1-1 By: Allen (Senate Sponsor - Wentworth) H.B. No. 2324
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 15, 1997;
1-3 May 16, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
1-4 Justice; May 18, 1997, reported favorably by the following vote:
1-5 Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 18, 1997, sent to printer.)
1-6 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-7 AN ACT
1-8 relating to the organization and operation of certain prison
1-9 industries in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the Texas
1-10 Youth Commission, and certain county correctional facilities and to
1-11 agricultural programs and work programs of the Texas Department of
1-12 Criminal Justice; providing a penalty.
1-13 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-14 SECTION 1. Subchapters A and B, Chapter 497, Government
1-15 Code, are amended to read as follows:
1-16 SUBCHAPTER A. TEXAS CORRECTIONAL [PRISON]
1-17 INDUSTRIES [OFFICE]
1-18 Sec. 497.001. TEXAS CORRECTIONAL [PRISON] INDUSTRIES;
1-19 DEFINITIONS [OFFICE]. (a) Texas Correctional Industries [The
1-20 prison industries office] is an office in the department.
1-21 (b) In this subchapter and Subchapter B:
1-22 (1) "Office" means Texas Correctional Industries.
1-23 (2) "Articles and products" include services provided
1-24 through the use of inmate labor.
1-25 Sec. 497.002. PURPOSE; IMPLEMENTATION. (a) The purposes of
1-26 the [prison industries] office are to implement this subchapter and
1-27 Subchapter B to:
1-28 (1) provide adequate, regular, and suitable employment
1-29 for the [and] vocational training and rehabilitation of inmates,
1-30 consistent with proper correctional purposes;
1-31 (2) use the labor of inmates for self-maintenance;
1-32 (3) reimburse the state for expenses caused by the
1-33 crimes of inmates and the cost of their imprisonment;
1-34 (4) provide for the requisition and disbursement of
1-35 department articles and products through established state
1-36 authorities to eliminate the possibility of unlawful private profit
1-37 from the distribution of those articles and products;
1-38 (5) provide materials, products, or articles for sale
1-39 to the public, to private enterprises, or to agencies of the state
1-40 or political subdivisions of the state; and
1-41 (6) develop and expand public and private prison
1-42 industry operations [development and expansion of public and
1-43 private prison industries].
1-44 (b) To implement the purposes of the office, the department
1-45 may establish and operate a prison industries program at each
1-46 correctional facility that the department considers suitable for
1-47 such a program.
1-48 Sec. 497.003. ADVISORY COMMITTEE. The board may establish a
1-49 prison industries advisory committee. If the board establishes a
1-50 prison industries advisory committee, the advisory committee must
1-51 be [is] composed of nine members appointed by the board. Members
1-52 of the advisory committee, if the advisory committee is
1-53 established, serve staggered three-year terms with the terms of
1-54 three members expiring February 1 of each odd-numbered year.
1-55 Sec. 497.004. INMATE LABOR, PAY. (a) The department shall
1-56 use inmate labor in [the] prison industries [program] to the
1-57 greatest extent feasible and shall develop and expand [the] prison
1-58 industries [program] by pursuing arrangements with business for the
1-59 use of inmate labor.
1-60 (b) The board may develop by rule and the department may
1-61 administer an incentive pay scale for inmates who participate in
1-62 [the] prison industries [program]. Prison industries [The program]
1-63 may be financed through contributions donated for this purpose by
1-64 private businesses contracting with the department. The department
2-1 shall apportion pay earned by an inmate in the same manner as is
2-2 required by Section 497.051 [under this subchapter to the following
2-3 persons and entities, in amounts determined at the discretion of
2-4 the department:]
2-5 [(1) persons to whom the inmate has been ordered by a
2-6 court to pay restitution;]
2-7 [(2) the inmate's family and dependents;]
2-8 [(3) the state, as reimbursement for the cost of the
2-9 inmate's confinement;]
2-10 [(4) the compensation to victims of crime fund,
2-11 created by Article 56.54, Code of Criminal Procedure; and]
2-12 [(5) the inmate's trust fund].
