Bill Text: TX SB1802 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Relating to the reporting of certain information regarding inmates and the use of administrative segregation by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-03-25 - Referred to Criminal Justice [SB1802 Detail]

Download: Texas-2013-SB1802-Introduced.html

---

83R4005 MEW-D
By: Rodriguez S.B. No. 1802

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the reporting of certain information regarding inmates
and the use of administrative segregation by the Texas Department
of Criminal Justice.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 493, Government Code, is amended by
adding Sections 493.031 and 493.032 to read as follows:
Sec. 493.031. ANNUAL REPORT. (a) Not later than January 1
of each year, the department shall submit a written report
containing the information described by Subsection (b) to:
(1) the governor;
(2) the lieutenant governor;
(3) the speaker of the house of representatives; and
(4) each standing committee of the senate and house of
representatives having primary jurisdiction over the department.
(b) The report must include the following information for
the preceding fiscal year:
(1) the number of inmates in the general prison
population who were referred to mental health professionals and the
reasons for the referrals;
(2) the number of inmates confined in administrative
segregation who were referred to mental health professionals and
the reasons for the referrals;
(3) a summary of the types of offenses for which each
inmate was imprisoned;
(4) the number of documented suicide attempts by
inmates in the general prison population;
(5) the number of documented suicide attempts by
inmates confined in administrative segregation;
(6) the number of inmates who were confined in
administrative segregation immediately before the inmates'
discharge from the department;
(7) the number of inmates who were confined in
administrative segregation immediately before the inmates' release
on parole or to mandatory supervision;
(8) the rate of recidivism among:
(A) inmates who were never confined in
administrative segregation before the inmates' release or
discharge from the department;
(B) inmates who were confined in administrative
segregation immediately before the inmates' release or discharge
from the department; and
(C) inmates who were confined in administrative
segregation at any time prior to the inmates' release or discharge
from the department and who are not described by Paragraph (B);
(9) for inmates confined in administrative
segregation at any time during the fiscal year:
(A) the average length of time an inmate was
continuously confined in administrative segregation;
(B) the longest and shortest length of time an
inmate was continuously confined in administrative segregation;
(C) a summary of the offenses for which inmates
confined in administrative segregation were imprisoned; and
(D) a summary of the reasons for which inmates
were placed in administrative segregation;
(10) the number of inmates discharged or released
directly from the general prison population who have obtained
regular employment on or before the 180th day after the inmates'
release or discharge, to the extent that information is available;
(11) the number of inmates discharged or released
directly from confinement in administrative segregation who have
obtained regular employment on or before the 180th day after the
inmates' release or discharge, to the extent that information is
available;
(12) the number of reviews conducted by the department
concerning an inmate's placement in administrative segregation and
the number of those reviews that resulted in the inmate being
transferred to the general prison population;
(13) the number of inmates who were transferred from
administrative segregation to the general prison population as a
result of successfully completing a program designed to facilitate
the return of an inmate to the general prison population; and
(14) information regarding the operations and
activity of gangs, identified security threat groups, or other
disruptive groups within each facility operated by or under
contract with the department.
Sec. 493.032. INFORMATION CONCERNING COST OF CONFINEMENT IN
ADMINISTRATIVE SEGREGATION. The Legislative Budget Board shall
include in its Criminal Justice Uniform Cost Report the cost per day
calculation of confining an inmate in administrative segregation.
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 501, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 501.023 to read as follows:
Sec. 501.023. USE OF ADMINISTRATIVE SEGREGATION. (a) The
department shall conduct a review of the department's policies
regarding the use of administrative segregation. The review must
examine methods to reduce the number of inmates housed in
administrative segregation, including alternatives to
administrative segregation. Based on the review, the department
shall develop a plan to reduce the department's use of
administrative segregation.
(b) The plan must provide an inmate confined in
administrative segregation with the following, based on the
inmate's assessed risks and needs and the personal safety of the
inmate or another person:
(1) the opportunity to participate in programs and
services in the inmate's cell that are similar to the educational
courses, work-related training, or other technical or vocational
programs that are available to the general inmate population;
(2) increases in the amount of time the inmate is
allowed out of the inmate's cell based on the length of the inmate's
period of confinement in administrative segregation;
(3) the opportunity to exercise with inmates in the
general prison population;
(4) daily contact with prison staff; and
(5) access to audio and visual media that provide the
inmate with appropriate mental stimulation.
(c) In addition to the requirements of Subsection (b), for
an inmate confined in administrative segregation for reasons other
than the inmate's misconduct or disciplinary record or membership
in a gang or identified security threat group, the plan must allow
the inmate:
(1) adequate and regular access to mental health
services; and
(2) if the inmate will be confined in administrative
segregation immediately before the inmate's release or discharge
from the department, access to services and programs that assist
inmates in developing:
(A) the ability to obtain and maintain long-term
employment and stable housing; and
(B) social skills and life skills, including
building and maintaining parenting skills, anger management
techniques, positive family interactions, and law-abiding
behavior.
(d) The department shall develop and include in the plan a
program that provides an opportunity for an inmate who is confined
in administrative segregation based on the inmate's membership in a
gang or security threat group to return to the general prison
population. The program may not exceed eight months in length and
must be available to an inmate who:
(1) has renounced the inmate's membership in the gang
or security threat group; and
(2) during the one-year period preceding the inmate's
application to the program has not:
(A) committed assault against another inmate or a
member of the prison staff;
(B) been the subject of major disciplinary
action; or
(C) participated in any gang-related or security
threat group-related activity.
(e) The plan may not result in increased danger to inmates
imprisoned in, or employees employed at, any facility operated by
or under contract with the department.
SECTION 3. (a) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice
shall submit the first report required under Section 493.031,
Government Code, as added by this Act, not later than January 1,
2014.
(b) Not later than June 1, 2014, the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice shall submit for review and comment the plan
developed under Section 501.023, Government Code, as added by this
Act, to:
(1) the governor;
(2) the lieutenant governor;
(3) the speaker of the house of representatives;
(4) each standing committee of the senate and house of
representatives having primary jurisdiction over the department;
and
(5) the Legislative Budget Board.
SECTION 4. 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, 2013.