Amend CSSB 213 by adding the following appropriately numbered SECTION to the bill and renumbering subsequent SECTIONS of the bill accordingly:
SECTION ____. Subchapter B, Chapter 495, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 495.0251 to read as follows:
Sec. 495.0251. COMMISSARY STUDY. (a) The department shall contract with an independent third party to study the department's commissary operations. The independent third party must:
(1) review the operation of the commissary in each facility operated by the department; and
(2) make recommendations to the department for decreasing the costs of, or otherwise improving the operations of, the commissaries.
(b) Not later than December 1, 2014, the department shall provide a report summarizing the results of the study to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the standing legislative committees with primary jurisdiction over criminal justice matters. The report must include information regarding the extent to which the department has implemented the independent third party's recommendations.
(c) This section expires January 1, 2015.