2-13 Sec. 497.005. INDUSTRIAL REVOLVING ACCOUNT. (a) The
2-14 legislature may appropriate money to an industrial revolving
2-15 account in the general revenue fund.
2-16 (b) The office shall administer the industrial revolving
2-17 account.
2-18 (c) The office may use money in the industrial revolving
2-19 account to purchase real property, erect buildings, improve
2-20 facilities, buy equipment and tools, install or replace equipment,
2-21 buy industrial raw materials and supplies, and pay for other
2-22 necessary expenses for the administration of this subchapter and
2-23 Subchapter B.
2-24 (d) The office shall remit money received from the sale of
2-25 articles and products produced under this subchapter and Subchapter
2-26 B to the comptroller to be deposited in the industrial revolving
2-27 account.
2-28 (e) When the governor and the Legislative Budget Board
2-29 determine that the industrial revolving account contains money in
2-30 an amount that exceeds the amount necessary for the administration
2-31 of this subchapter and Subchapter B, the governor and the
2-32 Legislative Budget Board shall certify that fact to the
2-33 comptroller, who shall transfer the excess amount to the
2-34 unobligated portion of the general revenue fund.
2-35 (f) Section 403.095, Government Code, does not apply to the
2-36 industrial revolving account. [PROCEEDS FROM PRISON INDUSTRIES.
2-37 Proceeds received from the operation of a prison industries program
2-38 shall be deposited in the industrial revolving fund. The proceeds
2-39 may be used by the department for the administration of this
2-40 subchapter.]
2-41 Sec. 497.006. CONTRACTS WITH PRIVATE BUSINESS. To encourage
2-42 the development and expansion of [the] prison industries
2-43 [program], the prison industries office may enter into necessary
2-44 contracts to produce articles and products to be sold on the open
2-45 market [related to the prison industries program]. With the
2-46 approval of the board, the office may enter into a contract with a
2-47 private business to conduct a program on or off property operated
2-48 by the department. A contract entered into under this section must
2-49 comply with the Private Sector/Prison Industry Enhancement
2-50 Certification Program operated by the Bureau of Justice Assistance
2-51 and authorized by 18 U.S.C. Section 1761. In determining under
2-52 Section 497.051 the number of inmates employed in conditional work
2-53 programs, the department shall count the number of inmates
2-54 participating in a work program under a contract entered into under
2-55 this section.
2-56 Sec. 497.007. GRANTS. The [prison industries] office may
2-57 accept any grant designated for inmate vocational rehabilitation.
2-58 The office shall maintain records relating to the receipt and
2-59 disbursement of grant funds, and shall annually report to the board
2-60 on the administration of grant funds.
2-61 Sec. 497.008. LEASE OF LAND. To further the expansion and
2-62 development of [the] prison industries [program], the department
2-63 may lease prison land to a private business. A lease under this
2-64 section may not exceed a term of 50 years. The business must lease
2-65 the land at fair market value and may construct or convert plant
2-66 facilities on the land.
2-67 Sec. 497.009. CERTIFICATION FOR FRANCHISE TAX CREDIT. The
2-68 department or the [prison industries] office on behalf of the
2-69 department shall prepare and issue a certification that a
3-1 corporation requires to establish eligibility for the franchise tax
3-2 credit for wages paid to inmates or employees who were inmates
3-3 under Subchapter L, Chapter 171, Tax Code.
