By Turner of Coleman H.B. No. 726
Line and page numbers may not match official copy.
Bill not drafted by TLC or Senate E&E.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to procedures and policies for the duration, eligibility
1-3 for renewal, and assumption of costs of criminal justice grant
1-4 projects.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Section 772.006(a), Government Code, is ammended
1-7 to read as follows:
1-8 (a) The governor shall establish a criminal justice division
1-9 in the governor's office to:
1-10 (1) advise and assist the governor in developing
1-11 policies, plans, programs, and proposed legislation for improving
1-12 the coordination, administration, and effectiveness of the criminal
1-13 justice system;
1-14 (2) administer the criminal justice planning fund;
1-15 (3) prepare a state comprehensive criminal justice
1-16 plan, to update the plan annually based on an analysis of the
1-17 state's criminal justice problems and needs, and to encourage
1-18 identical or substantially similar local and regional comprehensive
1-19 criminal justice planning efforts;
1-20 (4) establish goals, priorities, and standards for
1-21 programs and projects to improve the administration of justice and
1-22 the efficiency of law enforcement, the judicial system,
2-1 prosecution, criminal defense, and adult and juvenile corrections
2-2 and rehabilitation;
2-3 (5) award grants to state agencies, units of local
2-4 government, school districts, and private, nonprofit corporations
2-5 from the criminal justice planning fund for programs and projects
2-6 on consideration of the goals, priorities, and standards
2-7 recommended by the Criminal Justice Policy Council;
2-8 (6) apply for, obtain, and allocate for the purposes
2-9 of this section any federal or other funds which may be made
2-10 available for programs and projects that address the goals,
2-11 priorities, and standards established in local and regional
2-12 comprehensive criminal justice planning efforts or assist those
2-13 efforts;
2-14 (7) administer the funds provided by this section in
2-15 such a manner as to ensure that grants received under this section
2-16 do not supplant state or local funds;
2-17 (8) establish procedures and policies that require
2-18 that [the costs of programs and projects funded to local general
2-19 purpose units of government be assumed over a period of five years
2-20 out of local revenues] regional criminal justice advisory
2-21 committees recommend, and the division approve, the duration of
2-22 projects, the eligibility of projects for renewal, and, where
2-23 appropriate, a schedule for the applicant's assumption of the costs
2-24 of the project;
2-25 (9) monitor and evaluate programs and projects funded
2-26 under this section, cooperate with and render technical assistance
3-1 to state agencies and local governments seeking to reduce crime or
3-2 enhance the performance and operation of the criminal justice
3-3 system, and collect from any state or local government entity
3-4 information, data, statistics, or other material necessary to carry
3-5 out the purposes of this section;
3-6 (10) submit a biennial report to the legislature
3-7 reporting the division's activities during the preceding biennium
3-8 including the comprehensive state criminal justice plans and other
3-9 studies, evaluations, crime data analyses, reports, or proposed
3-10 legislation that the governor determines appropriate or the
3-11 legislature requests; and
3-12 (11) perform other duties as necessary to carry out
3-13 the duties listed in Subdivisions (a)(1) through (a)(10) and adopt
3-14 rules and procedures as necessary.
3-15 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
3-16 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
3-17 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-18 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-19 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-20 days in each house be suspended, And this rule is hereby suspended.