BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 4642

By: González, Mary

Intergovernmental Affairs

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

According to the Texas Tribune, data from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS) shows that Texas county jails currently house about 71,000 people, about 3,500 of whom are held outside of their county of arrest, including in out-of-state facilities. The bill author has informed the committee that these out-of-state facilities are not subject to the same standards as Texas facilities or to oversight from TCJS. C.S.H.B. 4642 seeks to address this issue by requiring out-of-state correctional facilities that house Texas prisoners to meet the minimum standards established by TCJS for Texas correctional facilities.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Commission on Jail Standards in SECTION 1 of this bill.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 4642 amends the Government Code to require a contract between a county and another state, a jurisdiction in another state, or a private vendor for the confinement of county prisoners in a correctional facility located in another state to provide that:

· each out-of-state correctional facility in which county prisoners are to be housed meets minimum standards established by the Commission on Jail Standards (TCJS);

· all operational requirements of the receiving entity meet or exceed minimum standards established by TCJS;

· each county prisoner confined under the contract be released within the sending county;

· county prisoners with a record of institutional violence involving the use of a deadly weapon or a pattern of violence while confined in Texas or a record of escape or attempted escape from secure custody are not eligible for transfer unless a specific waiver has been granted by TCJS;

· county prisoners for whom information is obtained under Health and Safety Code provisions relating to special needs offenders or juveniles with a mental impairment that identifies the prisoners as an exact or probable match in response to a database search query conducted for purposes of establishing continuity of care and services are provided the appropriate care, unless a specific waiver has been granted by TCJS;

· the sending entity must take the following actions:

o review for compliance with TCJS classification standards and submit to TCJS for approval all records concerning the prisoner's classification, including records relating to the prisoner's conduct while confined in Texas, and appropriate medical information concerning the prisoner, including certification of tuberculosis screening or treatment;

o determine the county prisoner's custody level in accordance with TCJS rules to ensure that custody level assignments for the facility as a whole are compatible with the construction security level availability in the facility;

o conduct inspections of receiving facilities in accordance with TCJS inspection standards not less than every six months and provide TCJS a copy of the inspection report;

o provide to TCJS information on the receiving entity's procedures for responding to a riot, rebellion, escape, medical emergency, or other situation requiring assistance from local or state law enforcement agencies or health care providers; and

o promptly notify TCJS of any major incidents, including escapes, injuries, or deaths, involving a transferred prisoner at the facility;

· the receiving entity must notify the sending entity of any major incidents, including escapes, injuries, or deaths, involving a transferred prisoner at the facility not later than 24 hours after they occur; and

· the sending county is entitled to terminate the contract at will, including if directed to do so by TCJS, by providing the receiving entity with 90 days' notice of the county's intent to terminate the contract.

C.S.H.B. 4642 requires a county, before entering into such a contract, to submit a copy of the contract to TCJS for review and approval and establishes that a contract not approved by TCJS is void. The bill requires a county housing prisoners in another state under such a contract to do the following:

· investigate any major incidents, including escapes, injuries, or deaths involving a transferred prisoner at the receiving facility that is reported to the sending entity by the receiving entity; and

· promptly report to TCJS, in the manner prescribed by TCJS, the death, escape, or serious incident and the results of the county's investigation.

The bill authorizes TCJS to adopt by rule additional standards or procedures relating to contracts to which the bill applies and requires TCJS to adopt rules as necessary to implement the bill as soon as practicable after the bill's effective date.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 4642 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute requires a contract between a county and another state, a jurisdiction in another state, or a private vendor for the confinement of county prisoners in a correctional facility located in another state to provide that county prisoners for whom information is obtained under Health and Safety Code provisions relating to special needs offenders or juveniles with a mental impairment identifying the prisoners as an exact or probable match in response to a database search query conducted for purposes of establishing continuity of care are provided the appropriate care, unless a specific waiver has been granted by TCJS, whereas the introduced required such a contract to provide that county prisoners whose Continuity of Care Query check was returned as an exact or probable match are not eligible for transfer, unless such a waiver has been granted.

The substitute establishes that a contract that is not approved by TCJS is void, whereas the introduced prohibited a contract from going into effect unless TCJS's approval is received.

Both the introduced and substitute require a contract to provide that the sending entity must conduct inspections not less than every six months and provide TCJS with a copy of the inspection report. However, the substitute requires the contract to provide that the sending entity must conduct inspections of receiving facilities in accordance with TCJS inspection standards, whereas the introduced required the contract to provide that the sending entity must conduct inspections as per TCJS's standards.

The substitute includes a provision absent from the introduced requiring a contract to provide that the receiving entity must notify the sending entity of any major incidents, including escapes, injuries, or deaths, involving a transferred prisoner at the facility not later than 24 hours after they occur.