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10 Document(s) [ Subject: State%20jail%20system ]

Committee:	House Corrections
Title:	Interim Report
Subjects:	Alternatives to incarceration | Communicable diseases | Criminal justice | Criminal Justice, Texas Department of | Disease management | Disease preparedness | Disease prevention | Emergency management | Ex-offenders | Hot weather | Hurricane Harvey | Inmate lawsuits | Inmate sexual assaults | Natural disasters | Pardons and Paroles, Texas Board of | Parole | Prison Rape Elimination Act | Probation | Recidivism | Social workers | State jail system | Women | Women inmates | Youthful offenders |
Library Call Number:	L1836.85 C817
Session:	85th R.S. (2017)
Online version:	View report [75 pages]
Charges:	This report should address the charges below.
1.	Evaluate the Texas Department of Criminal Justice response to Hurricane Harvey. Recommend any changes that could improve the operational stability of state criminal justice institutions following a natural disaster and changes that would allow for a more effective response.
2.	Examine the use of social workers and peer support specialists in the Texas criminal justice system to assist individuals on probation, on parole, or who have been discharged, in order to reduce recidivism and improve outcomes. Identify best practices and make recommendations for legislative action.
3.	Examine the current Texas criminal justice system policies and practices regarding 17- to 25- year-olds, specific to probation, parole, state jail confinement, and discharge from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice or county jail. Review any gaps in services that may be causing this population to recidivate. Make recommendations to improve the state's response to the needs of this population in order to lower revocation, re-arrest, and re-incarceration rates.
4.	Examine treatment options, services, and programs available to women in institutional settings, on community supervision, on parole, and in community-based programs. Make recommendations for best strategies to address the needs of women in the Texas criminal justice system.
5.	Review the Texas state jail system. Examine its original intent, sentencing guidelines, effectiveness, and recidivism rates. Make recommendations for changes in the state jail system. (Joint charge with the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence)
6.	Study policies and protocols within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Examine when protocols are implemented and their efficacy in protecting the health and safety of inmates and state employees.
7.	Review assessments used by the Board of Pardons and Paroles and parole panels to determine an inmate's risk of recidivism for purposes of granting parole and the use of GPS technology to monitor offenders.
8.	Monitor Texas prison system heat-related litigation currently making its way through the courts. Monitor Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) compliance within Texas state and county criminal justice facilities.
9.	Monitor the agencies and programs under the Committee’s jurisdiction and oversee the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 85th Legislature.
Committee:	House Criminal Jurisprudence
Title:	Interim Report
Subjects:	Bail | Capital punishment | Capital punishment of mentally ill inmates | Capital punishment of mentally disabled inmates | Court Administration, Texas Office of | Court costs and fees | Courts | Criminal justice | Emergency management | Fines | Gun control | Guns | Hurricane Harvey | Jury instructions | Legal malpractice | Marijuana | Mentally ill persons | Penalties and sentences (Criminal justice) | Prosecutorial misconduct | Risk-based decision-making | School safety | School violence | Sex crimes | Shootings | State jail system |
Library Call Number:	L1836.85 C868h
Session:	85th R.S. (2017)
Online version:	View report [103 pages]
Charges:	This report should address the charges below.
1.	Evaluate the impact of Hurricane Harvey on the Texas criminal justice system, including its effect on the speed of criminal trials and litigation, criminal courts, district attorneys' ability to prosecute, and attorneys' ability to provide proper defense. Recommend any changes that could improve operational stability of state criminal justice institutions following a natural disaster and changes that would allow for a more effective response.
2.	Assess developments in medical science and legal standards related to the imposition of the death penalty on defendants with serious mental illness or intellectual and developmental disabilities. Review statutorily prescribed jury instructions used during capital sentencing.
3.	Study current practices for the enforcement of criminal laws against low-level possession of marijuana. Examine the use of alternative punishments and improvements to criminal enforcement mechanisms and community supervision.
4.	Examine instances of prosecutorial misconduct and ineffective assistance of defense counsel. Review systemic and structural issues affecting the resolution of criminal cases.
5.	Examine the legal framework surrounding sexual assault prosecutions, including statutory definitions, certain age-based offenses, and ongoing developments in evidence collection and processing.
