S.B. No. 578

	AN ACT
	relating to providing inmates of the Texas Department of Criminal
	Justice with information regarding reentry and reintegration
	resources.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter C, Chapter 501, Government Code, is
	amended by adding Section 501.0971 to read as follows:
	Sec. 501.0971.  PROVISION OF REENTRY AND REINTEGRATION
	INFORMATION TO INMATES. (a)  The department shall identify
	organizations that provide reentry and reintegration resource
	guides and shall collaborate with those organizations to prepare a
	resource guide that is to be made available to all inmates. At a
	minimum, the department shall collaborate with:
	(1)  nonprofit entities that specialize in criminal
	justice issues;
	(2)  faith-based organizations; and
	(3)  organizations that:
	(A)  offer pro bono legal services to inmates; or
	(B)  are composed of the families and friends of
	inmates.
	(b)  The department shall make the resource guide available
	in the Windham School District libraries and in each of the
	following areas of a correctional facility:
	(1)  peer educator classrooms;
	(2)  chapels;
	(3)  reintegration specialist offices; and
	(4)  any area or classroom that is used by the
	department for the purpose of providing information about reentry
	to inmates.
	(c)  The department shall make available a sufficient number
	of copies of the resource guide to ensure that each inmate is able
	to access the resource guide in a timely manner.
	(d)  The department shall identify organizations described
	by Subsection (a) that provide information described by Subsection
	(e) and shall collaborate with those organizations to compile
	county-specific information packets for inmates.  The department
	shall, within the 180-day period preceding the date an inmate will
	discharge the inmate's sentence or is released on parole, mandatory
	supervision, or conditional pardon, provide the inmate with a
	county-specific information packet for the county that the inmate
	designates as the inmate's intended residence.
	(e)  At the minimum, a county-specific packet described by
	Subsection (d) must include, for the applicable county:
	(1)  contact information, including telephone numbers,
	e-mail addresses, physical locations, and mailing addresses, as
	applicable, of:
	(A)  workforce offices, housing options, places
	of worship, support groups, peer-to-peer counseling groups, and
	other relevant organizations or agencies as determined by the
	department and the collaborating organization;
	(B)  agencies and organizations that offer
	emergency assistance, such as food and clothing banks, temporary
	bus passes, low-cost medical assistance, and overnight and
	temporary housing; and
	(C)  agencies and organizations that offer mental
	health counseling; and
	(2)  information necessary for the inmate to apply for
	governmental assistance or benefits, including Medicaid, social
	security benefits, or nutritional assistance programs under
	Chapter 33, Human Resources Code.
	SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 578 passed the Senate on
	April 9, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that
	the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 13, 2015, by the
	following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 578 passed the House, with
	amendment, on May 5, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 145, Nays 0,
	two present not voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	Approved:
	______________________________
	Date
	______________________________
	Governor