Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
By Hupp H.B. No. 3254
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to correctional facilities that house inmates convicted of
1-3 offenses against the laws of another state of the United States.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 511.001, Government Code, is amended to
1-6 read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 511.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
1-8 (1) "Commission" means the Commission on Jail
1-9 Standards.
1-10 (2) "Correctional facility" means a facility operated
1-11 by a county, a municipality, or a private vendor for the
1-12 confinement of a person arrested for, charged with, or convicted of
1-13 a criminal offense.
1-14 (3) "County jail" means a facility operated by or for
1-15 a county for the confinement of persons accused or convicted of an
1-16 offense.
1-17 (4) [(3)] "Executive director" means the executive
1-18 director of the commission.
1-19 (5) "Federal prisoner" means a person arrested for,
1-20 charged with, or convicted of a violation of a federal law.
1-21 (6) "Inmate" means a person arrested for, charged
1-22 with, or convicted of a criminal offense of this state or another
1-23 state of the United States and confined in a county jail, a
1-24 municipal jail, or a correctional facility operated by a county, a
2-1 municipality, or a private vendor.
2-2 (7) [(4)] "Prisoner" means a person confined in a
2-3 county jail.
2-4 SECTION 2. Chapter 511, Government Code, is amended by
2-5 adding Sections 511.0092, 511.0093, and 511.0094 to read as
2-6 follows:
2-7 Sec. 511.0092. CONTRACTS FOR OUT-OF-STATE INMATES. (a) The
2-8 only entities other than the state that are authorized to operate a
2-9 correctional facility to house in this state inmates convicted of
2-10 offenses committed against the laws of another state of the United
2-11 States are:
2-12 (1) a county or municipality; and
2-13 (2) a private vendor operating a correctional facility
2-14 under a contract with a county under Subchapter F, Chapter 351,
2-15 Local Government Code, or municipality under Subchapter E, Chapter
2-16 361, Local Government Code.
2-17 (b) A county or municipality may enter into a contract with
2-18 another state or a jurisdiction in another state for the purpose
2-19 described by Subsection (a) only if:
2-20 (1) the county or municipality submits to the
2-21 commission:
2-22 (A) a statement of the custody level capacity
2-23 and availability in the correctional facility that will house the
2-24 inmates; and
2-25 (B) a written plan explaining the procedure to
2-26 be used to coordinate law enforcement activities in response to any
2-27 riot, rebellion, escape, or other emergency situation occurring in
2-28 the facility; and
2-29 (2) the commission:
2-30 (A) inspects the facility and reviews the
3-1 statement and plan submitted under Subdivision (1); and
3-2 (B) after the inspection and review, determines
3-3 that the correctional facility is a proper facility for housing the
3-4 inmates and provides the county or municipality with a copy of that
3-5 determination.
3-6 (c) A private vendor operating a correctional facility in
3-7 this state may not enter into a contract for the purposes of
3-8 Subsection (a) with another state or a jurisdiction in another
3-9 state.
3-10 (d) A contract described by Subsection (b) must provide
3-11 that:
3-12 (1) each correctional facility in which inmates are to
3-13 be housed meets minimum standards established by the commission;
3-14 (2) each inmate to be released from custody must be
3-15 released in the sending state;
3-16 (3) before transferring an inmate, the receiving
3-17 facility shall review for compliance with the commission's
3-18 classification standards:
3-19 (A) all records concerning the sending state's
3-20 classification of the inmate, including records relating to the
3-21 inmate's conduct while confined in the sending state; and
3-22 (B) appropriate medical information concerning
3-23 the inmate, including certification of tuberculosis screening or
3-24 treatment;
3-25 (4) except as provided by Subsection (e), the sending
3-26 state will not transfer and the receiving facility will not accept
3-27 an inmate who has a record of institutional violence involving the
3-28 use of a deadly weapon or a pattern of violence while confined in
3-29 the sending state or a record of escape or attempted escape from
3-30 secure custody;
4-1 (5) the receiving entity will determine the inmate's
4-2 custody level in accordance with commission rules, in order to
4-3 ensure that the custody level assignments for the facility as a
4-4 whole are compatible with the construction security level
4-5 availability in the facility; and
4-6 (6) the receiving facility is entitled to terminate at
4-7 will the contract by providing the sending state with 90 days'
4-8 notice of the intent to terminate the contract.
4-9 (e) The commission may waive the requirement that a contract
4-10 contain the provision described by Subsection (d)(4) if the
4-11 commission determines that the receiving facility is capable of
4-12 confining an inmate described by Subsection (d)(4).
4-13 (f) A county, municipality, or private vendor operating
4-14 under a contract described by Subsection (b) shall:
4-15 (1) send a copy of the contract to the commission;
4-16 (2) require all employees at the facility to maintain
4-17 certification as required by the Commission on Law Enforcement
4-18 Officer Standards and Education;
4-19 (3) submit to inspections by the commission; and
4-20 (4) immediately notify the commission of any riot,
4-21 rebellion, escape, or other emergency situation occurring at the
4-22 facility.
4-23 (g) The commission may require the sending state or an
4-24 entity described in Section 511.0092(a) to reimburse the state for
4-25 any cost incurred by a state agency in responding to any riot,
4-26 rebellion, escape, or other emergency situation occurring at the
4-27 facility.
4-28 Sec. 511.0093. DUTIES RELATED TO OUT-OF-STATE INMATES.
4-29 (a) The commission may adopt rules regulating the number of
4-30 federal prisoners and prisoners from jurisdictions other than Texas
5-1 that are housed in a county jail, a municipal jail, or a
5-2 correctional facility operated by a private vendor under contract
5-3 with a municipality if such jail or correctional facility houses
5-4 state, county, or municipal prisoners or prisoners of another state
5-5 of the United States.
5-6 (b) The commission may adopt other rules regulating jails or
5-7 correctional facilities described by Subsection (a) as necessary to
5-8 protect the health and safety of those prisoners, local and Texas
5-9 prisoners, jail personnel, and the public.
5-10 Sec. 511.0094. EXCLUSION OF JAILS OR CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES
5-11 HOUSING ONLY FEDERAL PRISONERS. The provisions of this chapter do
5-12 not apply to a correctional facility, other than a county jail,
5-13 contracting to house only federal prisoners and operating pursuant
5-14 to a contract between a unit of federal government and a county, a
5-15 municipality, or a private vendor. If a county, municipality, or
5-16 private vendor contracts to house or begins to house state, county,
5-17 or municipal prisoners or prisoners of another state of the United
5-18 States, it shall report to the commission before placing such
5-19 inmates in a correctional facility housing only federal prisoners.
5-20 SECTION 3. Subsection (e), Section 351.043, Local Government
5-21 Code, is repealed.
5-22 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
5-23 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
5-24 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
5-25 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
5-26 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
5-27 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
5-28 passage, and it is so enacted.