Bill Text: TX HB2749 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Engrossed


Bill Title: Relating to the verification of the veteran status of inmates and prisoners.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2023-04-18 - Referred to Vet Affairs [HB2749 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB2749-Engrossed.html
  88R10339 MZM-D
 
  By: Romero, Jr., et al. H.B. No. 2749
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the verification of the veteran status of inmates and
  prisoners.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 8(a), Article 42.09, Code of Criminal
  Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
         (a)  A county that transfers a defendant to the Texas
  Department of Criminal Justice under this article shall deliver to
  an officer designated by the department:
               (1)  a copy of the judgment entered pursuant to Article
  42.01, completed on a standardized felony judgment form described
  by Section 4 of that article;
               (2)  a copy of any order revoking community supervision
  and imposing sentence pursuant to Article 42A.755, including:
                     (A)  any amounts owed for restitution, fines, and
  court costs, completed on a standardized felony judgment form
  described by Section 4, Article 42.01; and
                     (B)  a copy of the client supervision plan
  prepared for the defendant by the community supervision and
  corrections department supervising the defendant, if such a plan
  was prepared;
               (3)  a written report that states the nature and the
  seriousness of each offense and that states the citation to the
  provision or provisions of the Penal Code or other law under which
  the defendant was convicted;
               (4)  a copy of the victim impact statement, if one has
  been prepared in the case under Subchapter D, Chapter 56A;
               (5)  a statement as to whether there was a change in
  venue in the case and, if so, the names of the county prosecuting
  the offense and the county in which the case was tried;
               (6)  if requested, information regarding the criminal
  history of the defendant, including the defendant's state
  identification number if the number has been issued;
               (7)  a copy of the indictment or information for each
  offense;
               (8)  a checklist sent by the department to the county
  and completed by the county in a manner indicating that the
  documents required by this subsection and Subsection (c) accompany
  the defendant;
               (9)  if prepared, a copy of a presentence or
  postsentence report prepared under Subchapter F, Chapter 42A;
               (10)  a copy of any detainer, issued by an agency of the
  federal government, that is in the possession of the county and that
  has been placed on the defendant;
               (11)  if prepared, a copy of the defendant's Texas
  Uniform Health Status Update Form;
               (12)  a written description of a hold or warrant,
  issued by any other jurisdiction, that the county is aware of and
  that has been placed on or issued for the defendant; [and]
               (13)  a copy of any mental health records, mental
  health screening reports, or similar information regarding the
  mental health of the defendant; and
               (14)  the veteran status of the defendant as determined
  by an investigation conducted in accordance with Section
  511.009(a)(17)(A), Government Code.
         SECTION 2.  Section 501.024(b), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (b)  The department shall:
               (1)  in consultation with the Texas Veterans
  Commission, investigate and verify the veteran status of each
  inmate by using the best available federal data; and
               (2)  use the data described by Subdivision (1) to
  assist inmates who are veterans in applying for federal benefits or
  compensation for which the inmates may be eligible under a program
  administered by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs,
  including mailing any related paperwork, application, or other
  correspondence on behalf of and at no charge to the inmate.
         SECTION 3.  Section 511.009(a), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  The commission shall:
               (1)  adopt reasonable rules and procedures
  establishing minimum standards for the construction, equipment,
  maintenance, and operation of county jails;
               (2)  adopt reasonable rules and procedures
  establishing minimum standards for the custody, care, and treatment
  of prisoners;
               (3)  adopt reasonable rules establishing minimum
  standards for the number of jail supervisory personnel and for
  programs and services to meet the needs of prisoners;
               (4)  adopt reasonable rules and procedures
  establishing minimum requirements for programs of rehabilitation,
  education, and recreation in county jails;
               (5)  regularly review the commission's rules and
  procedures and revise, amend, or change the rules and procedures if
  necessary;
               (6)  provide to local government officials
  consultation on and technical assistance for county jails;
               (7)  review and comment on plans for the construction
  and major modification or renovation of county jails;
               (8)  require that the sheriff and commissioners of each
  county submit to the commission, on a form prescribed by the
  commission, an annual report on the conditions in each county jail
  within their jurisdiction, including all information necessary to
  determine compliance with state law, commission orders, and the
  rules adopted under this chapter;
               (9)  review the reports submitted under Subdivision (8)
  and require commission employees to inspect county jails regularly
  to ensure compliance with state law, commission orders, and rules
  and procedures adopted under this chapter;
