By Allen H.B. No. 2324
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the organization and operation of certain prison
1-3 industries in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the Texas
1-4 Youth Commission, and certain county correctional facilities and to
1-5 agricultural programs and work programs of the Texas Department of
1-6 Criminal Justice; providing a penalty.
1-7 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-8 SECTION 1. Subchapters A and B, Chapter 497, Government
1-9 Code, are amended to read as follows:
1-10 SUBCHAPTER A. TEXAS CORRECTIONAL [PRISON]
1-11 INDUSTRIES [OFFICE]
1-12 Sec. 497.001. TEXAS CORRECTIONAL [PRISON] INDUSTRIES;
1-13 DEFINITIONS [OFFICE]. (a) Texas Correctional Industries [The
1-14 prison industries office] is an office in the department.
1-15 (b) In this subchapter and Subchapter B:
1-16 (1) "Office" means Texas Correctional Industries.
1-17 (2) "Articles and products" include services provided
1-18 through the use of inmate labor.
1-19 Sec. 497.002. PURPOSE; IMPLEMENTATION. (a) The purposes of
1-20 the [prison industries] office are to implement this subchapter and
1-21 Subchapter B to:
1-22 (1) provide adequate, regular, and suitable employment
1-23 for the [and] vocational training and rehabilitation of inmates,
1-24 consistent with proper correctional purposes;
2-1 (2) use the labor of inmates for self-maintenance;
2-2 (3) reimburse the state for expenses caused by the
2-3 crimes of inmates and the cost of their imprisonment;
2-4 (4) provide for the requisition and disbursement of
2-5 department articles and products through established state
2-6 authorities to eliminate the possibility of unlawful private profit
2-7 from the distribution of those articles and products;
2-8 (5) provide materials, products, or articles for sale
2-9 to the public, to private enterprises, or to agencies of the state
2-10 or political subdivisions of the state; and
2-11 (6) develop and expand public and private prison
2-12 industry operations [development and expansion of public and
2-13 private prison industries].
2-14 (b) To implement the purposes of the office, the department
2-15 may establish and operate a prison industries program at each
2-16 correctional facility that the department considers suitable for
2-17 such a program.
2-18 Sec. 497.003. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. The board may establish a
2-19 prison industries advisory committee. If the board establishes a
2-20 prison industries advisory committee, the advisory committee must
2-21 be [is] composed of nine members appointed by the board. Members
2-22 of the advisory committee, if the advisory committee is
2-23 established, serve staggered three-year terms with the terms of
2-24 three members expiring February 1 of each odd-numbered year.
2-25 Sec. 497.004. INMATE LABOR, PAY. (a) The department shall
2-26 use inmate labor in [the] prison industries [program] to the
2-27 greatest extent feasible and shall develop and expand [the] prison
3-1 industries [program] by pursuing arrangements with business for the
3-2 use of inmate labor.
3-3 (b) The board may develop by rule and the department may
3-4 administer an incentive pay scale for inmates who participate in
3-5 [the] prison industries [program]. Prison industries [The program]
3-6 may be financed through contributions donated for this purpose by
3-7 private businesses contracting with the department. The department
3-8 shall apportion pay earned by an inmate in the same manner as is
3-9 required by Section 497.051 [under this subchapter to the following
3-10 persons and entities, in amounts determined at the discretion of
3-11 the department:]
3-12 [(1) persons to whom the inmate has been ordered by a
3-13 court to pay restitution;]
3-14 [(2) the inmate's family and dependents;]
3-15 [(3) the state, as reimbursement for the cost of the
3-16 inmate's confinement;]
3-17 [(4) the compensation to victims of crime fund,
3-18 created by Article 56.54, Code of Criminal Procedure; and]
3-19 [(5) the inmate's trust fund].
3-20 Sec. 497.005. INDUSTRIAL REVOLVING ACCOUNT. (a) The
3-21 legislature may appropriate money to an industrial revolving
3-22 account in the general revenue fund.
3-23 (b) The office shall administer the industrial revolving
3-24 account.
3-25 (c) The office may use money in the industrial revolving
3-26 account to purchase real property, erect buildings, improve
3-27 facilities, buy equipment and tools, install or replace equipment,
4-1 buy industrial raw materials and supplies, and pay for other
4-2 necessary expenses for the administration of this subchapter and
4-3 Subchapter B.
4-4 (d) The office shall remit money received from the sale of
4-5 articles and products produced under this subchapter and Subchapter
4-6 B to the comptroller to be deposited in the industrial revolving
4-7 account.
