H.B. No. 634

	AN ACT
	relating to the rights of a guardian of a person in the criminal
	justice system.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Chapter 26, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
	amended by adding Article 26.041 to read as follows:
	Art. 26.041. PROCEDURES RELATED TO GUARDIANSHIPS. (a)  In
	this article:
	(1)  "Guardian" has the meaning assigned by Section
	1002.012, Estates Code.
	(2)  "Letters of guardianship" means a certificate
	issued under Section 1106.001(a), Estates Code.
	(b)  A guardian who provides a court with letters of
	guardianship for a defendant may:
	(1)  provide information relevant to the determination
	of indigency; and
	(2)  request that counsel be appointed in accordance
	with this chapter.
	SECTION 2.  Section 501.010, Government Code, is amended by
	amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (a-1) and (b-1) to
	read as follows:
	(a)  In this section:
	(1)  "Guardian" has the meaning assigned by Section
	1002.012, Estates Code.
	(2)  "Letters of guardianship" means a certificate
	issued under Section 1106.001(a), Estates Code.
	(a-1)  The institutional division shall allow the governor,
	members of the legislature, and members of the executive and
	judicial branches to enter at proper hours any part of a facility
	operated by the division where inmates are housed or worked, for the
	purpose of observing the operations of the division. A visitor
	described by this subsection may talk with inmates away from
	institutional division employees.
	(b-1)  The uniform visitation policy must:
	(1)  allow visitation by a guardian of an inmate to the
	same extent as the inmate's next of kin, including placing the
	guardian on the inmate's approved visitors list on the guardian's
	request and providing the guardian access to the inmate during a
	facility's standard visitation hours if the inmate is otherwise
	eligible to receive visitors; and
	(2)  require the guardian to provide the warden with
	letters of guardianship before being allowed to visit the inmate.
	SECTION 3.  Section 507.030, Government Code, is amended by
	amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection (a-1) to
	read as follows:
	(a)  In this section:
	(1)  "Guardian" has the meaning assigned by Section
	1002.012, Estates Code.
	(2)  "Letters of guardianship" means a certificate
	issued under Section 1106.001(a), Estates Code.
	(a-1)  The state jail division shall allow the governor,
	members of the legislature, and officials of the executive and
	judicial branches to enter during business hours any part of a
	facility operated by the division, for the purpose of observing the
	operations of the division. A visitor described by this subsection
	may talk with defendants away from division employees.
	(b)  The state jail division shall establish a visitation
	policy for persons confined in state jail felony facilities. The
	visitation policy must:
	(1)  allow visitation by a guardian of a defendant
	confined in a state jail felony facility to the same extent as the
	defendant's next of kin, including placing the guardian on the
	defendant's approved visitors list on the guardian's request and
	providing the guardian access to the defendant during a facility's
	standard visitation hours if the defendant is otherwise eligible to
	receive visitors; and
	(2)  require the guardian to provide the director of
	the facility with letters of guardianship before being allowed to
	visit the defendant.
	SECTION 4.  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)  revise, amend, or change 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)  require that the chief jailer of each municipal
	lockup submit to the commission, on a form prescribed by the
	commission, an annual report of persons under 17 years of age
	securely detained in the lockup, including all information
	necessary to determine compliance with state law concerning secure
	confinement of children in municipal lockups;
	(13)  at least annually determine whether each county
	jail is in compliance with the rules and procedures adopted under
	this chapter;
	(14)  require that the sheriff and commissioners court
	of each county submit to the commission, on a form prescribed by the
	commission, an annual report of persons under 17 years of age
	securely detained in the county jail, including all information
	necessary to determine compliance with state law concerning secure
	confinement of children in county jails;
	(15)  schedule announced and unannounced inspections
	of jails under the commission's jurisdiction using the risk
	assessment plan established under Section 511.0085 to guide the
	inspections process;
	(16)  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;
	(17)  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;
	(18)  adopt reasonable rules and procedures
	establishing minimum requirements for jails to:
	(A)  determine if a prisoner is pregnant; and
	(B)  ensure that the jail's health services plan
	addresses medical and mental health care, including nutritional
	requirements, and any special housing or work assignment needs for
	persons who are confined in the jail and are known or determined to
	be pregnant; [and]
	(19)  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; and
	(20)  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.
	SECTION 5.  Not later than December 1, 2015:
	(1)  the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shall
	revise visitation policies consistent with Sections 501.010 and
	507.030, Government Code, as amended by this Act; and
	(2)  the Commission on Jail Standards shall establish
	rules and procedures as required by Section 511.009(a)(20),
	Government Code, as added by this Act.
	SECTION 6.  Article 26.041, Code of Criminal Procedure, as
	added by this Act, applies to a defendant for whom indigency is at
	issue, regardless of whether the defendant is arrested before, on,
	or after the effective date of this Act.
	SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 634 was passed by the House on May 8,
	2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 142, Nays 0, 2 present, not
	voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 634 was passed by the Senate on May
	26, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED:  _____________________
	Date
	_____________________
	Governor