Title GV, Government Code

Sec. 498.002. CLASSIFICATION AND RECLASSIFICATION. The department shall classify each inmate as soon as practicable on the inmate's arrival at the institutional division and, subject to the requirements of Section 498.005, shall reclassify the inmate as circumstances warrant. Eac…

Sec. 498.003. ACCRUAL OF GOOD CONDUCT TIME. (a) Good conduct time applies only to eligibility for parole or mandatory supervision as provided by Section 508.145 or 508.147 and does not otherwise affect an inmate's term. Good conduct time is a privilege and not a right. Regardless…

Sec. 498.004. FORFEITURE AND RESTORATION OF GOOD CONDUCT TIME. (a) If, during the actual term of imprisonment of an inmate in the department, the inmate commits an offense or violates a rule of the department, the department may forfeit all or any part of the inmate's accrued goo…

Sec. 498.0042. FORFEITURE FOR CONTACTING VICTIMS. (a) The department shall adopt policies that prohibit an inmate in the institutional division from contacting by letter, telephone, or any other means, either directly or indirectly, a victim of the offense for which the inmate is…

Sec. 498.0045. FORFEITURE OF GOOD CONDUCT TIME: FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS. (a) In this section, "final order" means a certified copy of a final order of a state or federal court that dismisses as frivolous or malicious a lawsuit, including a proceeding arising from an application for wr…

Sec. 498.005. ANNUAL REVIEW OF CLASSIFICATION; RETROACTIVE AWARD OF GOOD TIME. At least annually, the board shall review the institutional division's policies relating to the manner in which inmates are classified and reclassified, and the manner in which additional good conduct …

Sec. 499.001. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: (1) "Community residential facility" means a facility under contract with the department under Section 508.119 or another facility or residence approved by the department. (2) "Eligible inmate" means an inmate in the actual physical …

Sec. 499.002. TRANSFER TO COMMUNITY RESIDENTIAL FACILITY. (a) The parole division may assume custody of an eligible inmate not more than one year before the inmate's presumptive parole date or mandatory supervision release date. The eligible inmate becomes a pre-parolee on the da…

Sec. 499.0021. TRANSFER OF REVOKED DEFENDANTS. (a) An inmate is eligible for transfer under this section if the inmate is confined in the institutional division or a county jail following revocation of community supervision on grounds other than the commission of a subsequent fel…

Sec. 499.003. TRANSFER FROM JAIL OR OTHER CORRECTIONAL FACILITY. (a) A person is eligible for transfer under this section from a jail or correctional institution to a secure community residential facility if: (1) the person has been sentenced to a term of confinement in the insti…

Sec. 499.004. RULES; SUPERVISION OF PRE-PAROLEES. (a) The department shall establish policies for the conduct of pre-parolees transferred under this subchapter. (b) On transfer, the pre-parolee is subject to supervision by the parole division and shall obey the orders of the Boar…

Sec. 499.005. TRANSFER TO PAROLE STATUS. (a) If a pre-parolee transferred under this subchapter satisfactorily serves a term in a community residential facility until the pre-parolee's presumptive parole date, the Board of Pardons and Paroles may transfer the pre-parolee from pre…

Sec. 499.007. LEGISLATIVE INTENT. It is the intent of the legislature that this subchapter not create an expectation of release on the part of any individual. Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 16, Sec. 10.01(a). SUBCHAPTER B. POPULATION MANAGEMENT

Sec. 499.021. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: (1) "Capacity" means the greatest density of inmates in relation to space available for inmate housing in the institutional division that is in compliance with standards for prison population established by the board. (2) "Intensive …

Sec. 499.022. PURPOSE. (a) The purpose of this subchapter is to: (1) allow the department the flexibility to house inmates in appropriate settings and determine the proper amount of available housing; and (2) provide the executive branch with alternatives to appropriately balance…

Sec. 499.023. INAPPLICABILITY. This subchapter does not apply to emergency overcrowding if the situation is the direct result of the destruction of institutional division facilities by a natural or man-made disaster. Added by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 212, Sec. 2.01, eff. Sept. 1…

Sec. 499.024. CALCULATION OF AVAILABLE SPACE. Temporary housing may not be considered for the purpose of computation of space available for inmate housing. Added by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 212, Sec. 2.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Renumbered from Sec. 498.024 by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg.,…

Sec. 499.025. AWARD OF ADMINISTRATIVE GOOD CONDUCT TIME; ADVANCEMENT OF PAROLE ELIGIBILITY DATE. (a) If the inmate population of the department reaches 99 percent or more of capacity, the executive director shall immediately notify the board in writing of that fact. Until the inm…

Sec. 499.026. RELEASE PROCEDURE. (a) If a parole panel releases an inmate under this subchapter, the panel shall impose conditions and limitations as appropriate on the parolee and to the extent practicable shall maximize placements in residential treatment centers. The parole pa…

Sec. 499.027. ELIGIBLE INMATES. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) and subject to the conditions imposed by this subchapter, an inmate is eligible under this subchapter to be considered for release to intensive supervision parole if the inmate is awaiting transfer to the in…

Sec. 499.051. NOTIFICATION OF RELEASE OF GANG MEMBER. (a) On the release of an inmate determined by the department to be a member of a security threat group, the department shall notify the sheriff of the county to which the inmate is released and, if the inmate is released to a …

Sec. 499.053. TRANSFERS FROM TEXAS JUVENILE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OR POST-ADJUDICATION SECURE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY. (a) In this section, "post-adjudication secure correctional facility" has the meaning assigned by Section 152.00011, Human Resources Code. (a-1) The department shall …

