By Culberson H.B. No. 558
75R1714 PEP-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to requiring public notice before certain actions relating
1-3 to a criminal detention facility can be taken.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 ARTICLE 1. PROVISIONS FOR PUBLIC NOTICE
1-6 REGARDING CRIMINAL DETENTION FACILITY
1-7 SECTION 1.01. DEFINITIONS. In this article:
1-8 (1) "Criminal detention facility" means a place
1-9 designated by law for the confinement of a person arrested for,
1-10 charged with, adjudicated delinquent for or convicted of a criminal
1-11 offense. The term includes:
1-12 (A) a municipal or county jail;
1-13 (B) a confinement facility operated by the Texas
1-14 Department of Criminal Justice;
1-15 (C) a confinement facility operated under
1-16 contract with any division of the Texas Department of Criminal
1-17 Justice;
1-18 (D) a community corrections facility operated by
1-19 a community supervision and corrections department; and
1-20 (E) a confinement facility operated by or under
1-21 contract with the Texas Youth Commission.
1-22 (2) "Governmental entity" means the state, a political
1-23 subdivision or a combination of two or more subdivisions of the
1-24 state, or an agency of the state.
2-1 SECTION 1.02. PUBLIC MEETING. (a) With respect to a
2-2 criminal detention facility established after August 31, 1997,
2-3 unless a public meeting is held about the proposed action before
2-4 the action is taken, a governmental entity or private vendor may
2-5 not:
2-6 (1) establish a facility;
2-7 (2) provide funds to assist in the establishment,
2-8 construction, development, or improvement of a facility;
2-9 (3) award a contract to establish, construct, develop,
2-10 or improve a facility;
2-11 (4) acquire or improve real property with public money
2-12 to establish, construct, develop, or improve a facility;
2-13 (5) purchase or lease equipment necessary for the
2-14 operation of a facility; or
2-15 (6) pay other costs necessary to manage or operate a
2-16 facility.
2-17 (b) A governmental entity may award a contract to establish,
2-18 construct, develop, or improve a criminal detention facility only
2-19 if the contract is approved by majority vote of the governing body
2-20 of the governmental entity.
2-21 SECTION 1.03. PUBLIC NOTICE. (a) Before the 30th day
2-22 before the date of a meeting required by Section 1.02 of this
2-23 article, the governmental entity shall:
2-24 (1) publish notice of the date, hour, place, and
2-25 subject of the hearing or election in three consecutive issues of a
2-26 newspaper of, or in newspapers that collectively have, general
2-27 circulation in the county in which the proposed action is to be
3-1 taken; and
3-2 (2) mail a copy of the notice to each member of the
3-3 governing body of a municipality, county commissioner, state
3-4 representative, and state senator who represents the area in which
3-5 the proposed action is to be taken.
3-6 (b) In describing the subject of a public meeting for
3-7 purposes of publishing notice under this section, the notice must
3-8 specifically state the address of the facility on which a proposed
3-9 action is to be taken and describe the proposed action.
3-10 (c) If a private vendor, other than a private vendor that
3-11 operates as a nonprofit corporation, proposes to operate a facility
3-12 that is the subject of a public meeting under this article, the
3-13 private vendor is responsible for providing the notice and holding
3-14 the public meeting required by this article.
3-15 (d) The governmental entity or private vendor shall hold the
3-16 public meeting at a site as close as practicable to the location at
3-17 which the proposed action is to be taken.
3-18 SECTION 1.04. CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE; REMEDIES. (a) A
3-19 governmental entity or private vendor may accept or expend public
3-20 money to take an action described by Section 1.02 of this article
3-21 only if the entity or vendor can certify to the comptroller, with
3-22 respect to money appropriated from the general revenue fund, or to
3-23 the county treasurer, with respect to money appropriated from the
3-24 county treasury, that the entity or vendor, as appropriate, has
3-25 complied with the requirements of this article.
3-26 (b) If a governmental entity or private vendor has not
3-27 complied with this article or is unable to certify compliance with
4-1 this article with respect to an action described by Section 1.02 of
4-2 this article:
4-3 (1) the state or county is entitled to reimbursement
4-4 of any amount received or expended by the entity or vendor to take
4-5 that action; and
4-6 (2) any contract awarded by the governmental entity
4-7 and the private vendor relating to the establishment, construction,
4-8 development, improvement, or operation of the criminal detention
4-9 facility is void.
4-10 ARTICLE 2. REPEALER AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS
4-11 SECTION 2.01. Section 509.010, Government Code, is repealed.
4-12 SECTION 2.02. Section 76.010(c), Government Code, is amended
4-13 to read as follows:
4-14 (c) The district judge or judges may authorize expenditures
4-15 of funds provided by the division to the department for the
4-16 purposes of providing facilities, equipment, and utilities for
4-17 community corrections facilities or state jail felony facilities
4-18 if:
4-19 (1) the community justice council recommends the
4-20 expenditures; and
4-21 (2) the division, or the state jail division in the
4-22 case of a state jail felony facility:
4-23 (A) provides notice of the proposed action and a
4-24 hearing on the issues in the same manner as notice and hearing are
4-25 provided under Article 1, __.B.__, Acts of the 75th Legislature,
4-26 Regular Session, 1997; and
4-27 (B) [,] provides funds for the purpose of
5-1 assisting in the establishment or improvement of the facilities.
5-2 SECTION 2.03. Section 25(c), Article 42.18, Code of Criminal
5-3 Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
5-4 (c) The division may not establish a community residential
5-5 facility, enter into a contract for a community residential
5-6 facility, change the use of a community residential facility,
5-7 significantly increase the capacity of a community residential
5-8 facility, or increase the capacity of a community residential
5-9 facility to more than 500 residents, regardless of whether that
5-10 increase is significant, unless the division or a vendor proposing
5-11 to operate the facility provides notice of the proposed action and
5-12 a hearing on the issues in the same manner as notice and hearing
5-13 are provided under Article 1, __.B.__, Acts of the 75th
5-14 Legislature, Regular Session, 1997 [Section 9, Article 42.13].
5-15 This subsection applies to any residential facility that the
5-16 division establishes or contracts for under this article, under
5-17 Subchapter C, Chapter 497, Government Code, or under Subchapter A,
5-18 Chapter 499, Government Code.
5-19 ARTICLE 3. EFFECTIVE DATE
5-20 SECTION 3.01. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
5-21 SECTION 3.02. The importance of this legislation and the
5-22 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-23 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-24 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-25 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.