6.	Review the Texas state jail system, including its original intent, sentencing guidelines, effectiveness, and recidivism rates. Make recommendations for changes in the state jail system that will improve outcomes. (Joint charge with the House Committee on Corrections)
7.	Monitor the work of the Office of Court Administration on pre-trial risk assessment tools for the Texas Judiciary, and study the use of risk assessment tools at various stages in the criminal justice process. Monitor litigation on Harris County pretrial bond practices. Monitor the implementation of the legislation passed by the 85th Legislature regarding the imposition of fines, fees, and court costs in criminal courts.
8.	Monitor the agencies and programs under the Committee’s jurisdiction and oversee the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 85th Legislature.
9.	Review the applicable portions of the state's penal laws and make legislative recommendations regarding whether existing protective order laws are sufficient or could be amended to include 'red flag' or mental health protective orders or whether 'red flag' or mental health protective orders should be independently created to allow law enforcement, a family member, a school employee, or a district attorney to file a petition seeking removal of firearms from a potentially dangerous person and providing for mental health treatment for the potentially dangerous person, while preserving the fundamental rights of the Second Amendment and ensuring due process.
10.	Examine current statutes designed to protect minors from accessing firearms without proper supervision and make recommendations to ensure responsible and safe firearm storage, including enhancing the penalty to a felony when unauthorized access results in death or bodily injury.
Committee:	Senate Criminal Justice
Title:	Interim Report
Subjects:	Human trafficking | Inmate health | Mental health services | Mentally ill inmates | Prisoner re-entry | Recidivism | State jail system | Telemedicine |
Library Call Number:	L1836.85 C868
Session:	85th R.S. (2017)
Online version:	View report [148 pages]
Charges:	This report should address the charges below.
1.	Identify Successful Re-Entry Programs: Study current reentry programs and procedures across Texas' adult criminal justice system and identify which are most effective. Review best practices and make recommendations to ensure that incarcerated individuals who are released from a county or city jail, state jail, or the Texas Department of Criminal Justice have adequate supervision and access to employment, housing, treatment, and other support programs to allow for successful reentry and integration into the community and to prevent recidivism.
2.	State Jail Review to Improve Outcomes: Perform a comprehensive analysis and study of the Texas state jail system. Examine the access to and use of rehabilitation, vocation, and education programs. Determine whether current programs are effective and if there are efficiencies that can be found to reduce recidivism and improve outcomes.
3.	Telemedicine in Correctional Facilities: Review current availability and best practices in the state regarding the use of telemedicine for inmates in city or county jail, state jail, or the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Examine and make recommendations on whether access to care and outcomes can be improved through the expanded use of telemedicine for medical and mental health services, and whether expansion would create efficiencies. Examine barriers to implementation and expansion of telemedicine in correctional facilities.
4.	Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention: Study opportunities to increase awareness of human trafficking through public awareness campaigns, among local officials, and within public school districts including the identification of potential human trafficking and stash houses as well as how and where to report. Examine the Human Trafficking Prevention Business Partnership Program at the Office of the Secretary of State and provide recommendations for increasing participation of Texas businesses in the fight against human trafficking.
5.	Monitoring: Monitor the implementation of legislation addressed by the Senate Criminal Justice Committee during the 85th Legislature and make recommendations for any legislation needed to improve, enhance, and/ or complete implementation of the following: • Senate Bill 12, Relating to the creation of a grant program to assist law enforcement agencies with the purchase of bulletproof vests and body armor; • Senate Bill 30, Relating to the inclusion of instruction regarding interaction with peace officers in the required curriculu m for certain public school students and in driver education courses and to civilian interaction training for peace officers; and • Senate Bill 1326, Relating to procedures regarding criminal defendants who are or may be persons with a mental illness or an intellectual disability and to certain duties of the Office of Court Administration of the Texas Judicial System related to persons with mental illness.
Committee:	House Corrections
Title:	Interim Report
Subjects:	Administrative segregation | Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Texas Commission on | Bail | Court costs and fees | Criminal justice | Criminal Justice, Texas Department of | Drug enforcement | Drug rehabilitation programs | Expunged criminal records | Fees | Illegal drugs | Inmate rehabilitation | Inmates | Pardons and Paroles, Texas Board of | Parole | Probation | Recidivism | State jail system | Substance abuse | Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facilities | Technical parole violations | Windham School District |
Library Call Number:	L1836.84 C817
Session:	84th R.S. (2015)
Online version:	View report [73 pages]
Charges:	This report should address the charges below.
