Bill Text: TX SB303 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to providing free access to telephone services for persons confined in county jail pending trial.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-02-07 - Referred to Criminal Justice [SB303 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-SB303-Introduced.html
| 86R3229 JRR-F | ||
| By: Miles | S.B. No. 303 | |
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| relating to providing free access to telephone services for persons | ||
| confined in county jail pending trial. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 351, Local Government | ||
| Code, is amended by adding Section 351.0135 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 351.0135. ACCESS TO TELEPHONE SERVICES FOR PERSONS | ||
| CONFINED PENDING TRIAL. (a) A county jail must provide each | ||
| arrested person who is confined in the county jail pending trial | ||
| with access to domestic telephone services at no cost to the person | ||
| or the party receiving the telephone call. | ||
| (b) The sheriff of each county jail shall adopt a policy | ||
| governing the use of telephone services under this section. The | ||
| policy may not unduly restrict calling patterns or volume and must | ||
| allow for an average monthly call usage rate of eight calls, with | ||
| each call having an average duration of not less than 10 minutes, | ||
| per arrested person. | ||
| SECTION 2. Not later than December 1, 2019, the sheriff of | ||
| each county jail shall adopt the policy required by Section | ||
| 351.0135, Local Government Code, as added by this Act. | ||
| SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. | ||
