2005 Texas Government Code CHAPTER 507. STATE JAIL DIVISION

GOVERNMENT CODE

CHAPTER 507. STATE JAIL DIVISION

SUBCHAPTER A. STATE JAIL FELONY FACILITIES


	§ 507.001. AUTHORITY TO OPERATE OR CONTRACT FOR STATE JAIL 
FELONY FACILITIES.  (a) The state jail division may operate, 
maintain, and manage state jail felony facilities to confine 
inmates described by Section 507.002, and the department may 
finance and construct those facilities.  The state jail division, 
with the approval of the board, may contract with the institutional 
division, a private vendor, a community supervision and corrections 
department, or the commissioners court of a county for the 
construction, operation, maintenance, or management of a state jail 
felony facility.  The community justice assistance division shall 
assist the state jail division to contract with a community 
supervision and corrections department for the construction, 
operation, maintenance, or management of a state jail felony 
facility.  The state jail division shall consult with the community 
justice assistance division before contracting with a community 
supervision and corrections department under this section.  A 
community supervision and corrections department or the 
commissioners court of a county that contracts under this section 
may subcontract with a private vendor for the provision of any or 
all services described by this subsection.  A community supervision 
and corrections department that contracts under this section may 
subcontract with the commissioners court of a county for the 
provision of any or all services described by this subsection.  The 
board may contract with a private vendor or the commissioners court 
of a county for the financing or construction of a state jail felony 
facility.
	(b)  The community justice assistance division and the state 
jail division shall develop and implement work programs and 
programs of rehabilitation, education, and recreation in state jail 
felony facilities.  For each state jail felony facility, the 
community justice assistance division and the state jail division 
shall consult with the community supervision and corrections 
departments and the community justice councils served by the 
facility in developing programs in that facility, and shall develop 
the programs in a manner that makes appropriate use of facilities 
and personnel of the community supervision and corrections 
departments.  In developing the programs, the state jail division 
and the community justice assistance division shall attempt to 
structure programs so that they are operated on a 90-day cycle, 
although the divisions should deviate from a 90-day schedule as 
necessary to meet the requirements of a particular program.
	(c)  Services described by Subsection (a) must be provided in 
compliance with standards established by the board. Programs 
described by Subsection (b) must be provided in compliance with 
minimum requirements established under Subsection (b).
	(d)  A state jail felony facility authorized by this 
subchapter may be located on private land or on land owned by the 
federal government, the state, a community supervision and 
corrections department, or a political subdivision of the state.  
The board may accept land donated for that purpose.
	(e)  A commissioners court of a county or a community 
supervision and corrections department may not enter into a 
contract under this section unless:
		(1)  the commissioners court or department first 
consults with the community justice council serving the county or 
serving the department;  and
		(2)  the most recent community justice plan for the 
county or department served by the community justice council that 
has been approved by the community justice assistance division 
describes the contract.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 988, § 1.07, eff. Sept. 1, 
1993.  Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 321, § 1.097, eff. 
Sept. 1, 1995.


	§ 507.002. ELIGIBLE DEFENDANTS.  The state jail division 
may confine in a state jail felony facility authorized by this 
subchapter defendants required by a judge to serve a term of 
confinement in a state jail felony facility following a grant of 
deferred adjudication for or conviction of an offense punishable as 
a state jail felony.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 988, § 1.07, eff. Sept. 1, 
1993.  Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 318, § 72, eff. Sept. 
1, 1995.


	§ 507.003. REGIONS.  The board shall designate not fewer 
than nine regions in the state for the purpose of providing regional 
state jail felony facilities.  The board shall ensure that regions 
are designed to efficiently serve community supervision and 
corrections departments.  The board may not designate a region that 
contains a part of an area served by a community supervision and 
corrections department.  The board may designate a region that 
contains only one judicial district, but only if the judicial 
district serves a municipality with a population of 400,000 or 
more.  Any other provision of law that would otherwise require the 
board to designate regions on the basis of uniform service regions 
does not apply to this section.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 988, § 1.07, eff. Sept. 1, 
1993.      


	§ 507.004. ALLOCATION POLICIES.  The board shall adopt 
and enforce:       
		(1)  a regional allocation policy to allocate the 
number of facilities and beds to each region established under 
Section 507.003;  and
		(2)  an intra-regional allocation policy for each 
region, to allocate the number of facilities and beds within a 
region to the community supervision and corrections departments in 
that region, unless those departments by their own agreement 
establish the allocation of beds in the region.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 988, § 1.07, eff. Sept. 1, 
1993.      


	§ 507.006. USE OF FACILITY FOR OTHER INMATES.  (a) 
Notwithstanding any other provision of this subchapter, the state 
jail division, with the approval of the board, may designate one or 
more state jail felony facilities or discrete areas within one or 
more state jail felony facilities to treat inmates who are eligible 
for confinement in a substance abuse felony punishment facility 
under Section 493.009 or to house inmates who are eligible for 
confinement in a transfer facility under Section 499.152, but only 
if the designation does not deny placement in a state jail felony 
facility of defendants required to serve terms of confinement in a 
facility following conviction of state jail felonies.  The division 
may not house in a state jail felony facility an inmate who:
		(1)  has a history of or has shown a pattern of violent 
or assaultive behavior in county jail or a facility operated by the 
department;  or
		(2)  will increase the likelihood of harm to the public 
if housed in the facility.
	(b)  Sections 499.154 and 499.155 apply to an inmate eligible 
for confinement in a transfer facility under Section 499.152 who is 
nonetheless confined in a state jail felony facility in the same 
manner as if the inmate were confined in a transfer facility.
	(c)  The responsibility of the department to provide 
substance abuse felony punishment facilities is governed by the 
General Appropriations Act and Section 493.009.  This section does 
not affect the responsibility of the department to provide 
substance abuse felony punishment facilities.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 988, § 1.07, eff. Sept. 1, 
1993.  Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 321, § 1.098, 1.113, 
eff. Sept. 1, 1995;  Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 488, § 5, eff. 
Sept. 1, 1997.