4-8 (e) When the governor and the Legislative Budget Board
4-9 determine that the industrial revolving account contains money in
4-10 an amount that exceeds the amount necessary for the administration
4-11 of this subchapter and Subchapter B, the governor and the
4-12 Legislative Budget Board shall certify that fact to the
4-13 comptroller, who shall transfer the excess amount to the
4-14 unobligated portion of the general revenue fund.
4-15 (f) Section 403.095, Government Code, does not apply to the
4-16 industrial revolving account. [PROCEEDS FROM PRISON INDUSTRIES.
4-17 Proceeds received from the operation of a prison industries program
4-18 shall be deposited in the industrial revolving fund. The proceeds
4-19 may be used by the department for the administration of this
4-20 subchapter.]
4-21 Sec. 497.006. CONTRACTS WITH PRIVATE BUSINESS. To encourage
4-22 the development and expansion of [the] prison industries
4-23 [program], the prison industries office may enter into necessary
4-24 contracts to produce articles and products to be sold on the open
4-25 market [related to the prison industries program]. With the
4-26 approval of the board, the office may enter into a contract with a
4-27 private business to conduct a program on or off property operated
5-1 by the department. A contract entered into under this section must
5-2 comply with the Private Sector/Prison Industry Enhancement
5-3 Certification Program operated by the Bureau of Justice Assistance
5-4 and authorized by 18 U.S.C. Section 1761. In determining under
5-5 Section 497.051 the number of inmates employed in conditional work
5-6 programs, the department shall count the number of inmates
5-7 participating in a work program under a contract entered into under
5-8 this section.
5-9 Sec. 497.007. GRANTS. The [prison industries] office may
5-10 accept any grant designated for inmate vocational rehabilitation.
5-11 The office shall maintain records relating to the receipt and
5-12 disbursement of grant funds, and shall annually report to the board
5-13 on the administration of grant funds.
5-14 Sec. 497.008. LEASE OF LAND. To further the expansion and
5-15 development of [the] prison industries [program], the department
5-16 may lease prison land to a private business. A lease under this
5-17 section may not exceed a term of 50 years. The business must lease
5-18 the land at fair market value and may construct or convert plant
5-19 facilities on the land.
5-20 Sec. 497.009. CERTIFICATION FOR FRANCHISE TAX CREDIT. The
5-21 department or the [prison industries] office on behalf of the
5-22 department shall prepare and issue a certification that a
5-23 corporation requires to establish eligibility for the franchise tax
5-24 credit for wages paid to inmates or employees who were inmates
5-25 under Subchapter L, Chapter 171, Tax Code.
5-26 Sec. 497.010. OFFENSE: SALE OR OFFER OF SALE OF
5-27 PRISON-PRODUCED ARTICLES OR PRODUCTS. (a) A person commits an
6-1 offense if the person intentionally sells or offers to sell on the
6-2 open market in this state an article or product the person knows
6-3 was manufactured in whole or in part by an inmate of the department
6-4 or an inmate in any correctional facility or reformatory
6-5 institution in this state or in any other state, other than an
6-6 inmate:
6-7 (1) who was on community supervision, parole, or
6-8 mandatory supervision;
6-9 (2) employed by an enterprise that has employed the
6-10 inmate in order to take advantage of the franchise tax credit
6-11 offered under Subchapter L, Chapter 171, Tax Code, at the time of
6-12 manufacture; or
6-13 (3) participating in a federally certified prison
6-14 industry enhancement program.
6-15 (b) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor
6-16 [COMPLIANCE. The prison industries office may enter into a
6-17 contract with a private business under Section 497.006 only if the
6-18 contract specifies that the prison industries office and the
6-19 private business will comply with the Private Sector/Prison
6-20 Industry Enhancement Certification Program operated by the Bureau
6-21 of Justice Assistance and authorized by 18 U.S.C. Section 1761].
6-22 SUBCHAPTER B. SALES OF PRISON-MADE ARTICLES OR PRODUCTS
6-23 [GOODS ACT OF 1963]
6-24 Sec. 497.021. AUTHORITY [SHORT TITLE]. This subchapter
6-25 governs the sale of prison-made products to governmental agencies
6-26 [may be cited as the Prison-Made Goods Act of 1963].