1.	Examine fees and revocations for those on probation and parole; examine effectiveness of fees imposed as a condition of probation and parole; study technical revocations in adult probation to identify drivers of revocations, disparities across the state, and strategies for reducing technical revocations while ensuring program effectiveness and public safety. (Joint charge with the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence)
2.	Study recidivism, its major causes, and existing programs designed to reduce recidivism, including a review of current programs utilized by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) and the Windham School District for incarcerated persons. Examine re-entry programs and opportunities for offenders upon release. Identify successful programs in other jurisdictions and consider how they might be implemented in Texas.
3.	Study incarceration rates for non-violent drug offenses and the cost to the state associated with those offenses. Identify alternatives to incarceration, including community supervision, that could be used to reduce incarceration rates of non-violent drug offenders.
4.	Study inmate release policies of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, including the release of inmates directly from administrative segregation. Identify best practices and policies for both the transitioning of these various inmate populations from the prison to appropriate supervision in the community. Identify any needed legislative changes necessary to accomplish these goals.
5.	Conduct legislative oversight and monitoring of the agencies and programs under the committee’s jurisdiction and the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 84th Legislature. In conducting this oversight, the committee should: a. consider any reforms to state agencies to make them more responsive to Texas taxpayers and citizens; b. identify issues regarding the agency or its governance that may be appropriate to investigate, improve, remedy, or eliminate; c. determine whether an agency is operating in a transparent and efficient manner; and d. identify opportunities to streamline programs and services while maintaining the mission of the agency and its programs.
Committee:	House Criminal Jurisprudence
Title:	Interim Report
Subjects:	Alternatives to incarceration | Children's mental health | Criminal records | Deferred adjudication | Inmate rehabilitation | Internet | Jail population | Juvenile crime | Juvenile justice system | Juveniles certified as adults | Mental health services | Mentally ill inmates | Parole | Prisoner re-entry | Probation | Public information | Recidivism | Restorative justice | Rules of the Texas House of Representatives | State jail system | Statutory revision | Substance abuse | Texas Penal Code | Vandalism |
Library Call Number:	L1836.83 C868h
Session:	83rd R.S. (2013)
Online version:	View report [82 pages]
Charges:	This report should address the charges below.
1.	Study the classification of 17-year-olds as adults in the criminal justice system of Texas.
2.	Study the effectiveness of deferred adjudication and orders for non-disclosure in spite of the many exceptions to the statute. Study extending the use of expunction of criminal records history and non-disclosures to certain qualified individuals with low-level, non-violent convictions. Examine the statutorily allowed but underused non-disclosure and expunction of criminal records, and the use of deferred adjudication.
3.	Study the impact of SB 1289, 83rd R.S.. Examine the sale of criminal histories that may be erroneous as well as the lasting impact that arrest records have on individuals who are arrested but not charged or convicted. Assess the need for revision of existing statutes and consider designating an agency responsible for regulating entities involved in the industry.
4.	Examine the association between co-occurring serious mental illness and substance use disorders and parole revocation among inmates from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Review current policies and procedures for incarcerating individuals with a dual mental health diagnosis in both state and county correctional facilities and examine potential remedies within the State's criminal justice system to ensure that the public is protected and that individuals with a mental health diagnosis receive a continuum of mental health services. (Joint charge with the House Committee on Corrections)
5.	Examine the current pecuniary loss thresholds associated with graffiti offenses. Study the costs of enhancing the penalties associated with the offense of graffiti, as well as a study of pretrial diversion programs that exist in other states and are specific to persons convicted of graffiti offenses. Study the existing Graffiti Abatement Programs in Texas.
6.	Evaluate the approximately 1,500 non-traditional criminal offenses that can be found outside of the Penal Code. Study the feasibility of streamlining these offenses and examine ambiguities in the law. Study the existing use of the Rule of Lenity and Mens Rea requirements in Texas and the benefit of codifying both of these standards.
7.	Examine the utilization of community supervision in state jail felonies and the effectiveness of the state jail in light of its original purpose.
