By: Farias, Guillen (Senate Sponsor - Menéndez)	H.B. No. 875
	(In the Senate - Received from the House May 4, 2015;
	May 5, 2015, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
	Justice; May 13, 2015, reported favorably by the following vote:
	Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 13, 2015, sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote

	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 501.023, Government Code, as added by
	Chapter 261 (H.B. 634), Acts of the 83rd Legislature, Regular
	Session, 2013, is amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 501.023.  VERIFICATION OF INMATE VETERAN STATUS. (a)
	The department, during the diagnostic process, shall record
	information relating to an inmate's military history in the
	inmate's admission sheet and intake screening form, or any other
	similar document [In this section, "system" means the Public
	Assistance Reporting Information System (PARIS) operated by the
	Administration for Children and Families of the United States
	Department of Health and Human Services].
	(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 [made available
	from the system through the Health and Human Services Commission];
	and
	(2)  use the [system] 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.
	SECTION 2.  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)  require the sheriff of each county to:
	(A)  investigate and verify the veteran status of
	each prisoner 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.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
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