By Haggerty                                          H.C.R. No. 308
         77R17365 MMS-D                           
                             HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-1           WHEREAS, The Texas Legislature is proud to recognize Wayne
 1-2     Scott of Huntsville on the occasion of his impending retirement as
 1-3     executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice; and
 1-4           WHEREAS, Mr. Scott joined the staff of the Huntsville Unit of
 1-5     the Texas Department of Corrections in 1972, a year before earning
 1-6     his bachelor's degree in business administration from Sam Houston
 1-7     State University; over the ensuing years he was promoted
 1-8     repeatedly, and in 1996 he received appointment as executive
 1-9     director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the largest
1-10     of the state's agencies; and
1-11           WHEREAS, In that capacity, Mr. Scott is responsible for the
1-12     confinement and care of 151,000 felony offenders, as well as for
1-13     the supervision of 518,000 offenders on probation or parole; he
1-14     leads an agency of more than 40,000 employees and administers an
1-15     annual budget of $2.3 billion; and
1-16           WHEREAS, Imbued with a deep sense of professionalism and
1-17     integrity, Mr. Scott has respected the taxpayers' dollars by
1-18     implementing major reforms in the management of purchasing,
1-19     construction, and contract operations and in the management of the
1-20     agency's finances; and
1-21           WHEREAS, He has also instituted aggressive new policies to
1-22     ensure equal employment opportunity, cultural diversity, and the
1-23     elimination of sexual harrassment in the workplace, and has created
1-24     an Advisory Council on Ethics to increase staff awareness of
 2-1     ethical issues and to facilitate the practice of ethical behavior;
 2-2     and
 2-3           WHEREAS, Mr. Scott has ably guided the agency toward the
 2-4     achievement of its goals and advocated the revision of the
 2-5     organization's mission statement in order to reflect its newly
 2-6     strengthened commitment to crime victims; and
 2-7           WHEREAS, To afford offenders the broadest range of
 2-8     rehabilitation opportunities, Wayne Scott has introduced several
 2-9     innovative treatment programs, most notably the Inner Change
2-10     Freedom Initiative, which was begun in 1996 as the first
2-11     faith-based pre-release program in a penal institution in the
2-12     United States; and
2-13           WHEREAS, Offenders now provide more than 280,000 hours of
2-14     work each month in community service through cooperative programs
2-15     that Mr. Scott has promoted between the department and local
2-16     communities; moreover, the agency has entered into a partnership
2-17     with Habitat for Humanity, and it supplies 2.5 million pounds of
2-18     food each year to Texas food banks; and
2-19           WHEREAS, By his personal example, Mr. Scott has encouraged
2-20     community involvement among department employees, who have in turn
2-21     volunteered their time and resources to the fund-raising activities
2-22     of the Correctional Peace Officers Foundation, State Employee
2-23     Charitable Campaign, and Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch
2-24     Run; and
2-25           WHEREAS, He has actively pursued accreditation for the
2-26     department's confinement facilities from the American Correctional
2-27     Association, resulting in accreditation for 15 state-operated
 3-1     facilities and 7 privately operated facilities, and the
 3-2     establishment of a program to gain accreditation for all
 3-3     institutional units; under Mr. Scott's directorship, the Texas
 3-4     Department of Criminal Justice has also received four Awards of
 3-5     Excellence from the American Correctional Association; and
 3-6           WHEREAS, This nationally recognized expert in the field of
 3-7     corrections has served as a resource for correctional professionals
 3-8     around the country; in 1997 the Texas Public Employees Association
 3-9     honored him as its Texas State Administrator of the Year, and in
3-10     2000 Sam Houston State University conferred on him its
3-11     Distinguished Alumnus award; and
3-12           WHEREAS, The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has indeed
3-13     been fortunate to enjoy the leadership of this longtime agency
3-14     veteran, who has adhered to the highest standards of correctional
3-15     practice; now, therefore, be it
3-16           RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
3-17     hereby honor Wayne Scott for his exemplary record of achievement at
3-18     the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and express to him its
3-19     deep appreciation for his service and dedication to the people of
3-20     this state.