3-4 Sec. 497.010. OFFENSE: SALE OR OFFER OF SALE OF
3-5 PRISON-PRODUCED ARTICLES OR PRODUCTS. (a) A person commits an
3-6 offense if the person intentionally sells or offers to sell on the
3-7 open market in this state an article or product the person knows
3-8 was manufactured in whole or in part by an inmate of the department
3-9 or an inmate in any correctional facility or reformatory
3-10 institution in this state or in any other state, other than an
3-11 inmate:
3-12 (1) who was on community supervision, parole, or
3-13 mandatory supervision;
3-14 (2) employed by an enterprise that has employed the
3-15 inmate in order to take advantage of the franchise tax credit
3-16 offered under Subchapter L, Chapter 171, Tax Code, at the time of
3-17 manufacture; or
3-18 (3) participating in a federally certified prison
3-19 industry enhancement program.
3-20 (b) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor
3-21 [COMPLIANCE. The prison industries office may enter into a
3-22 contract with a private business under Section 497.006 only if the
3-23 contract specifies that the prison industries office and the
3-24 private business will comply with the Private Sector/Prison
3-25 Industry Enhancement Certification Program operated by the Bureau
3-26 of Justice Assistance and authorized by 18 U.S.C. Section 1761].
3-27 SUBCHAPTER B. SALES OF PRISON-MADE ARTICLES OR PRODUCTS
3-28 [GOODS ACT OF 1963]
3-29 Sec. 497.021. AUTHORITY [SHORT TITLE]. This subchapter
3-30 governs the sale of prison-made products to governmental agencies
3-31 [may be cited as the Prison-Made Goods Act of 1963].
3-32 Sec. 497.022. CONTRACTS. The department may contract with:
3-33 (1) another state, the federal government, a foreign
3-34 government, or an agency of any of those governments to manufacture
3-35 for or sell to those governments prison-made articles or products;
3-36 or
3-37 (2) a private school or a visually handicapped person
3-38 in this state to manufacture Braille textbooks or other
3-39 instructional aids for the education of visually handicapped
3-40 persons [PURPOSE. The purpose of this subchapter is to:]
3-41 [(1) provide adequate, regular, and suitable
3-42 employment for the vocational training and rehabilitation of
3-43 inmates, consistent with proper penal purposes;]
3-44 [(2) use the labor of inmates for self-maintenance;]
3-45 [(3) reimburse the state for expenses caused by the
3-46 crimes of inmates and the cost of their confinement;]
3-47 [(4) provide for the requisition and disbursement of
3-48 institutional division articles and products through established
3-49 state authorities to eliminate the possibility of private profits
3-50 from the distribution of those articles and products; and]
3-51 [(5) provide materials, products, or articles for sale
3-52 to a private person or for the use of the state or a political
3-53 subdivision of the state].
3-54 Sec. 497.023. [RULES. The board may adopt rules necessary
3-55 for the administration of this subchapter.]
3-56 [Sec. 497.024] PRIORITIES. Under this subchapter and
3-57 Subchapter A, the office [The institutional division] shall produce
3-58 products and articles [administer this subchapter] first to fulfill
3-59 the needs of agencies of the state [for articles and products
3-60 produced under this subchapter,] and second to fulfill the needs of
3-61 political subdivisions or other purchasers [for the articles and
3-62 products].
3-63 [Sec. 497.025. PURCHASE OF EQUIPMENT AND SUPPLIES;
3-64 EMPLOYMENT OF PERSONNEL. To provide articles and products to an
3-65 agency of the state or a political subdivision of the state, the
3-66 institutional division may purchase equipment, raw materials, and
3-67 supplies in the manner provided by law.]
3-68 Sec. 497.024 [497.026]. AGENCIES AND POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS:
3-69 DUTIES TO PURCHASE. (a) If the office [institutional division]
4-1 produces an article or product under this subchapter, an agency of
4-2 the state or a political subdivision may purchase the article or
4-3 product only from the office [division].
4-4 (b) If the General Services Commission determines that an
4-5 article or product produced by the office [institutional division]
4-6 under this subchapter does not meet the requirements of an agency
4-7 of the state or a political subdivision, or that the office has
4-8 determined [institutional division of the Texas Department of
4-9 Criminal Justice determines] that the office [division] is unable
4-10 to fill a requisition for an article or product, the agency or
4-11 subdivision may purchase the article or product from another
4-12 source.
