2005 Texas Government Code CHAPTER 509. COMMUNITY JUSTICE ASSISTANCE DIVISION

GOVERNMENT CODE

CHAPTER 509. COMMUNITY JUSTICE ASSISTANCE DIVISION


	§ 509.001. DEFINITIONS.  In this chapter:                                   
		(1)  "Community corrections facility" means a physical 
structure, established by the judges described by Section 76.002 
after authorization of the establishment of the structure has been 
included in the local community justice plan, that is operated by a 
department or operated for a department by an entity under contract 
with the department, for the purpose of treating persons who have 
been placed on community supervision or who are participating in a 
drug court program established under Chapter 469, Health and Safety 
Code, and providing services and programs to modify criminal 
behavior, deter criminal activity, protect the public, and restore 
victims of crime.  The term includes:
			(A)  a restitution center;                                                   
			(B)  a court residential treatment facility;                                 
			(C)  a substance abuse treatment facility;                                   
			(D)  a custody facility or boot camp;                                        
			(E)  a facility for an offender with a mental 
impairment, as defined by Section 614.001, Health and Safety Code;  
and
			(F)  an intermediate sanction facility.                                      
		(2)  "Department" means a community supervision and 
corrections department established under Chapter 76.
		(3)  "Division" means the community justice assistance 
division.            
		(4)  "State aid" means funds appropriated by the 
legislature to the division to provide financial assistance to:
			(A)  the judges described by Section 76.002 for:                             
				(i)  a department established by the judges;                                
				(ii)  the development and improvement of 
community supervision services and community-based correctional 
programs;
				(iii)  the establishment and operation of 
community corrections facilities;  and
				(iv)  assistance in conforming with 
standards and policies of the division and the board;  and
			(B)  state agencies, counties, municipalities, 
and nonprofit organizations for the implementation and 
administration of community-based sanctions and programs.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, § 7.01, eff. Sept. 1, 
1995.  Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, § 12.23(a), eff. 
Sept. 1, 1997;  Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 255, § 9, eff. May 30, 
2005;  Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 1139, § 3, eff. June 18, 2005.


	§ 509.002. PURPOSE.  The purpose of this chapter is to:                     
		(1)  allow localities to increase their involvement and 
responsibility in developing sentencing programs that provide 
effective sanctions for criminal defendants;
		(2)  provide increased opportunities for criminal 
defendants to make restitution to victims of crime through 
financial reimbursement or community service;
		(3)  provide increased use of community penalties 
designed specifically to meet local needs;  and
		(4)  promote efficiency and economy in the delivery of 
community-based correctional programs consistent with the 
objectives defined by Section 1.02, Penal Code.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, § 7.01, eff. Sept. 1, 
1995.       


	§ 509.003. STANDARDS AND PROCEDURES.  (a) The division 
shall propose and the board shall adopt reasonable rules 
establishing:
		(1)  minimum standards for programs, community 
corrections facilities and other facilities, equipment, and other 
aspects of the operation of departments;
		(2)  a list and description of core services that 
should be provided by each department;
		(3)  methods for measuring the success of community 
supervision and corrections programs, including methods for 
measuring rates of diversion, program completion, and recidivism;  
		(4)  a format for community justice plans;  and                               
		(5)  minimum standards for the operation of substance 
abuse facilities and programs funded through the division.
	(b)  In establishing standards relating to the operation of 
departments, the division shall consider guidelines developed and 
presented by the advisory committee on community supervision and 
corrections department management to the judicial advisory council 
established under Section 493.003(b).
	(c)  A substance abuse facility or program operating under 
the standards is not required to be licensed or otherwise approved 
by any other state or local agency.
	(d)  The division shall develop a screening and evaluation 
procedure for use in accordance with Section 76.017.  The division 
shall determine if a single screening and evaluation procedure may 
be used in each program.  If the division determines that a single 
procedure is not feasible, the division shall identify and approve 
procedures that may be used.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, § 7.01, eff. Sept. 1, 
1995.  Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, § 12.24(a), eff. 
Sept. 1, 1997;  Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1269, § 5, eff. Sept. 1, 
1997.