SUBCHAPTER B. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS


	§ 507.022. EMPLOYEES' SALARIES, ROOM AND BOARD, AND 
MEDICAL CARE.  (a) Salaries of employees of the state jail division 
and the provision of board, lodging, uniforms, and other provisions 
to employees are as provided by the General Appropriations Act.
	(b)  Employees of the state jail division who are injured in 
the line of duty are entitled to receive free medical care and 
hospitalization from institutional division doctors and the 
institutional division hospital.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 988, § 1.07, eff. Sept. 1, 
1993.      


	§ 507.023. AIDS AND HIV EDUCATION;  TESTING.  (a) The 
state jail division shall establish and provide education programs 
to educate state jail division employees and defendants in state 
jail felony facilities about AIDS and HIV in the same manner as the 
institutional division establishes and provides programs for 
employees and inmates under Section 501.054.
	(b)  The state jail division shall adopt a policy for 
handling a defendant with AIDS or HIV and shall test a defendant for 
AIDS or HIV in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as 
apply to the institutional division under Section 501.054.
	(c)  In this section, "AIDS" and "HIV" have the meanings 
assigned by Section 81.101, Health and Safety Code.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 988, § 1.07, eff. Sept. 1, 
1993.  Amended by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 1184, § 2, eff. Sept. 
1, 2005.


	§ 507.024. TRANSPORTATION OF DEFENDANTS.  The board shall 
adopt rules to provide for the safe transfer of defendants from 
counties to state jail felony facilities.  A sheriff may transport 
defendants to a state jail felony facility if the sheriff is able to 
perform the service as economically as if the service were 
performed by the division.  The state jail division is responsible 
for the cost of transportation of defendants to the division.  
Defendants may be transported with other persons being transported 
to the custody of the department provided appropriate security 
precautions prescribed by policies of the department are taken.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 988, § 1.07, eff. Sept. 1, 
1993.      


	§ 507.025. MEDICAL CARE.  The state jail division, with 
the approval of the board, may contract with the institutional 
division, a private vendor, or any public health care provider for 
the provision of medical services to defendants in state jail 
felony facilities.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 988, § 1.07, eff. Sept. 1, 
1993.      


	§ 507.026. CHANGE IN DESIGNATION OF FACILITY.  The board 
may designate any facility under its control as a state jail felony 
facility and confine state jail felons in that facility.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 988, § 1.07, eff. Sept. 1, 
1993.      


	§ 507.027. INSPECTIONS.  The board shall adopt rules 
relating to inspections by the department of state jail felony 
facility construction projects.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 988, § 1.07, eff. Sept. 1, 
1993.      


	§ 507.029. USE OF INMATE LABOR.  The department may use 
the labor of inmates of the institutional division in any work or 
community service program or project performed by the state jail 
division.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 321, § 1.100, eff. Sept. 1, 
1995.     


	§ 507.030. VISITATION.  (a) 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.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 321, § 1.101, eff. Sept. 1, 
1995.     


	§ 507.031. FURLOUGH PROGRAM.  (a) The director of a state 
jail felony facility may grant a furlough to a defendant so that the 
defendant may:
		(1)  obtain a medical diagnosis or medical treatment;                         
		(2)  obtain treatment and supervision at a Texas 
Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation facility;
		(3)  attend a funeral or visit a critically ill 
relative;  or               
		(4)  participate in a programmatic activity sanctioned 
by the state jail division.
	(b)  The state jail division shall adopt policies for the 
administration of the furlough program.
	(c)  A defendant furloughed under this section is considered 
to be in the custody of the state jail division, even if the 
defendant is not under physical guard while furloughed.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 321, § 1.099, eff. Sept. 1, 
1995.  Renumbered from V.T.C.A., Government Code § 507.028 by 
Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, § 31.01(43), eff. Sept. 1, 1997.


	§ 507.032. IDENTIFICATION OF DEFENDANTS SUBJECT TO ARREST 
WARRANT.  Before a defendant is released from confinement in a 
state jail felony facility, the department shall conduct a criminal 
history record check to determine whether the defendant is the 
subject of an arrest warrant.  In conducting the criminal history 
record check, the department shall allow sufficient time for 
compliance with any requirements related to notifying the proper 
authorities of the defendant's release and, if necessary, 
processing a demand for extradition of the defendant.

Added by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 205, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.           


	§ 507.033. REHABILITATION PROGRAMS.  (a) The state jail 
division may allow a defendant who is capable of serving as a tutor 
to tutor functionally illiterate defendants and shall actively 
encourage volunteer organizations to aid in the tutoring of 
defendants.  A person who acts as a tutor may function only as a 
teacher and advisor to a defendant and may not exercise supervisory 
authority or control over the defendant.
	(b)  The state jail division shall actively encourage 
volunteer organizations to provide the following programs for 
defendants who are housed in facilities operated by or under 
contract with the division:
		(1)  literacy and education programs;                                         
		(2)  life skills programs;                                                    
		(3)  job skills programs;                                                     
		(4)  parent-training programs;                                                
		(5)  drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs;                                
		(6)  support group programs;                                                  
		(7)  arts and crafts programs;  and                                           
		(8)  other programs determined by the division to aid 
defendants confined in state jail felony facilities in the 
transition from confinement or supervision back into society and to 
reduce incidents of recidivism among defendants.

Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 391, § 1, eff. June 20, 2003.