BILL ANALYSIS

S.B. 1879

By: Schwertner

Corrections

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The bill sponsor has informed the committee that Walker County's criminal justice facilities are located along FM 2821 in Huntsville. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) also owns parcels of land along FM 2821 which TDCJ uses for livestock grazing and hay production. S.B. 1879 seeks to provide for the consolidation of some of Walker County's government operations by transferring TDCJ property to the county for the purpose of operating a justice center on the property.

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 this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

S.B. 1879 requires the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to transfer certain state property to Walker County as soon as practicable. The bill sets out the metes and bounds of that property, restricts the county's use of the property to the purpose of a justice center, and provides for the property's ownership to revert back to the state automatically if the county uses the property for any other purpose or fails to use the property before the 10th anniversary of the date of transfer. The bill requires TDCJ to transfer the property by an appropriate instrument of transfer, which must describe the property to be transferred by metes and bounds and include the bill's restriction on the property's use and the circumstances under which the ownership will be reverted to TDCJ. The bill requires TDCJ to retain custody of the instrument after it is filed in the county's real property records. The bill exempts the transfer from Natural Resources Code provisions governing real estate transactions authorized by the legislature and governing the School Land Board's first option to purchase real property authorized for sale by the legislature or the governor.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2025.