	§ 509.004. RECORDS, REPORTS, AND INFORMATION 
SYSTEMS.  (a) The division shall require each department to:
		(1)  keep financial and statistical records determined 
necessary by the division;
		(2)  submit a community justice plan and all supporting 
information requested by the division;
		(3)  present data requested by the division as 
necessary to determine the amount of state aid for which the 
department is eligible;
		(4)  submit periodic financial audits and statistical 
reports to the division;  and
		(5)  submit to the Department of Public Safety the full 
name, address, date of birth, social security number, and driver's 
license number of each person restricted to the operation of a motor 
vehicle equipped with a device that uses a deep-lung breath 
analysis mechanism to make impractical the operation of the motor 
vehicle if ethyl alcohol is detected in the breath of the restricted 
operator.
	(b)  The division shall develop an automated tracking system 
that:           
		(1)  is capable of receiving tracking data from 
community supervision and corrections departments' caseload 
management and accounting systems;
		(2)  is capable of tracking the defendant and the 
sentencing event at which the defendant was placed on community 
supervision by name, arrest charge code, and incident number;
		(3)  provides the division with the statistical data it 
needs to support budget requests and satisfy requests for 
information;  and
		(4)  is compatible with the requirements of Chapter 60, 
Code of Criminal Procedure, and the information systems used by the 
institutional division and the pardons and paroles division of the 
Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, § 7.01, eff. Sept. 1, 
1995.  Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, § 12.25(a), eff. 
Sept. 1, 1997;  Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1007, § 1, eff. June 15, 
2001.


	§ 509.005. INSPECTIONS;  AUDITS;  EVALUATIONS.  The 
community justice assistance division shall from time to time 
inspect and evaluate and the internal audit division may at any 
reasonable time conduct an audit of the financial, program 
compliance, or performance records of a department to determine:
		(1)  compliance with the division's rules and 
standards;                    
		(2)  economical and efficient use of resources;                               
		(3)  accomplishment of goals and objectives;                                  
		(4)  reliability and integrity of information;  and                           
		(5)  safeguarding of assets.                                                  

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, § 7.01, eff. Sept. 1, 
1995.  Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, § 12.26(a), eff. 
Sept. 1, 1997;  Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 490, § 5, eff. Sept. 1, 
1997.


	§ 509.006. COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS FACILITIES.  (a) To 
establish and maintain community corrections facilities, the 
division may:
		(1)  fund division-managed facilities;                                        
		(2)  fund contracts for facilities that are managed by 
departments, counties, or vendors;
		(3)  provide funds to departments for the renovation of 
leased or donated buildings for use as facilities;
		(4)  accept ownership of real property pursuant to an 
agreement under which the division agrees to construct a facility 
and offer the facility for lease;
		(5)  allow departments, counties, or municipalities to 
accept and use buildings provided by units of local governments, 
including rural hospital districts, for use as facilities;
		(6)  provide funds to departments, counties, or 
municipalities to lease, purchase, or construct buildings or to 
lease or purchase land or other real property for use as facilities, 
lease or purchase equipment necessary for the operation of 
facilities, and pay other costs as necessary for the management and 
operation of facilities;  and
		(7)  be a party to a contract for correctional services 
or approve a contract for those services if the state, on a biennial 
appropriations basis, commits to fund a portion of the contract.
	(b)  The division may require that community corrections 
facilities comply with state and local safety laws and may develop 
standards for:
		(1)  the physical plant and operation of community 
corrections facilities;  
		(2)  programs offered by community corrections 
facilities;                  
		(3)  disciplinary rules for residents of community 
corrections facilities;  and
		(4)  emergency furloughs for residents of community 
corrections facilities. 
	(c)  Minimum standards for community corrections facilities 
must include requirements that a facility:
		(1)  provide levels of security appropriate for the 
population served by the facility, including as a minimum a 
monitored and structured environment in which a resident's interior 
and exterior movements and activities can be supervised by specific 
destination and time;  and
		(2)  accept only those residents who are physically and 
mentally capable of participating in any program offered at the 
facility that requires strenuous physical activity, if 
participation in the program is required of all residents of the 
facility.
	(d)  Standards developed by the division that relate to state 
jail felony facilities must meet minimum requirements adopted by 
the board for the operation of state jail felony facilities.  The 
board may adopt rules and procedures for the operation of more than 
one type of state jail felony facility.
	(e)  With the consent of the department operating or 
contracting for the operation of the facility, the board may 
designate any community corrections facility that is an 
intermediate sanction facility as a state jail felony facility and 
confine state jail felons in that facility.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, § 7.01, eff. Sept. 1, 
1995.       


