Tex. Government Code § 511.009 — TX Code / Code gv / Chapter 511 / Section 511.009
§ 511.009. GENERAL DUTIES.
Status: in_force

(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) regularly review the commission's rules and procedures and revise, amend, or change the 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) 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;

(13) 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;

(14) adopt reasonable rules and procedures establishing minimum requirements for a county jail to:

(A) determine if a prisoner is pregnant;

(B) ensure that the jail's health services plan addresses medical care, including obstetrical and gynecological care, mental health care, nutritional requirements, and any special housing or work assignment needs for prisoners who are known or determined to be pregnant; and

(C) identify when a pregnant prisoner is in labor and provide appropriate care to the prisoner, including promptly transporting the prisoner to a local hospital;

(15) 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;

(16) adopt reasonable rules and procedures establishing minimum standards for prisoner visitation that provide each prisoner at a county jail with a minimum of two in-person, noncontact visitation periods per week of at least 20 minutes duration each;

(17) require the sheriff of each county to:

(A) investigate and verify the veteran status of each prisoner during the intake process 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;

(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, including providing the prisoner on verification of the prisoner's veteran status with a prepaid postcard that is supplied by the Texas Veterans Commission for purposes of requesting assistance in applying for veterans benefits;

(C) submit a weekly report identifying each prisoner whose veteran status was verified under Paragraph (A) during the previous week to the Texas Veterans Commission and, as applicable, the veterans county service officer for the county and each court in which charges against a prisoner identified in the report are pending; and

(D) allow for a prisoner whose veteran status has been verified under Paragraph (A) to have in-person or video visitation with the veterans county service officer for the county or a peer service coordinator at no cost to the prisoner;

(18) adopt reasonable rules and procedures regarding visitation of a prisoner at a county jail by a guardian, as defined by Section 1002.012, Estates Code, that:

(A) allow visitation by a guardian to the same extent as the prisoner's next of kin, including placing the guardian on the prisoner's approved visitors list on the guardian's request and providing the guardian access to the prisoner during a facility's standard visitation hours if the prisoner is otherwise eligible to receive visitors; and

(B) require the guardian to provide the sheriff with letters of guardianship issued as provided by Section 1106.001, Estates Code, before being allowed to visit the prisoner;

(19) adopt reasonable rules and procedures to ensure the safety of prisoners, including rules and procedures that require a county jail to:

(A) give prisoners the ability to access a mental health professional at the jail or through a telemental health service 24 hours a day or, if a mental health professional is not at the county jail at the time, then require the jail to use all reasonable efforts to arrange for the inmate to have access to a mental health professional within a reasonable time;

(B) give prisoners the ability to access a health professional at the jail or through a telehealth service 24 hours a day or, if a health professional is unavailable at the jail or through a telehealth service, provide for a prisoner to be transported to access a health professional; and

(C) if funding is available under Section 511.019, install automated electronic sensors or cameras to ensure accurate and timely in-person checks of cells or groups of cells confining at-risk individuals; and

(20) adopt reasonable rules and procedures establishing minimum standards for the quantity and quality of feminine hygiene products, including tampons in regular and large sizes and menstrual pads with wings in regular and large sizes, provided to a female prisoner.

(a-1) A county jail that as of September 1, 2015, has incurred significant design, engineering, or construction costs to provide prisoner visitation that does not comply with a rule or procedure adopted under Subsection (a)(16), or does not have the physical plant capability to provide the in-person prisoner visitation required by a rule or procedure adopted under Subsection (a)(16), is not required to comply with any commission rule or procedure adopted under Subsection (a)(16).

(a-2) A commission rule or procedure adopted under Subsection (a)(16) may not restrict the authority of a county jail under the commission's rules in effect on September 1, 2015, to limit prisoner visitation for disciplinary reasons.

(b) A commission rule or procedure is not unreasonable because compliance with the rule or procedure requires major modification or renovation of an existing jail or construction of a new jail.

(c) At any time and on the application of the county commissioners court or sheriff, the commission may grant reasonable variances, including variances that are to last for the life of a facility, clearly justified by the facts, for operation of a facility not in strict compliance with state law. A variance may not permit unhealthy, unsanitary, or unsafe conditions.

(d) The commission shall adopt reasonable rules and procedures establishing minimum standards regarding the continuity of prescription medications for the care and treatment of prisoners. The rules and procedures shall require that:

(1) a qualified medical professional shall review as soon as possible any prescription medication a prisoner is taking when the prisoner is taken into custody; and

(2) a prisoner with a mental illness be provided with each prescription medication that a qualified medical professional or mental health professional determines is necessary for the care, treatment, or stabilization of the prisoner.

(e) The commission may monitor compliance with the provisions of Article 43.13, Code of Criminal Procedure, relating to the release of a prisoner from county jail.

(f) The commission's compliance with the requirements of this section, particularly the requirements regarding the adoption of rules and procedures, is not contingent on the enactment and becoming law of any additional legislation.