8.	Conduct legislative oversight and monitoring of the agencies and programs under the committee’s jurisdiction and the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 83rd Legislature. In conducting this oversight, the committee should: a. consider any reforms to state agencies to make them more responsive to Texas taxpayers and citizens; b. identify issues regarding the agency or its governance that may be appropriate to investigate, improve, remedy, or eliminate; c. determine whether an agency is operating in a transparent and efficient manner; and d. identify opportunities to streamline programs and services while maintaining the mission of the agency and its programs.
Committee:	House Corrections
Title:	Interim Report
Subjects:	Border security | County jails | Criminal justice | Criminal Justice, Texas Department of | Disciplinary alternative education programs | Inmate rehabilitation | Juvenile justice alternative education programs | Juvenile Probation Commission, Texas | Mentally ill inmates | Mentally ill persons | Municipal jails | Prisoner re-entry | State jail system | Substance abuse | Undocumented immigrants | Youth Commission, Texas |
Library Call Number:	L1836.80 C817
Session:	80th R.S. (2007)
Online version:	View report [66 pages  File size: 29,320 kb]
Charges:	This report should address the charges below.
1.	Explore the use of technology practices that improve efficiency, safety, and coordination of criminal justice activities on the state, local and county levels.
2.	Consider new strategies for meeting prisoner reentry challenges in Texas, including the evaluation of programs with documented success. This review should include the availability of housing and occupational barriers.
3.	Provide a comprehensive analysis and study of the Texas state jail system, including original intent for use, sentencing guidelines, and effectiveness. Develop suggestions for changes and improvements in the state jail system.
4.	Study the organizational structure of the Texas Youth Commission and the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission to determine if the current system is effectively and efficiently addressing the needs of the juvenile justice system in conjunction with the sunset review of these agencies. (Joint Interim Charge with the House Committee on Juvenile Justice and Family Issues.)
5.	Study Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs and Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Programs, including referral rates, age of students, whether parents have sufficient recourse to challenge a placement, funding, and course requirements. (Joint Interim Charge with the House Committee on Juvenile Justice and Family Issues.)
6.	Review and research the availability, coordination, efficiency, and allocation of substance abuse treatment resources for probationers, pretrial defendants, people in the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), and parolees. This review should include methods to reduce and improve current assessments, training, and referring protocols and the identification of any barriers that may be impeding all of the above. (Joint Interim Charge wit the House Committee on Appropriations.)
7.	Study policies and procedures related to illegal immigration and border security of the TDCJ, county probation departments, and local and county jail facilities, and make recommendations to improve coordination with international, federal, state and local authorities. (Joint Interim Charge with the House Committee on County Affairs.)
8.	Assess the relationship between mental illness and criminal behavior and offer reforms needed to address the proliferation of mental illness in the adult and juvenile justice systems. This review should include an examination of data sharing between criminal justice and health and human services agencies, proper screening, assessments, treatment, discharge planning, post-release supervision, and community services. (Joint Charge with the House Committee on Appropriations.)
9.	Monitor the agencies and programs under the committee's jurisdiction.
Committee:	Senate Criminal Justice
Title:	Interim Report - Correctional institutions
Library Catalog Title:	Interim report, 77th Legislature : charge five.
Subjects:	County jails | Criminal Justice, Texas Department of | Inmate rehabilitation | Prison population | Prisons | Privately-operated prisons | Probation | State jail system | Youth Commission, Texas |
Library Call Number:	L1836.76 c868 5
Session:	76th R.S. (1999)
Online version:	View report [44 pages  File size: 1,580 kb]
Charge:	This report should address the charge below.
1.	Review the statutory purpose of all adult and juvenile correctional facilities, whether state, locally or privately owned or operated, to recommend any needed changes in the statutory description or purpose. The review shall include facilities that are considered alternatives to incarceration or that are used for geriatric care. The Committee shall consider whether state jails are adequately managed, if adequate sanctions are available for confinees who fail to participate in programming or who cause disciplinary problems, and how to ensure effective rehabilitation programs in facilities.
Committee:	Senate Criminal Justice
Title:	Interim report
Library Catalog Title:	Interim report, 75th Legislature.