	§ 509.007. COMMUNITY JUSTICE PLAN.  (a) The division 
shall require as a condition to payment of state aid to a department 
or county under Section 509.011 and eligibility for payment of 
costs under Section 499.124 that a community justice plan be 
submitted for the department.  The community justice council shall 
submit the plan required by this subsection.  A community justice 
council may not submit a plan under this section unless the plan is 
first approved by the judges described by Section 76.002 who 
established the department served by the council.  The council 
shall submit a revised plan to the division each odd-numbered year 
by a date designated by the division.  A plan may be amended at any 
time with the approval of the division.
	(b)  A community justice plan required under this section 
must include:      
		(1)  a statement of goals and priorities and of 
commitment by the community justice council, the judges described 
by Section 76.002 who established the department, and the 
department director to achieve a targeted level of alternative 
sanctions;
		(2)  a description of methods for measuring the success 
of programs provided by the department or provided by an entity 
served by the department;  and
		(3)  a proposal for the use of state jail felony 
facilities and, at the discretion of the community justice council, 
a regional proposal for the construction, operation, maintenance, 
or management of a state jail felony facility by a county, a 
community supervision and corrections department, or a private 
vendor under a contract with a county or a community supervision and 
corrections department.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, § 7.01, eff. Sept. 1, 
1995.  Amended by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 255, § 10, eff. May 
30, 2005.


	§ 509.008. OFFICER CERTIFICATION.  (a) The division shall 
establish officer certification programs for department 
residential officers and department supervision officers.  A 
program must include coursework relating to the proper performance 
of the officer's duties and an examination prepared by the division 
administered at the conclusion of the coursework.  The examination 
must test officers on knowledge required for the proper performance 
of their duties.  An officer who satisfactorily completes the 
coursework and examination shall be certified.
	(b)  Except as provided by Subsections (d), (e), and (f), a 
department may not continue to employ an officer unless the officer 
was exempt from certification requirements on September 1, 1989, or 
satisfactorily completes the coursework and examination required 
by this section not later than the first anniversary of the date on 
which the officer begins employment with the department.
	(c)  The division shall provide adequate notification of the 
results of examinations and provide other relevant information 
regarding examinations as requested by examinees.
	(d)  The division may extend the period for the coursework 
and examination requirements for an officer under Subsection (b) or 
(f) for an additional period not to exceed one year because:
		(1)  the department has a need to increase hiring to 
reduce caseloads to a level necessary to receive full state aid;  or
		(2)  an extenuating circumstance, as determined by the 
division director, prevents the officer from completing the 
coursework and examination within the required period.
	(e)  The division may waive certification requirements other 
than a fee requirement for an applicant with a valid certificate 
from another state that has certification requirements 
substantially similar to those of this state.
	(f)  A department may not continue to employ a residential 
officer unless the officer successfully completes the coursework 
and examination requirement under this section before the first 
anniversary of the date on which the officer begins the officer's 
assignment to a residential facility.
	(g)  The division may deny, revoke, or suspend a 
certification or may reprimand an officer for a violation of a 
standard adopted under this chapter.
	(h)  If the division proposes to deny, revoke, or suspend an 
officer's certification or to reprimand an officer, the officer is 
entitled to a hearing before the division or a hearings examiner 
appointed by the division.  The division shall adopt procedures for 
appeals by officers of decisions made by the division to deny, 
revoke, or suspend a certification or to reprimand an officer.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, § 7.01, eff. Sept. 1, 
1995.  Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, § 12.27(a), eff. 
Sept. 1, 1997.


	§ 509.009. TRAINING.  The division may provide 
pre-service, in-service, and educational training and technical 
assistance to departments to promote compliance with the standards 
under this chapter and to assist departments in improving the 
operation of department services.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, § 7.01, eff. Sept. 1, 
1995.       