4-13 (c) An agency of the state or a political subdivision may
4-14 not evade the intent of this subchapter by requesting an article or
4-15 product that varies slightly from standards for articles or
4-16 products established under Section 497.027 [497.029], if the office
4-17 [institutional division] produces a similar article or product
4-18 that is in compliance with established standards and is reasonably
4-19 suited to the actual needs of the agency or subdivision.
4-20 Sec. 497.025 [497.027]. PURCHASING PROCEDURE. (a) An
4-21 agency of the state that purchases articles and products under
4-22 this subchapter must requisition the purchase through the General
4-23 Services Commission except for purchases of articles or products
4-24 [items or services] not included in an established contract. The
4-25 purchase of articles or products [items] not included in an
4-26 established contract and that do not exceed the dollar limits
4-27 established under Section 2155.132 [3.08(a), State Purchasing and
4-28 General Services Act (Article 601b, Vernon's Texas Civil
4-29 Statutes),] may be acquired directly from the office [department]
4-30 on the agency's obtaining an informal or a formal quotation for
4-31 the item and issuing a proper purchase order to the office
4-32 [department].
4-33 (b) A political subdivision may purchase articles and
4-34 products under this subchapter directly from the office
4-35 [institutional division].
4-36 (c) If an agency or political subdivision purchasing goods
4-37 under this subchapter desires to purchase goods or articles from
4-38 the office [division], it may do so without complying with any
4-39 other state law otherwise requiring the agency or political
4-40 subdivision to request competitive bids for the article or product.
4-41 A [Nothing herein shall be interpreted to require a] political
4-42 subdivision may decline to purchase goods or articles from the
4-43 office [division] if the political subdivision determines, after
4-44 giving the office a final opportunity to negotiate on price, that
4-45 the goods or articles can be purchased elsewhere at a lower price.
4-46 An [or an] agency may decline to purchase goods or articles from
4-47 the office [division] if the agency determines, after giving the
4-48 office a final opportunity to negotiate on price, and the General
4-49 Services Commission certifies, that the goods or articles can be
4-50 purchased elsewhere at a lower price.
4-51 Sec. 497.026 [497.028]. PRICES. The office [institutional
4-52 division] and the [State Purchasing and] General Services
4-53 Commission shall determine the sales price of articles and products
4-54 produced under this subchapter.
4-55 Sec. 497.027 [497.029]. SPECIFICATIONS. (a) The [State
4-56 Purchasing and] General Services Commission shall establish
4-57 specifications for articles and products produced under this
4-58 subchapter. An article or product produced under this subchapter
4-59 must meet specifications established under this subsection in
4-60 effect when the article or product is produced.
4-61 (b) The office [institutional division] may manufacture
4-62 articles and products to meet commercial specifications for the
4-63 article or product if the [State Purchasing and] General Services
4-64 Commission has not established specifications for the article or
4-65 product and the commission approves the commercial specifications.
4-66 Sec. 497.028 [497.030]. CATALOGS. The office [institutional
4-67 division] shall prepare catalogs that accurately and completely
4-68 describe articles and products produced under this subchapter. The
4-69 office [institutional division] shall send copies of the catalogs
5-1 to all state agencies and make the catalogs available to political
5-2 subdivisions.
5-3 Sec. 497.029 [497.031]. NEW ARTICLES AND PRODUCTS. The
5-4 [State Purchasing and] General Services Commission may request the
5-5 office [institutional division] to produce additional articles or
5-6 products under this subchapter.
5-7 Sec. 497.030 [497.032]. [STATE PURCHASING AND] GENERAL
5-8 SERVICES COMMISSION REPORTS. (a) Not later than the 31st day
5-9 before the first day of each fiscal year, the [State Purchasing
5-10 and] General Services Commission shall submit to the office
5-11 [institutional division] a report that summarizes the types and
5-12 amounts of articles and products sold under this subchapter in the
5-13 preceding nine months.