6-27 Sec. 497.022. CONTRACTS. The department may contract with:
7-1 (1) another state, the federal government, a foreign
7-2 government, or an agency of any of those governments to manufacture
7-3 for or sell to those governments prison-made articles or products;
7-4 or
7-5 (2) a private school or a visually handicapped person
7-6 in this state to manufacture Braille textbooks or other
7-7 instructional aids for the education of visually handicapped
7-8 persons [PURPOSE. The purpose of this subchapter is to:]
7-9 [(1) provide adequate, regular, and suitable
7-10 employment for the vocational training and rehabilitation of
7-11 inmates, consistent with proper penal purposes;]
7-12 [(2) use the labor of inmates for self-maintenance;]
7-13 [(3) reimburse the state for expenses caused by the
7-14 crimes of inmates and the cost of their confinement;]
7-15 [(4) provide for the requisition and disbursement of
7-16 institutional division articles and products through established
7-17 state authorities to eliminate the possibility of private profits
7-18 from the distribution of those articles and products; and]
7-19 [(5) provide materials, products, or articles for sale
7-20 to a private person or for the use of the state or a political
7-21 subdivision of the state].
7-22 Sec. 497.023. [RULES. The board may adopt rules necessary
7-23 for the administration of this subchapter.]
7-24 [Sec. 497.024] PRIORITIES. Under this subchapter and
7-25 Subchapter A, the office [The institutional division] shall produce
7-26 products and articles [administer this subchapter] first to fulfill
7-27 the needs of agencies of the state [for articles and products
8-1 produced under this subchapter,] and second to fulfill the needs of
8-2 political subdivisions or other purchasers [for the articles and
8-3 products].
8-4 [Sec. 497.025. PURCHASE OF EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES;
8-5 EMPLOYMENT OF PERSONNEL. To provide articles and products to an
8-6 agency of the state or a political subdivision of the state, the
8-7 institutional division may purchase equipment, raw materials, and
8-8 supplies in the manner provided by law.]
8-9 Sec. 497.024 [497.026]. AGENCIES AND POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS:
8-10 DUTIES TO PURCHASE. (a) If the office [institutional division]
8-11 produces an article or product under this subchapter, an agency of
8-12 the state or a political subdivision may purchase the article or
8-13 product only from the office [division].
8-14 (b) If the General Services Commission determines that an
8-15 article or product produced by the office [institutional division]
8-16 under this subchapter does not meet the requirements of an agency
8-17 of the state or a political subdivision, or that the office has
8-18 determined [institutional division of the Texas Department of
8-19 Criminal Justice determines] that the office [division] is unable
8-20 to fill a requisition for an article or product, the agency or
8-21 subdivision may purchase the article or product from another
8-22 source.
8-23 (c) An agency of the state or a political subdivision may
8-24 not evade the intent of this subchapter by requesting an article or
8-25 product that varies slightly from standards for articles or
8-26 products established under Section 497.027 [497.029], if the office
8-27 [institutional division] produces a similar article or product
9-1 that is in compliance with established standards and is reasonably
9-2 suited to the actual needs of the agency or subdivision.
9-3 Sec. 497.025 [497.027]. PURCHASING PROCEDURE. (a) An
9-4 agency of the state that purchases articles and products under
9-5 this subchapter must requisition the purchase through the General
9-6 Services Commission except for purchases of articles or products
9-7 [items or services] not included in an established contract. The
9-8 purchase of articles or products [items] not included in an
9-9 established contract and that do not exceed the dollar limits
9-10 established under Section 2155.132 [3.08(a), State Purchasing and
9-11 General Services Act (Article 601b, Vernon's Texas Civil
9-12 Statutes),] may be acquired directly from the office [department]
9-13 on the agency's obtaining an informal or a formal quotation for
9-14 the item and issuing a proper purchase order to the office
9-15 [department].
9-16 (b) A political subdivision may purchase articles and
9-17 products under this subchapter directly from the office
9-18 [institutional division].
9-19 (c) If an agency or political subdivision purchasing goods
9-20 under this subchapter desires to purchase goods or articles from
9-21 the office [division], it may do so without complying with any
9-22 other state law otherwise requiring the agency or political
9-23 subdivision to request competitive bids for the article or product.
9-24 A [Nothing herein shall be interpreted to require a] political
9-25 subdivision may decline to purchase goods or articles from the
9-26 office [division] if the political subdivision determines, after
9-27 giving the office a final opportunity to negotiate on price, that
10-1 the goods or articles can be purchased elsewhere at a lower price.
10-2 An [or an] agency may decline to purchase goods or articles from
10-3 the office [division] if the agency determines, after giving the
10-4 office a final opportunity to negotiate on price, and the General
10-5 Services Commission certifies, that the goods or articles can be
10-6 purchased elsewhere at a lower price.
10-7 Sec. 497.026 [497.028]. PRICES. The office [institutional
10-8 division] and the [State Purchasing and] General Services
10-9 Commission shall determine the sales price of articles and products
10-10 produced under this subchapter.