	§ 509.010. PUBLIC MEETING.  (a) The division may not take 
an action under Sections 509.006(a)(1) through (6) relating to a 
community corrections facility established after August 31, 1989, 
unless a public meeting is held about the proposed action before the 
action is taken.
	(b)  Before the 30th day before the date of the meeting, the 
division, the department that the facility is to serve, or a vendor 
proposing to operate the facility shall:
		(1)  publish by advertisement that is not less than 
3-1/2 inches by 5 inches notice of the date, hour, place, and 
subject of the hearing required by Subsection (a) in three 
consecutive issues of a newspaper of, or in newspapers that 
collectively have, general circulation in the county in which the 
proposed facility is to be located;  and
		(2)  mail a copy of the notice to each police chief, 
sheriff, city council member, mayor, county commissioner, county 
judge, school board member, state representative, and state senator 
who serves or represents the area in which the proposed facility is 
to be located, unless the proposed facility has been previously 
authorized to operate at a particular location by a community 
justice council under Section 76.003.
	(c)  If a private vendor, other than a private vendor that 
operates as a nonprofit corporation, proposes to operate a facility 
that is the subject of a public meeting under this section, the 
private vendor is responsible for the costs of providing notice and 
holding the public meeting required by this section.
	(d)  In describing the subject of a hearing for purposes of 
publishing notice under this section, the notice must specifically 
state the address of the facility on which a proposed action is to 
be taken and describe the proposed action.
	(e)  The division, a department, or a private vendor shall 
hold a public meeting required by Subsection (a) at a site as close 
as practicable to the location at which the proposed action is to be 
taken.  The division, department, or vendor may not hold the meeting 
on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday and must begin the meeting 
after 6 p.m.
	(f)  A department, a county, a municipality, or a combination 
involving more than one of those entities may not take an action 
under Section 76.010 unless the community justice council serving 
the entity or entities holds a public meeting before the action is 
taken, with notice provided and the hearing to be held in the same 
manner as provided by Subsections (a) through (e).

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, § 7.01, eff. Sept. 1, 
1995.  Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 478, § 1, eff. Sept. 
1, 1997.