5-14 (b) Not later than the 100th day after the last day of each
5-15 fiscal year, the [State Purchasing and] General Services Commission
5-16 shall submit to the office [institutional division] a report that
5-17 states the types and amounts of articles and products sold under
5-18 this subchapter in the preceding fiscal year.
5-19 (c) A report submitted by the [State Purchasing and] General
5-20 Services Commission under this section must describe the articles
5-21 and products to the extent possible in the manner those articles
5-22 and products are described in catalogs prepared under Section
5-23 497.028 [497.030].
5-24 [Sec. 497.033. INDUSTRIAL REVOLVING FUND. (a) The
5-25 legislature may appropriate in the General Appropriations Act money
5-26 to an industrial revolving fund.]
5-27 [(b) The prison industries office established under Section
5-28 497.001 shall administer the industrial revolving fund.]
5-29 [(c) The institutional division may use money appropriated
5-30 to the industrial revolving fund to erect buildings, improve
5-31 facilities, buy equipment and tools, install or replace equipment,
5-32 and pay for other necessary expenses for the administration of this
5-33 subchapter.]
5-34 [(d) The institutional division shall deposit funds received
5-35 from the sale of articles and products produced under this
5-36 subchapter with the state treasurer to be maintained in the
5-37 industrial revolving fund.]
5-38 [(e) Subject to the approval of the board, the institutional
5-39 division may use money deposited under Subsection (d) for the
5-40 purposes described in Subsection (c), and for the employment of
5-41 supervisors as necessary for the administration of this subchapter.]
5-42 [(f) When the governor and the Legislative Budget Board
5-43 determine that the industrial revolving fund contains money in an
5-44 amount that exceeds the amount necessary for the administration of
5-45 this subchapter, the excess amount shall be transferred by the
5-46 institutional division to the general revenue fund.]
5-47 [(g) Sections 403.094(h) and (i) do not apply to the
5-48 industrial revolving fund.]
5-49 [Sec. 497.034. SURPLUS PROPERTY AND AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS.
5-50 (a) The board may authorize the director of the institutional
5-51 division to sell or dispose of surplus agricultural products and
5-52 personal property owned by the institutional division, other than
5-53 products or property produced for sale by the division.]
5-54 [(b) Products and property described by Subsection (a) shall
5-55 be sold under rules adopted by the board and at prices and terms
5-56 set by the board.]
5-57 [(c) The institutional division may use surplus agricultural
5-58 lands to provide agricultural products to a nonprofit organization
5-59 at no profit to the division.]
5-60 [Sec. 497.035. OFFENSE: SALE OR OFFER OF SALE OF
5-61 PRISON-PRODUCED ARTICLES OR PRODUCTS. (a) A person commits an
5-62 offense if the person intentionally sells or offers to sell on the
5-63 open market in this state an article or product the person knows
5-64 was manufactured in whole or in part by an inmate of the
5-65 institutional division or an inmate in a correctional facility in
5-66 any other state, other than an inmate:]
5-67 [(1) who was on community supervision, parole, or
5-68 mandatory supervision;]
5-69 [(2) employed by an enterprise who has employed the
6-1 inmate to advantage themselves of the Franchise Tax Credit offered
6-2 under Subchapter L, Chapter 171, Tax Code, at the time of
6-3 manufacture; or]
6-4 [(3) participating in a federally certified prison
6-5 industry enhancement program.]
6-6 [(b) An offense under this section is a misdemeanor
6-7 punishable by:]
6-8 [(1) a fine of not less than $10 or more than $500;]
6-9 [(2) confinement in jail for a term of not less than
6-10 10 days or more than one year; or]
6-11 [(3) both such fine and confinement.]
6-12 SECTION 2. Section 497.051, Government Code, is amended to
6-13 read as follows:
6-14 Sec. 497.051. OVERSIGHT [WORK PROGRAM PLAN]. [(a)] The
6-15 prison industries advisory committee shall approve, certify, and
6-16 oversee the operation of private sector prison industries programs
6-17 in the department, the Texas Youth Commission, and in county
6-18 correctional facilities in compliance [shall establish policies for
6-19 the administration of a conditional work program that may employ
6-20 not more than 500 male and female work program residents. The
6-21 policies must include a work program contract that includes an
6-22 agreement by the resident to contribute from the wages received by
6-23 the resident for the resident's participation in private industry
6-24 employment a percentage of the wages, in accordance with rules
6-25 adopted by the board to comply] with the federal prison enhancement
6-26 certification program established under 18 U.S.C. Section 1761[,
6-27 and a percentage of the wages for:]
6-28 [(1) costs of supervision;]
6-29 [(2) restitution to the victim or victims of the
6-30 resident; and]
6-31 [(3) savings to be retained for the resident in a
6-32 designated account for the resident's benefit and receipt on
6-33 release.]
6-34 [(b) This subchapter does not restore in whole or in part
6-35 the civil rights of a work program resident.]
6-36 [(c) A work program resident employed under this subchapter
6-37 is not subject to workers' compensation laws, and the resident and
6-38 the resident's beneficiaries may not receive compensation under
6-39 those laws, except that a private industry may provide workers'
6-40 compensation benefits to a resident and a resident's beneficiaries
6-41 as necessary to certify a work program operated by the industry as
6-42 a work pilot project described in 18 U.S.C. Section 1761].
6-43 SECTION 3. Section 497.091, Government Code, is amended by
6-44 adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
6-45 (d) The department may contract with nonprofit organizations
6-46 that provide services to the general public and enhance social
6-47 welfare and the general well-being of the community to provide
6-48 inmate labor to those organizations.
6-49 SECTION 4. Subchapter F, Chapter 497, Government Code, is
6-50 amended by adding Section 497.113 to read as follows:
6-51 Sec. 497.113. SURPLUS AGRICULTURAL PROPERTY AND PRODUCTS.
6-52 (a) The board may authorize the sale or disposal of surplus
6-53 agricultural products and personal property owned by the
6-54 department, other than products or property produced for sale by
6-55 the department.
6-56 (b) Products and property described by Subsection (a) shall
6-57 be sold under rules adopted by the board and at prices and terms
6-58 set pursuant to those rules.
6-59 (c) The department may use surplus agricultural capacity to
6-60 provide agricultural products to a nonprofit organization at no
6-61 profit to the department.
6-62 SECTION 5. Section 38.111(a), Penal Code, is amended to read
6-63 as follows:
6-64 (a) An inmate of the institutional division or a person
6-65 confined in a state jail felony facility commits an offense if with
6-66 intent to obtain a benefit or with intent to harm or defraud
6-67 another the inmate or person possesses, discloses, or uses personal
6-68 information about another that the inmate or person has access to
6-69 by means of participation in a work program operated by or for the
7-1 institutional division or state jail division.
7-2 SECTION 6. Section 496.051, Government Code, and Section 1,
7-3 Chapter 86, Acts of the 47th Legislature, Regular Session, 1941
7-4 (Article 9007, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), are repealed.
7-5 SECTION 7. (a) The changes in law made by this Act to
7-6 Section 497.010, Government Code, and Section 38.111, Penal Code,
7-7 apply only to an offense committed on or after the effective date
7-8 of this Act. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed
7-9 before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
7-10 occurs before the effective date.
7-11 (b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
7-12 Act is covered by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
7-13 and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
7-14 SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
7-15 SECTION 9. The importance of this legislation and the
7-16 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
7-17 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
7-18 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
7-19 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
7-20 * * * * *