88R19697 MCF-D
 
  By: Harless, Spiller, Herrero, Swanson, H.B. No. 1563
      Anderson, et al.
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the confinement in a county jail of a person pending a
  transfer to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and to the
  compensation for certain costs of confinement.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 499.071, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 499.071.  SCHEDULED ADMISSIONS POLICY. The board shall
  adopt and enforce a scheduled admissions policy that requires
  [permits] the department [institutional division] to accept
  persons [inmates] within 45 days of processing as required by
  Section 499.1215 [499.121(c)].
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter F, Chapter 499, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Section 499.1215 to read as follows:
         Sec. 499.1215.  TRANSFER TO DEPARTMENT; COMPENSATION TO
  COUNTIES. (a) The department shall accept custody of a person
  awaiting transfer to the department following conviction of a
  felony, including a state jail felony, not later than the 45th day
  following the date on which all documents required by Sections 8(a)
  and (c), Article 42.09, Code of Criminal Procedure, have been
  received by the department and certified as provided by Section
  8(b) of that article.
         (b)  Except as provided by Subsection (c), if the department
  does not take custody of a person within the period prescribed by
  Subsection (a), the department shall compensate the county for the
  cost of confinement for each day that the person remains confined in
  the county jail following the expiration of that period. The
  compensation must be equal to the amount that would have been
  incurred by the department to confine the person for that period.
         (c)  If a person remains confined in the county jail
  following the expiration of the period prescribed by Subsection (a)
  due to a delay caused by the county:
               (1)  the county is not entitled to compensation under
  Subsection (b) for any day that the person remains confined due to
  the delay caused by the county; and
               (2)  the county and the department shall arrange to
  transfer the person to the department as soon as practicable after
  the delay.
         SECTION 3.  Section 8(b), Article 42.09, Code of Criminal
  Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
         (b)  The Texas Department of Criminal Justice shall not take
  a defendant into custody under this article until the designated
  officer receives the documents required by Subsections (a) and (c)
  of this section and determines that the documents do not contain any
  errors or deficiencies requiring corrective action by the county.
  If the designated officer determines the documents do not require
  any corrective action, the [The] designated officer shall certify
  under the seal of the department the documents received under
  Subsections (a) and (c) of this section. A document certified under
  this subsection is self-authenticated for the purposes of Rules 901
  and 902, Texas Rules of Evidence.
         SECTION 4.  Section 499.121(c), Government Code, is
  repealed.
         SECTION 5.  Not later than December 31, 2023, the Texas Board
  of Criminal Justice shall adopt the scheduled admissions policy
  required by Section 499.071, Government Code, as amended by this
  Act.
         SECTION 6.  Section 499.1215, Government Code, as added by
  this Act, applies only to compensation to a county for the cost of
  confinement of a person that occurs on or after January 1, 2024,
  regardless of whether the requirements under that section for
  transfer of the person to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
  are completed before, on, or after that date.
         SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2023.