AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
Currently, county jails submit some information on a yearly basis to the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) in order for TCJS to provide oversight and guidance on jail operations and conditions. Jails also provide other information on a monthly basis to give TCJS a sense of current jail operations, including information on the number and type of prisoners and the jail's capacity. These monthly reports allow TCJS to identify developing issues before they become more serious and result in accidents, litigation, or incidents of violence.
However, current law does not require jails to report information on jailer turnover, a key indicator of developing operations problems. Turnover rates can vary wildly, from a standard rate in the single digits to 40 percent in some jails. Such high rates of turnover can indicate an inexperienced jail staff and possible serious operational problems. Giving TCJS access to this information would give TCJS another window into jail operations and improve its oversight role, with negligible burden to jails.
S.B. 1687 adds to the monthly reports that jails make to TCJS a field for the number of jailers who have left their position in the previous month. TCJS would be responsible for issuing rules for the report.
As proposed, S.B. 1687 amends current law relating to information on turnover among county jail personnel.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Chapter 511, Government Code, by adding Section 511.0102, as follows:
Sec. 511.0102. INFORMATION ON STAFF TURNOVER. Requires each county to submit with the report required under Section 511.0101 (Jail Population Reports) a report containing the number of county jail personnel who left the employ of the county or were transferred to another primary duty station during the previous month. Requires the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) to prescribe a form for the report required by this section.
SECTION 2. Requires TCJS, not later than December 1, 2011, to adopt rules to implement Section 511.0102, Government Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 2011.