By:  Coleman                                                      H.B. No. 3217



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to assault by employee on inmate.                                    
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 501.002, Government Code, is amended to 
read as follows: 
	Section 501.002.  (a)  If an employee of the department 
commits an assault on an inmate housed in a facility operated by or 
under contract with the department, the executive director shall 
file a complaint with the proper official of the county in which the 
offense occurred.  If an employee is charged with an assault 
described by this section, an inmate or person who was an inmate at 
the time of the alleged offense may testify in a prosecution of the 
offense.  (b)  Each fiscal year the executive director shall file 
with the Texas Board of Criminal Justice, a report identifying the 
number of referrals made pursuant to this section, the county 
official to which each referral was made, the date of each referral, 
the substance of each referral and the disposition of each 
referral.  This report shall be made available to the public upon 
request.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.