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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the office of the inspector general of the Texas |
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Juvenile Justice Department. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Sections 659.303(a) and (d), Government Code, |
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are amended to read as follows: |
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(a) The department may include hazardous duty pay in the |
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compensation paid to an individual for services rendered during a |
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month if the individual: |
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(1) has: |
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(A) routine direct contact with youth: |
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(i) [(A)] placed in a residential facility |
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of the department; or |
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(ii) [(B)] released under the department's |
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supervision; and |
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(B) [(2) has] completed at least 12 months of |
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lifetime service credit not later than the last day of the preceding |
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month; or |
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(2) is an investigator, inspector general, security |
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officer, or apprehension specialist employed by the office of the |
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inspector general of the department. |
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(d) Except for the inclusion of hazardous duty pay in the |
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compensation paid to an individual described by Subsection (a)(2), |
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the [The] department may not pay hazardous duty pay: |
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(1) from funds authorized for payment of an |
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across-the-board employee salary increase; or |
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(2) to an employee who works at the department's |
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central office. |
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SECTION 2. Section 242.102(a), Human Resources Code, is |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(a) The office of inspector general is established at the |
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department under the direction of the board as a law enforcement |
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agency for the purpose of [investigating]: |
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(1) preventing and investigating: |
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(A) crimes committed by department employees, |
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including parole officers employed by or under a contract with the |
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department; and |
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(B) [(2)] crimes and delinquent conduct |
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committed at a facility operated by the department, a residential |
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facility operated by another entity under a contract with the |
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department, or any facility in which a child committed to the |
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custody of the department is housed or receives medical or mental |
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health treatment, including: |
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(i) unauthorized or illegal entry into a |
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department facility; |
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(ii) the introduction of contraband into a |
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department facility; |
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(iii) escape from a secure facility; and |
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(iv) organized criminal activity; and |
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(2) investigating complaints received under Section |
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203.010 involving allegations of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of |
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children in juvenile justice programs or facilities. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |