Title GV, Government Code

Sec. 492.009. SEAL. (a) The board shall use an official seal to attest to official acts of the board. (b) The official seal must contain an engraved, five-pointed star in the center with the words "Texas Board of Criminal Justice" around the margin. Added by Acts 1989, 71st Leg.,…

Sec. 492.010. SUITS BY BOARD. (a) The board may sue for the collection and enforcement of demands and debts owed to the department. The venue of a suit authorized by this section is in Travis County. The attorney general shall represent the board. (b) In a suit brought against th…

Sec. 492.012. SUNSET PROVISION. The Texas Board of Criminal Justice and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice are subject to Chapter 325 (Texas Sunset Act). Unless continued in existence as provided by that chapter, the board and the department are abolished September 1, 2037.…

Sec. 492.013. GENERAL POWERS AND DUTIES OF BOARD. (a) The board shall maintain oversight and supervision of the following independent reporting entities: (1) the office of the independent auditor; (2) the office of the independent ombudsman; (3) the office of the inspector genera…

Sec. 492.0131. PAROLE RULES, POLICIES, PROCEDURES. The board and the presiding officer of the Board of Pardons and Paroles shall jointly review all rules, policies, and procedures of the department and the Board of Pardons and Paroles that relate to or affect the operation of the…

Sec. 492.014. HEADQUARTERS. (a) The board shall maintain headquarters in Austin. (b) The department shall maintain dual headquarters in Austin and Huntsville. The institutional division shall maintain its headquarters in Huntsville and may not assign more than 15 personnel to Aus…

Sec. 492.015. USE OF TECHNOLOGY. The board shall implement a policy requiring the department to use appropriate technological solutions to improve the department's ability to perform its functions. The policy must ensure that the public is able to interact with the department on …

Sec. 492.016. NEGOTIATED RULEMAKING; ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION. (a) The board shall develop and implement a policy to encourage the use of: (1) negotiated rulemaking procedures under Chapter 2008 for the adoption of department rules; and (2) appropriate alternative dispute r…

Sec. 492.017. LEGISLATIVE APPROPRIATIONS REQUEST. (a) The board shall require the department to submit each legislative appropriations request, accompanied by the most recent report prepared by the community justice assistance division of the department under Section 509.004(c), …

Sec. 493.001. DEPARTMENT MISSION. The mission of the department is to provide public safety, promote positive change in offender behavior, reintegrate offenders into society, and assist victims of crime. Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 16, Sec. 10.01(a), eff. Aug. 26, 1991. Am…

Sec. 493.002. DIVISIONS. (a) The following divisions are within the department: (1) the community justice assistance division; (2) the institutional division; (3) the parole division; and (4) the rehabilitation and reentry division. (b) The board may establish additional division…

Sec. 493.0021. ORGANIZATIONAL FLEXIBILITY. (a) Notwithstanding Sections 493.002, 493.003, 493.004, 493.005, 493.0052, and 493.0053, the executive director, with the approval of the board, may: (1) create divisions in addition to those listed in Section 493.002 and assign to the n…

Sec. 493.003. COMMUNITY JUSTICE ASSISTANCE DIVISION. (a) The community justice assistance division shall: (1) establish minimum standards for programs, facilities, and services provided by community supervision and corrections departments; and (2) fund programs, facilities, and s…

Sec. 493.004. INSTITUTIONAL DIVISION. The institutional division shall operate and manage: (1) the state prison system; and (2) state jails to confine defendants described by Section 507.002. Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 16, Sec. 10.01(a), eff. Aug. 26, 1991. Amended by: Ac…

Sec. 493.005. PAROLE DIVISION. The parole division shall supervise and reintegrate individuals into society after release from confinement. Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 16, Sec. 10.01(a), eff. Aug. 26, 1991. Amended by: Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1022 (S.B. 2405), Sec.…

Sec. 493.0052. OFFICE OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITOR. (a) The office of the independent auditor is established under the supervision of the board. (b) The board shall hire a director for the office of the independent auditor. The employment of the director may be terminated only with…

Sec. 493.0053. REHABILITATION AND REENTRY DIVISION. (a) The rehabilitation and reentry division shall administer those rehabilitation and reintegration programs and services designated by the board under Subsection (b). (b) The board shall determine which programs and services op…

Sec. 493.006. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. (a) The board shall employ an executive director who possesses the following minimum qualifications: (1) five years experience in the field of corrections in an administrative capacity; (2) three years experience in the field of corrections in an…

Sec. 493.007. PERSONNEL. (a) The executive director shall develop an intraagency career ladder program. The program shall require intraagency postings of all nonentry level positions concurrently with any public postings. (b) The executive director shall develop a system of annua…

Sec. 493.0071. EMPLOYEE EXIT INTERVIEWS. (a) The department shall adopt a policy that provides for an exit interview of each institutional division employee who terminates employment with the department. Employee participation in the interview process is voluntary, and the depart…

Sec. 493.0075. DONATION OF ACCRUED COMPENSATORY TIME OR ACCRUED ANNUAL LEAVE FOR LEGISLATIVE PURPOSES. (a) The executive director shall allow a correctional officer employed by the department to voluntarily transfer to a legislative leave pool up to eight hours of compensatory ti…

Sec. 493.008. AUDIT BY STATE AUDITOR. The financial transactions of the department are subject to audit by the state auditor in accordance with Chapter 321, and the state auditor shall include in the audit report a review of the department's employment practices to ensure that th…

Sec. 493.0081. LEGISLATIVE APPROPRIATIONS REQUEST. The department shall include in each legislative appropriations request submitted to the Legislative Budget Board the information contained in the most recent report prepared by the community justice assistance division under Sec…

Sec. 493.0082. DISPOSITION OF CERTAIN FINANCIAL ASSETS. (a) All money and other financial assets collected or received by the department shall be deposited: (1) in the general revenue fund of the state treasury; (2) in trust with the comptroller; or (3) in a local bank account on…

Sec. 493.0083. PROGRAM EVALUATION CAPABILITY. The department shall maintain a program evaluation capability separate from the rehabilitation and reentry division to determine the effectiveness of rehabilitation and reintegration programs and services provided to inmates and other…

Sec. 493.0084. INVENTORY AND EVALUATION OF ACTIVE PROGRAMS. (a) The department shall develop and maintain a comprehensive inventory of active programs and activities offered in department facilities that includes the following information for each program: (1) program goals; (2) …

Sec. 493.009. SUBSTANCE ABUSE FELONY PUNISHMENT FACILITIES. (a) The department shall establish a program to confine and treat: (1) defendants required to participate in the program under Article 42A.303, Code of Criminal Procedure; and (2) individuals referred for treatment as pa…

Sec. 493.010. CONTRACTS FOR MISCELLANEOUS HOUSING. (a) The board, for the temporary or permanent housing of inmates, may enter into leases or contract with: (1) public or private jails; or (2) operators of alternative housing facilities. (b) The board may not enter into a lease o…

Sec. 493.011. CONSULTANT CONTRACTS FOR PRISON CONSTRUCTION. The board may not contract for construction-related consulting services to the board with an individual or firm if that individual or firm is also under contract with the department to provide construction management ser…

Sec. 493.012. HISTORICALLY UNDERUTILIZED BUSINESSES. (a) The board and the department each shall make a good faith effort to assist historically underutilized businesses to receive at least 30 percent of the total value of: (1) each construction contract awarded for construction,…

Sec. 493.013. FEDERAL FUNDS COMMITTEE. (a) The board shall ensure that the federal funds committee of the department includes representatives of all divisions of the department that may be able to assist the committee in identifying and qualifying for additional federal funds, sp…

Sec. 493.014. APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN GRIEVANCE PROCEDURES. A grievance procedure of the department or a division of the department, including the procedure established under Section 501.008, applies to a grievance of an inmate or other person under the custody or control of the…

Sec. 493.0145. IDENTIFICATION OF INMATES SUBJECT TO ARREST WARRANT. Before an inmate is discharged or is released on parole or mandatory supervision from the department, the department shall conduct a criminal history record check to determine whether the inmate is the subject of…

Sec. 493.015. IDENTIFICATION OF DEPORTABLE ALIENS. (a) In this section, "illegal criminal alien" means an alien who has been convicted of a felony and is in the custody of the state and who: (1) entered the United States without inspection or at any time or any place other than a…

Sec. 493.0151. DYNAMIC RISK ASSESSMENT OF SEX OFFENDERS. (a) For purposes of this section, "sexual offense" means a criminal offense the conviction of which requires a person to register as a sex offender under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure. (b) Before an inmate who is s…

Sec. 493.0155. PROPER IDENTIFICATION OF INMATES USING ALIAS. On receipt of information from the Department of Public Safety under Article 66.105, Code of Criminal Procedure, that a person's identifying information may have been falsely used by an inmate as the inmate's identifyin…

Sec. 493.016. INFORMATION OF PUBLIC INTEREST; COMPLAINTS. (a) The department shall prepare information of public interest describing the functions of the department and the procedures by which complaints are filed with and resolved by the department. The department shall make the…

Sec. 493.017. REPORTS ON SEX OFFENDER TREATMENT. (a) A sex offender correction program that provides counseling sessions for a sex offender under Article 42A.453, Code of Criminal Procedure, shall report to the community supervision and corrections department officer supervising …

Sec. 493.018. CARE OF TERMINALLY ILL INMATES. (a) The department may provide direct hospice services for terminally ill inmates and defendants confined in facilities operated by the department or may contract with a licensed hospice for the provision of those services. Hospice se…

Sec. 493.019. OFFICE OF THE INSPECTOR GENERAL. (a) The office of the inspector general is established under the direction of the board as an independent law enforcement agency and is responsible for preventing and investigating: (1) offenses committed by department employees and …

Sec. 493.0191. ADMINISTRATIVE SUBPOENAS. (a) The inspector general may issue an administrative subpoena to a communication common carrier or an electronic communications service provider to compel the production of the carrier's or service provider's business records that: (1) di…

Sec. 493.020. SEAL OF DEPARTMENT. (a) The department shall use an official seal to certify documents received by the department under Sections 8(a) and (c), Article 42.09, Code of Criminal Procedure. (b) The official seal must contain an engraved, five-pointed star in the center …

Sec. 493.021. ELECTRONIC CREATION AND TRANSMISSION OF DOCUMENTS. (a) If a statute requires the department to create a document, the department through electronic means may create and maintain the information that would otherwise be contained in a paper document. If a statute requ…

Sec. 493.022. POLYGRAPH EXAMINATION. An employee of the department who is the subject of a written complaint made by or filed with the department may not be suspended, discharged, or subjected to any other form of employment discrimination by the department because the employee r…

Sec. 493.023. CHARITABLE FUND-RAISING. (a) Under policies established by the department, a department employee may participate in fund-raising activities conducted on department property on the employee's own time for the benefit of an eligible charitable organization. The depart…

Sec. 493.024. APPLICATION OF LAW RELATING TO FREE EXERCISE OF RELIGION. For purposes of Chapter 110, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, an ordinance, rule, order, decision, or practice that applies to a person in the custody of a jail or other correctional facility operated by or …