	§ 509.011. PAYMENT OF STATE AID.  (a) If the division 
determines that a department complies with division standards and 
if the community justice council has submitted a community justice 
plan under Section 76.003 and the supporting information required 
by the division and the division determines the plan and supporting 
information are acceptable, the division shall prepare and submit 
to the comptroller vouchers for payment to the department as 
follows:
		(1)  for per capita funding, a per diem amount for each 
felony defendant directly supervised by the department pursuant to 
lawful authority;
		(2)  for per capita funding, a per diem amount for a 
period not to exceed 182 days for each defendant supervised by the 
department pursuant to lawful authority, other than a felony 
defendant;  and
		(3)  for formula funding, an annual amount as computed 
by multiplying a percentage determined by the allocation formula 
established under Subsection (f) times the total amount provided in 
the General Appropriations Act for payments under this subdivision.
	(a-1)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the division shall 
prepare and submit to the comptroller vouchers for payment to the 
Employees Retirement System of Texas for contributions for group 
coverage in which a department participates under Section 1551.114, 
Insurance Code.  Payment of contributions under this subsection 
shall be made from the money that the division would otherwise 
allocate to a department under Subsections (a) and (b).
	(b)  The division may use discretionary grant funds to 
further the purposes of this chapter by contracting for services 
with state agencies or nonprofit organizations.  The division may 
also make discretionary grants to departments, municipalities, or 
counties for the following purposes:
		(1)  development and operation of pretrial and 
presentencing services;      
		(2)  electronic monitoring services, surveillance 
supervision programs, and controlled substances testing services;
		(3)  research projects to evaluate the effectiveness of 
community corrections programs, if the research is conducted in 
cooperation with the Criminal Justice Policy Council;
		(4)  contract services for felony defendants;                                 
		(5)  residential services for misdemeanor defendants 
who exhibit levels of risk or needs indicating a need for 
confinement and treatment, as described by Section 509.005(b);
		(6)  establishment or operation of county correctional 
centers under Subchapter H, Chapter 351, Local Government Code, or 
community corrections facilities for which the division has 
established standards under Section 509.006;  
		(7)  development and operation of treatment 
alternative to incarceration programs under Section 76.017;  and
		(8)  other purposes determined appropriate by the 
division and approved by the board.
	(c)  Each department, county, or municipality shall deposit 
all state aid received from the division in a special fund of the 
county treasury or municipal treasury, as appropriate, to be used 
solely for the provision of services, programs, and facilities 
under this chapter or Subchapter H, Chapter 351, Local Government 
Code.
	(d)  The division shall provide state aid to each department 
on a biennial basis, pursuant to the community justice plan for the 
biennium submitted by the department.  A department with prior 
division approval may transfer funds from one program or function 
to another program or function.
	(e)  In establishing per diem payments authorized by 
Subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2), the division shall consider the 
amounts appropriated in the General Appropriations Act for basic 
supervision as sufficient to provide basic supervision in each year 
of the fiscal biennium.
	(f)  The division annually shall compute for each department 
for community corrections program formula funding a percentage 
determined by assigning equal weights to the percentage of the 
state's population residing in the counties served by the 
department and the department's percentage of all felony defendants 
in the state under direct community supervision.  The division 
shall use the most recent information available in making 
computations under this subsection.  The board by rule may adopt a 
policy limiting for all departments the percentage of benefit or 
loss that may be realized as a result of the operation of the 
formula.
	(g)  If the Texas Department of Criminal Justice determines 
that at the end of a biennium a department maintains in reserve an 
amount greater than six months' basic supervision operating costs 
for the department, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in the 
succeeding biennium may reduce the amount of per capita and formula 
funding provided under Subsection (a) so that in the succeeding 
biennium the department's reserves do not exceed six months' basic 
supervision operating costs.  The Texas Department of Criminal 
Justice may adopt policies and standards permitting a department to 
maintain reserves in an amount greater than otherwise permitted by 
this subsection as necessary to cover emergency costs or implement 
new programs with the approval of the Texas Department of Criminal 
Justice.  The Texas Department of Criminal Justice may distribute 
unallocated per capita or formula funds to provide supplemental 
funds to individual departments to further the purposes of this 
chapter.
	(h)  A community supervision and corrections department at 
any time may transfer to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice 
any unencumbered state funds held by the department.  The Texas 
Department of Criminal Justice may distribute funds received from a 
community supervision and corrections department under this 
subsection to provide supplemental funds to individual departments 
to further the purposes of this chapter.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, § 7.01, eff. Sept. 1, 
1995.  Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, § 12.28(a), eff. 
Sept. 1, 1997;  Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1188, § 1.39, eff. 
Sept. 1, 1999;  Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1030, § 2.02, eff. 
Sept. 1, 2004;  Acts 2005, 79th Leg., ch. 255, § 11, eff. May 30, 
2005.


	§ 509.012. REFUSAL OR SUSPENSION OF STATE AID.  (a) The 
division shall take one or more of the following actions against a 
department that the division determines is not in substantial 
compliance with division standards or requirements adopted under 
Sections 509.003 through 509.006:
		(1)  a reduction, refusal, or suspension of payment of 
state aid to the department;  or
		(2)  an imposition of budget control over the 
department.                   
	(b)  The board shall provide for notice and a hearing in 
cases in which the division proposes to take an action authorized by 
this section, other than a refusal by the division to provide 
discretionary grant funding or a reduction by the division of 
discretionary grant funding during a funding cycle.  The division 
shall define with specificity the conduct that constitutes 
substantial noncompliance with division standards and shall 
establish the procedures to be used in imposing or waiving a 
sanction authorized by this section, subject to approval of the 
definition and the procedures by adoption by the board.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, § 7.01, eff. Sept. 1, 
1995.  Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, § 12.29(a), eff. 
Sept. 1, 1997.


	§ 509.015. TREATMENT STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN STATE JAIL 
FELONIES.  The division shall propose and the board shall adopt 
best practices standards for substance abuse treatment conditions 
imposed under Section 15(c)(2), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal 
Procedure.

Added by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1122, § 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.