By: Madden (Senate Sponsor - Seliger) H.B. No. 2990

(In the Senate - Received from the House May 10, 2007; May 14, 2007, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice; May 18, 2007, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 18, 2007, sent to printer.)

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to use of certain electronic monitoring technology in certain correctional facilities by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Chapter 494, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 494.0111 to read as follows:

Sec. 494.0111. ELECTRONIC MONITORING AND TRACKING SYSTEMS. (a) In this section, "electronic monitoring and tracking system" means an electronic monitoring system that:

(1) tracks in real time the location of a person wearing a remote transmitter through the constant sending and receiving of signals between a centralized monitoring center and the remote transmitter and alerts a centralized monitoring center when preestablished criteria, including unauthorized entrances and exits from a correctional facility, are violated;

(2) is compatible with the wireless transmission of information and has sufficient bandwidth to support additional wireless networking devices; and

(3) is capable of:

(A) recording an inmate's attendance at a program or class the inmate is required to attend; and

(B) recording information that may be stored for at least six months.

(b) In any correctional facility the construction of which begins on or after September 1, 2007, the department shall ensure that the correctional facility is designed and built to use an electronic monitoring and tracking system to monitor effectively and efficiently the physical location and safety of:

(1) all inmates housed by the department in the facility;

(2) all employees of the department working in the facility;

(3) all third-party vendors or other contractors who work in the facility; and

(4) all visitors to the facility who are granted access to areas of the facility to which only employees are normally admitted.

(c) In any correctional facility the construction of which began before September 1, 2007, the department may retrofit the correctional facility to use an electronic monitoring and tracking system to monitor effectively and efficiently the physical location and safety of:

(1) all inmates housed by the department in the facility;

(2) all employees of the department working in the facility;

(3) all third-party vendors or other contractors who work in the facility; and

(4) all visitors to the facility who are granted access to areas of the facility to which only employees are normally admitted.

(d) The department shall require all individuals described by Subsections (b) and (c) to wear radio frequency identification transmitters while they are housed, working in, or visiting a facility that is designed and built or retrofitted to use an electronic monitoring and tracking system.

(e) This section does not apply to a jail owned or operated by a municipality.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007.

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