10-11 Sec. 497.027 [497.029]. SPECIFICATIONS. (a) The [State
10-12 Purchasing and] General Services Commission shall establish
10-13 specifications for articles and products produced under this
10-14 subchapter. An article or product produced under this subchapter
10-15 must meet specifications established under this subsection in
10-16 effect when the article or product is produced.
10-17 (b) The office [institutional division] may manufacture
10-18 articles and products to meet commercial specifications for the
10-19 article or product if the [State Purchasing and] General Services
10-20 Commission has not established specifications for the article or
10-21 product and the commission approves the commercial specifications.
10-22 Sec. 497.028 [497.030]. CATALOGS. The office [institutional
10-23 division] shall prepare catalogs that accurately and completely
10-24 describe articles and products produced under this subchapter. The
10-25 office [institutional division] shall send copies of the catalogs
10-26 to all state agencies and make the catalogs available to political
10-27 subdivisions.
11-1 Sec. 497.029 [497.031]. NEW ARTICLES AND PRODUCTS. The
11-2 [State Purchasing and] General Services Commission may request the
11-3 office [institutional division] to produce additional articles or
11-4 products under this subchapter.
11-5 Sec. 497.030 [497.032]. [STATE PURCHASING AND] GENERAL
11-6 SERVICES COMMISSION REPORTS. (a) Not later than the 31st day
11-7 before the first day of each fiscal year, the [State Purchasing
11-8 and] General Services Commission shall submit to the office
11-9 [institutional division] a report that summarizes the types and
11-10 amounts of articles and products sold under this subchapter in the
11-11 preceding nine months.
11-12 (b) Not later than the 100th day after the last day of each
11-13 fiscal year, the [State Purchasing and] General Services Commission
11-14 shall submit to the office [institutional division] a report that
11-15 states the types and amounts of articles and products sold under
11-16 this subchapter in the preceding fiscal year.
11-17 (c) A report submitted by the [State Purchasing and] General
11-18 Services Commission under this section must describe the articles
11-19 and products to the extent possible in the manner those articles
11-20 and products are described in catalogs prepared under Section
11-21 497.028 [497.030].
11-22 [Sec. 497.033. INDUSTRIAL REVOLVING FUND. (a) The
11-23 legislature may appropriate in the General Appropriations Act money
11-24 to an industrial revolving fund.]
11-25 [(b) The prison industries office established under Section
11-26 497.001 shall administer the industrial revolving fund.]
11-27 [(c) The institutional division may use money appropriated
12-1 to the industrial revolving fund to erect buildings, improve
12-2 facilities, buy equipment and tools, install or replace equipment,
12-3 and pay for other necessary expenses for the administration of this
12-4 subchapter.]
12-5 [(d) The institutional division shall deposit funds received
12-6 from the sale of articles and products produced under this
12-7 subchapter with the state treasurer to be maintained in the
12-8 industrial revolving fund.]
12-9 [(e) Subject to the approval of the board, the institutional
12-10 division may use money deposited under Subsection (d) for the
12-11 purposes described in Subsection (c), and for the employment of
12-12 supervisors as necessary for the administration of this subchapter.]
12-13 [(f) When the governor and the Legislative Budget Board
12-14 determine that the industrial revolving fund contains money in an
12-15 amount that exceeds the amount necessary for the administration of
12-16 this subchapter, the excess amount shall be transferred by the
12-17 institutional division to the general revenue fund.]
12-18 [(g) Sections 403.094(h) and (i) do not apply to the
12-19 industrial revolving fund.]
12-20 [Sec. 497.034. SURPLUS PROPERTY AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.
12-21 (a) The board may authorize the director of the institutional
12-22 division to sell or dispose of surplus agricultural products and
12-23 personal property owned by the institutional division, other than
12-24 products or property produced for sale by the division.]
12-25 [(b) Products and property described by Subsection (a) shall
12-26 be sold under rules adopted by the board and at prices and terms
12-27 set by the board.]
13-1 [(c) The institutional division may use surplus agricultural
13-2 lands to provide agricultural products to a nonprofit organization
13-3 at no profit to the division.]
