1, Chapter 86, Acts of the 47th Legislature,
Regular Session, 1941 (Article 9007, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes, Sale
of merchandise made by convicts or prisoners prohibited; exceptions).
SECTION 6. (a) The changes in law made by this Act to Section 497.010,
Government Code, and Section 38.111, Penal Code, apply only to an offense
committed on or after the effective date of this Act.
(b) An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is covered
by the law in effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 7. Effective date: September 1, 1997.
SECTION 8. Emergency clause.