Subjects:	Blood alcohol concentration | Criminal Justice, Texas Department of | Driving while intoxicated | Drug rehabilitation programs | Gun laws | Guns | Handguns - Registration | Inmate rehabilitation | Open container laws | Parole | Prison construction | Prison population | Privately-operated prisons | Probation | Public Safety, Texas Department of | Recidivism | Right to Carry Act | Services for persons with disabilities | Sex offenders | State jail system | Statutory revision | Substance abuse |
Library Call Number:	L1836.74 c868
Session:	74th R.S. (1995)
Online version:	View report [32 pages  File size: 1,664 kb]
Charges:	This report should address the charges below.
1.	Study and determine if there are any needed changes in the Driving While Intoxicated or related statutes, with a review of statutes in other states. This review should include, but not be limited to: the use of sobriety checkpoints; prohibition of open alcoholic beverage containers in motor vehicles; changing the blood alcohol threshold; and penalties for DWI offenses, including Intoxication Manslaughter.
2.	Review present and future substance abuse treatment programs in community programs, correctional facilities, and parole programs, to determine the number of offenders requiring treatment in all stages of the criminal justice system, the facility and personnel requirements to effectively treat offenders and to provide necessary aftercare by the year 2002, including projections for the next two bienniums.
3.	Review the progress of the state jails, including determining; (a) is programming available and effective for all state jail felons and if some are not receiving programming, why not; (b) is there effective programming in both the state operated and locally operated facilities; and (c) are programming efforts including preventing offenders from placing future demands on the criminal justice system.
4.	Review alternatives to incarceration that will reduce the need for further prison expansion, while improving public safety in light of the demand for prison space, through the year 2002.
5.	Review whether the Legislature should implement funding of the Department of Criminal Justice on performance of their efforts to reduce recidivism, including review of the Task Force on Recidivism.
6.	Monitor implementation of SB 60, 74th R.S., Right to Carry Act, and develop legislation to address administrative problems encountered by the Department of Public Safety and any other problems that may be identified.
7.	Review the cost and effectiveness of construction and operations, including programming, of Mode I and Mode II state jails, and any correctional facilities that are operated by private entities for use by the state, to determine which type of facility is the most cost effective to operate and which have the most effective programming and treatment, and to make recommendations to improve future operations, including cost effectiveness.
8.	Study and make recommendations for any penal or criminal justice issues that are identified as problems in legislation passed in the 74th Legislative Session, including omissions and unintended consequences of the legislation or related statutes, specifically including review of the criminal offenses created in the Education Code that may or may not conflict with provisions of the Penal Code.
9.	Review parole issues regarding sex offenders including available treatment and the statutory requirements as to which county the Parole Board may release an offender, to make recommendations for statutory changes, if any, that may be needed.
Supporting documents
Committee:	Senate Criminal Justice
Title:	Response by the Department of Criminal Justice
Library Catalog Title:	Response to the Senate Committee on Criminal Justice interim report, 75th Legislature.
Library Call Number:	L1836.74 c868r
Session:	74th R.S. (1995)
Online version:	View document [68 pages  File size: 2,626 kb]
Committee:	House Corrections
Title:	Interim report
Library Catalog Title:	To the speaker and members of the Texas House of Representatives, 74th Legislature : report of the Committee on Corrections, Texas House of Representatives, 74th Legislature.
Subjects:	Criminal Justice, Texas Department of | Inmate health | Inmate rehabilitation | Managed care | Prison construction | Prison labor | Prison population | Recidivism | State agency mandated reports | State jail system | Telemedicine | Windham School District |
Library Call Number:	L1836.73 c868
Session:	73rd R.S. (1993)
Online version:	View report [64 pages  File size: 2,429 kb]
Charges:	This report should address the charges below.
1.	Conduct active oversight of agencies under the committee's jurisdiction, including a study of mandated reports to the legislature and legislative agencies. The study should consist of a review of the legislative reporting requirements of all agencies to identify areas where reporting obligations could be streamlined and agency accountability improved. The committee shall make specific recommendations about the continuation, modification or elimination of required legislative reports.
2.	Monitor and report on the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's implementation of the managed health care system established in SB 378, 73rd Legislature, Regular Session.
3.	Monitor the construction of facilities by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Report to the legislature on construction progress and make recommendations regarding the adequacy and effectiveness of the construction program.
4.	Study the effects of inmate job training on recidivism, as proposed in HB 1602, 73rd Legislature, Regular Session.
5.	Study the use of private industry prison work programs and the assumption of costs by the prison through these programs.

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