BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3497

By: Miller, Sid

Corrections

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The 72nd Legislature, Regular Session, 1991, requested that the executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice develop an intraagency career ladder program for personnel. The resulting program was designed for correctional officers, but did not include prison industry workers, who manage programs and have routine contact with inmates within a prison. They experience the same risks as correctional officers and require the same training.

C.S.H.B. 3497 includes prison industry workers in the same career ladder program as correctional officers, for purposes of salary and promotion.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3497 amends the Government Code to require the intraagency career ladder program developed for correctional officers by the executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to include prison industry workers. The bill defines a "prison industry worker" as a TDCJ employee, other than a correctional officer, who is assigned to work on a Texas correctional industry or agriculture program or project and whose job on a regular basis requires routine contact with state jail defendants or inmates confined in facilities operated by or under contract with TDCJ. The bill includes in the definition a farm manager, livestock supervisor, maintenance foreman, shop foreman, medical assistant, food service supervisor, steward, education consultant, commodity specialist, truck driver, or correctional counselor.

C.S.H.B. 3497 requires TDCJ to use the career ladder program for any person who becomes employed by TDCJ as a prison industry worker or who becomes eligible for promotion by TDCJ as a prison industry worker on or after the effective date of the bill.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2009.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 3497 differs from the original in nonsubstantive ways by using language reflective of certain bill drafting conventions.