               (10)  adopt a classification system to assist sheriffs
  and judges in determining which defendants are low-risk and
  consequently suitable participants in a county jail work release
  program under Article 42.034, Code of Criminal Procedure;
               (11)  adopt rules relating to requirements for
  segregation of classes of inmates and to capacities for county
  jails;
               (12)   adopt a policy for gathering and distributing to
  jails under the commission's jurisdiction information regarding:
                     (A)  common issues concerning jail
  administration;
                     (B)  examples of successful strategies for
  maintaining compliance with state law and the rules, standards, and
  procedures of the commission; and
                     (C)  solutions to operational challenges for
  jails;
               (13)  report to the Texas Correctional Office on
  Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments on a jail's compliance
  with Article 16.22, Code of Criminal Procedure;
               (14)  adopt reasonable rules and procedures
  establishing minimum requirements for a county jail to:
                     (A)  determine if a prisoner is pregnant;
                     (B)  ensure that the jail's health services plan
  addresses medical care, including obstetrical and gynecological
  care, mental health care, nutritional requirements, and any special
  housing or work assignment needs for prisoners who are known or
  determined to be pregnant; and
                     (C)  identify when a pregnant prisoner is in labor
  and provide appropriate care to the prisoner, including promptly
  transporting the prisoner to a local hospital;
               (15)  provide guidelines to sheriffs regarding
  contracts between a sheriff and another entity for the provision of
  food services to or the operation of a commissary in a jail under
  the commission's jurisdiction, including specific provisions
  regarding conflicts of interest and avoiding the appearance of
  impropriety;
               (16)  adopt reasonable rules and procedures
  establishing minimum standards for prisoner visitation that
  provide each prisoner at a county jail with a minimum of two
  in-person, noncontact visitation periods per week of at least 20
  minutes duration each;
               (17)  require the sheriff of each county to:
                     (A)  investigate and verify the veteran status of
  each prisoner during the intake process by using data made
  available from the Veterans Reentry Search Service (VRSS) operated
  by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or a similar
  service; [and]
                     (B)  use the data described by Paragraph (A) to
  assist prisoners who are veterans in applying for federal benefits
  or compensation for which the prisoners may be eligible under a
  program administered by the United States Department of Veterans
  Affairs, including providing the prisoner on verification of the
  prisoner's veteran status with a prepaid postcard that is supplied
  by the Texas Veterans Commission for purposes of requesting
  assistance in applying for veterans benefits;
                     (C)  submit a daily report identifying each
  prisoner whose veteran status was verified under Paragraph (A)
  during the previous day to the Texas Veterans Commission and, as
  applicable, the veterans county service officer for the county and
  each court in which charges against a prisoner identified in the
  report are pending; and
                     (D)  allow for a prisoner whose veteran status has
  been verified under Paragraph (A) to have in-person or video
  visitation with the veterans county service officer for the county
  or a peer service coordinator at no cost to the prisoner;
               (18)  adopt reasonable rules and procedures regarding
  visitation of a prisoner at a county jail by a guardian, as defined
  by Section 1002.012, Estates Code, that:
                     (A)  allow visitation by a guardian to the same
  extent as the prisoner's next of kin, including placing the
  guardian on the prisoner's approved visitors list on the guardian's
  request and providing the guardian access to the prisoner during a
  facility's standard visitation hours if the prisoner is otherwise
  eligible to receive visitors; and
                     (B)  require the guardian to provide the sheriff
  with letters of guardianship issued as provided by Section
  1106.001, Estates Code, before being allowed to visit the prisoner;
               (19)  adopt reasonable rules and procedures to ensure
  the safety of prisoners, including rules and procedures that
  require a county jail to:
                     (A)  give prisoners the ability to access a mental
  health professional at the jail or through a telemental health
  service 24 hours a day or, if a mental health professional is not at
  the county jail at the time, then require the jail to use all
  reasonable efforts to arrange for the inmate to have access to a
  mental health professional within a reasonable time;
                     (B)  give prisoners the ability to access a health
  professional at the jail or through a telehealth service 24 hours a
  day or, if a health professional is unavailable at the jail or
  through a telehealth service, provide for a prisoner to be
  transported to access a health professional; and
                     (C)  if funding is available under Section
  511.019, install automated electronic sensors or cameras to ensure
  accurate and timely in-person checks of cells or groups of cells
  confining at-risk individuals; and
               (20)  adopt reasonable rules and procedures
  establishing minimum standards for the quantity and quality of
  feminine hygiene products, including tampons in regular and large
  sizes and menstrual pads with wings in regular and large sizes,
  provided to a female prisoner.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
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