13-4 [Sec. 497.035. OFFENSE: SALE OR OFFER OF SALE OF
13-5 PRISON-PRODUCED ARTICLES OR PRODUCTS. (a) A person commits an
13-6 offense if the person intentionally sells or offers to sell on the
13-7 open market in this state an article or product the person knows
13-8 was manufactured in whole or in part by an inmate of the
13-9 institutional division or an inmate in a correctional facility in
13-10 any other state, other than an inmate:]
13-11 [(1) who was on community supervision, parole, or
13-12 mandatory supervision;]
13-13 [(2) employed by an enterprise who has employed the
13-14 inmate to advantage themselves of the Franchise Tax Credit offered
13-15 under Subchapter L, Chapter 171, Tax Code, at the time of
13-16 manufacture; or]
13-17 [(3) participating in a federally certified prison
13-18 industry enhancement program.]
13-19 [(b) An offense under this section is a misdemeanor
13-20 punishable by:]
13-21 [(1) a fine of not less than $10 or more than $500;]
13-22 [(2) confinement in jail for a term of not less than
13-23 10 days or more than one year; or]
13-24 [(3) both such fine and confinement.]
13-25 SECTION 2. Section 497.051, Government Code, is amended to
13-26 read as follows:
13-27 Sec. 497.051. OVERSIGHT [WORK PROGRAM PLAN]. [(a)] The
14-1 prison industries advisory committee shall approve, certify, and
14-2 oversee the operation of private sector prison industries programs
14-3 in the department, the Texas Youth Commission, and in county
14-4 correctional facilities in compliance [shall establish policies for
14-5 the administration of a conditional work program that may employ
14-6 not more than 500 male and female work program residents. The
14-7 policies must include a work program contract that includes an
14-8 agreement by the resident to contribute from the wages received by
14-9 the resident for the resident's participation in private industry
14-10 employment a percentage of the wages, in accordance with rules
14-11 adopted by the board to comply] with the federal prison enhancement
14-12 certification program established under 18 U.S.C. Section 1761[,
14-13 and a percentage of the wages for:]
14-14 [(1) costs of supervision;]
14-15 [(2) restitution to the victim or victims of the
14-16 resident; and]
14-17 [(3) savings to be retained for the resident in a
14-18 designated account for the resident's benefit and receipt on
14-19 release.]
14-20 [(b) This subchapter does not restore in whole or in part
14-21 the civil rights of a work program resident.]
14-22 [(c) A work program resident employed under this subchapter
14-23 is not subject to workers' compensation laws, and the resident and
14-24 the resident's beneficiaries may not receive compensation under
14-25 those laws, except that a private industry may provide workers'
14-26 compensation benefits to a resident and a resident's beneficiaries
14-27 as necessary to certify a work program operated by the industry as
15-1 a work pilot project described in 18 U.S.C. Section 1761].
15-2 SECTION 3. Section 497.091, Government Code, is amended by
15-3 adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
15-4 (d) The department may contract with nonprofit organizations
15-5 that provide services to the general public and enhance social
15-6 welfare and the general well-being of the community to provide
15-7 inmate labor to those organizations.
15-8 SECTION 4. Subchapter F, Chapter 497, Government Code, is
15-9 amended by adding Section 497.113 to read as follows:
15-10 Sec. 497.113. SURPLUS AGRICULTURAL PROPERTY AND PRODUCTS.
15-11 (a) The board may authorize the sale or disposal of surplus
15-12 agricultural products and personal property owned by the
15-13 department, other than products or property produced for sale by
15-14 the department.
15-15 (b) Products and property described by Subsection (a) shall
15-16 be sold under rules adopted by the board and at prices and terms
15-17 set pursuant to those rules.
15-18 (c) The department may use surplus agricultural capacity to
15-19 provide agricultural products to a nonprofit organization at no
15-20 profit to the department.
15-21 SECTION 5. Section 38.111(a), Penal Code, is amended to read
15-22 as follows:
15-23 (a) An inmate of the institutional division or a person
15-24 confined in a state jail felony facility commits an offense if with
15-25 intent to obtain a benefit or with intent to harm or defraud
15-26 another the inmate or person possesses, discloses, or uses personal
15-27 information about another that the inmate or person has access to
16-1 by means of participation in a work program operated by or for the
16-2 institutional division or state jail division.
16-3 SECTION 6. Section 496.051, Government Code, and Section 1,
16-4 Chapter 86, Acts of the 47th Legislature, Regular Session, 1941
16-5 (Article 9007, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), are repealed.
16-6 SECTION 7. (a) The changes in law made by this Act to
16-7 Section 497.010, Government Code, and Section 38.111, Penal Code,
16-8 apply only to an offense committed on or after the effective date
16-9 of this Act. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed
16-10 before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
16-11 occurs before the effective date.
16-12 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
16-13 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
16-14 and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
16-15 SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
16-16 SECTION 9. The importance of this legislation and the
16-17 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
16-18 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
16-19 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
16-20 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.