Olcott Bill’s First Statewide Jail Report Waits Until 2027

The text as introduced · 790 words

89R15572 MCF-D

By: Olcott
H.B. No. 4878

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to reporting regarding the confinement in the Texas

Department of Criminal Justice or a county jail of certain persons

not lawfully present.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Chapter 493, Government Code, is amended by

adding Section 493.01505 to read as follows:

Sec. 493.01505. REPORT REGARDING ILLEGAL CRIMINAL ALIENS.

(a) In this section, "illegal criminal alien" has the meaning

assigned by Section 493.015.

(b) Not later than January 31 of each year, the department

shall prepare and submit to the governor, the lieutenant governor,

and each member of the legislature a written report on the

confinement, during the preceding year, of illegal criminal aliens

in facilities operated by or under contract with the department.

The report must include:

(1) the number of illegal criminal aliens confined and

the total cost to confine those aliens;

(2) the percentage of each facility's capacity that is

occupied by illegal criminal aliens;

(3) the estimated cost to confine all illegal criminal

aliens for the remainder of each alien's sentence; and

(4) other information regarding the total impact of

illegal criminal aliens on each facility.

SECTION 2. Section 511.0101(a), Government Code, is amended

to read as follows:

(a) Each county shall submit to the commission on or before

the fifth day of each month a report containing the following

information:

(1) the number of prisoners confined in the county

jail on the first day of the month, classified on the basis of the

following categories:

(A) total prisoners;

(B) pretrial Class C misdemeanor offenders;

(C) pretrial Class A and B misdemeanor offenders;

(D) convicted misdemeanor offenders;

(E) felony offenders whose penalty has been

reduced to a misdemeanor;

(F) pretrial felony offenders;

(G) convicted felony offenders;

(H) prisoners detained on bench warrants;

(I) prisoners detained for parole violations;

(J) prisoners detained for federal officers;

(K) prisoners awaiting transfer to the

institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice

following conviction of a felony or revocation of probation,

parole, or release on mandatory supervision and for whom paperwork

and processing required for transfer have been completed;

(L) prisoners detained after having been

transferred from another jail and for whom the commission has made a

payment under Subchapter F, Chapter 499, Government Code;

(M) prisoners for whom an immigration detainer

has been issued by United States Immigration and Customs

Enforcement;

(N) prisoners who are not:

(i) a citizen or national of the United

States; or

(ii) an alien who is lawfully admitted for

permanent residence in the United States under the federal

Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. Section 1101 et seq.) or

authorized to be employed by that act or the United States attorney

general;

(O) female prisoners; and

(P) [ (O) ] other prisoners;

(2) the total capacity of the county jail on the first

day of the month;

(3) the total number of prisoners who were confined in

the county jail during the preceding month, based on a count

conducted on each day of that month, who were known or had been

determined to be pregnant;

(4) the total cost to the county during the preceding

month of housing prisoners described by Subdivision (1)(M),

calculated based on the average daily cost of housing a prisoner in

the county jail; [ and ]

(5) for prisoners described by Subdivision (1)(N):

(A) the total cost to the county during the

preceding month and the estimated cost to the county for the current

month of housing those prisoners calculated based on the average

daily cost of housing a prisoner in the county jail; and

(B) the total impact of prisoners described by

Subdivision (1)(N) in the county jail; and

(6) certification by the reporting official that the

information in the report is accurate.

SECTION 3. Chapter 511, Government Code, is amended by

adding Section 511.01021 to read as follows:

Sec. 511.01021. REPORT REGARDING PRISONERS NOT LAWFULLY

PRESENT. Not later than January 31 of each year, the commission

shall:

(1) aggregate the information submitted to the

commission under Sections 511.0101(a)(1)(N) and (a)(5); and

(2) submit to the governor, the lieutenant governor,

and each member of the legislature a report for the preceding year

on the information aggregated under Subdivision (1).

SECTION 4. (a) Notwithstanding Section 493.01505,

Government Code, as added by this Act, the Texas Department of

Criminal Justice is not required to submit the initial report

required by that section until January 31, 2027.

(b) Notwithstanding Section 511.01021, Government Code, as

added by this Act, the Commission on Jail Standards is not required

to submit the initial report required by that section until January

31, 2027.

SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.