Sec. 499.054. SEX OFFENDER TREATMENT PROGRAM. (a) In this section, "sex offender treatment program" means a comprehensive treatment program that: (1) psychologically evaluates inmates who are serving a sentence for an offense described by Section 12.42(c)(2), Penal Code; (2) addr…

Sec. 499.055. POPULATION MANAGEMENT BASED ON INMATE HEALTH. The department shall adopt policies designed to manage inmate population based on similar health conditions suffered by inmates. The policies adopted under this section must maximize organizational efficiencies and reduc…

Sec. 499.071. SCHEDULED ADMISSIONS POLICY. The board shall adopt and enforce a scheduled admissions policy that requires the department to: (1) review documents received under Section 8(a) or (c), Article 42.09, Code of Criminal Procedure, and certify the documents or notify the …

Sec. 499.072. LOCATION OF CENTRAL PRISON UNIT. (a) The department shall conduct a feasibility study of relocating the Central Prison Unit and the adjoining prison housing units from their current location in Sugar Land, Texas, to a location that more appropriately addresses the n…

Sec. 499.101. MAXIMUM CAPACITIES. (a) The board by rule shall establish maximum capacities for the units in the department. (b) It is the intent of the legislature that as case law evolves and indicates that maximum capacities for units in the department may be increased, the sta…

Sec. 499.102. STAFF DETERMINATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. (a) The staff of the department, on its own initiative or as directed by the governor or the board, may recommend to the administration of the institutional division that the maximum capacity for a unit be increased if the s…

Sec. 499.103. NOTICE TO INMATES. (a) The director of the institutional division shall prominently display in areas accessible to inmates housed in a unit for which the staff has recommended an increase in capacity copies of the recommendation and findings accompanying the recomme…

Sec. 499.104. OFFICERS' REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATION. The executive director of the department, the director of the institutional division, the deputy director for operations, the deputy director for finance, the deputy director for programs, the division director for health service…

Sec. 499.105. BOARD REVIEW AND IMPLEMENTATION; NOTICE TO GOVERNOR. The board shall review the recommendation and findings forwarded to the board under Section 499.104. Not later than the 60th day after the date the board receives the recommendation and findings, the board shall r…

Sec. 499.108. CAPACITY FOR NEW UNITS. (a) Before construction begins on a unit of the institutional division for which construction was not approved before January 1, 1991, the board shall establish a maximum capacity for the unit. (b) Maximum capacity for a unit must be establis…

Sec. 499.109. SYSTEM CAPACITY. (a) The inmate population of the department may not exceed 100 percent of the combined capacities of each unit in the department, as determined by this subchapter. (b) The board may authorize the department to increase the inmate population of the d…

Sec. 499.110. ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE ACT. Subchapter B, Chapter 2001, applies to all reviews, recommendations, and decisions made under Sections 499.102-499.109. Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 655, Sec. 2, eff. June 16, 1991. Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 5.…

Sec. 499.121. LEGISLATIVE DECLARATION; MANDAMUS. (a) The legislature declares that until September 1, 1995, the institutional division shall continue to perform its duty to accept inmates only as provided by the allocation formula established under Section 499.071. (b) The legisl…

Sec. 499.1214. PEN PACKET SUBMISSION TRAINING. (a) The department shall develop and provide annual training for county employees on the submission of documents required before the department takes custody of a person being transferred from a county jail to the department, includi…

Sec. 499.1215. TRANSFER TO DEPARTMENT; COMPENSATION TO COUNTIES. (a) In this section, "cost of confinement" means the amount that would have been incurred by the department to confine a person. The term does not include costs for medical, behavioral, or pharmaceutical care. (b) T…

Sec. 499.122. INMATE COUNT. The Commission on Jail Standards shall analyze monthly the population of each jail in this state that is the jail for a qualifying county and determine the number of inmates confined in the jail who are awaiting transfer to the institutional division f…

Sec. 499.123. PAYMENT. (a) Not later than the 32nd day after the effective date of this subchapter, the Commission on Jail Standards shall determine for each jail in this state that is the jail for a qualifying county the number of inmates confined in the jail on April 1, 1991, w…

Sec. 499.124. EMERGENCY OVERCROWDING RELIEF. (a) From the effective date of this subchapter until August 31, 1993, for each month in which the number of inmates confined in a jail that is the jail for a qualifying county who are awaiting transfer to the institutional division fol…

Sec. 499.125. TRANSFER OF FELONY BACKLOG. (a) If a state or federal court determines that conditions in a county jail are unconstitutional, and if on or after October 1, 1991, the percentage of inmates in the jail awaiting transfer to the institutional division is 20 percent or m…

Sec. 499.126. DEFINITION. (a) In this subchapter, "qualifying county" means a county that: (1) on or after the effective date of this subchapter does not initiate or become a party to a suit against the state or a state agency or state official, the subject of which is the reimbu…

Sec. 499.156. VOCATIONAL TRAINING. The department shall adopt a policy under which a representative of a public or private entity, including a public or private institution of higher education, may provide vocational training on a voluntary basis to inmates. Added by Acts 2021, 8…

Sec. 500.001. SUPERVISORY OR DISCIPLINARY AUTHORITY OF INMATES. (a) An inmate housed in a facility operated by the department or under contract with the department may not act in a supervisory or administrative capacity over another inmate. (b) An inmate housed in a facility oper…

Sec. 500.002. DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY. (a) An inmate housed in a facility operated by the department or under contract with the department is liable for the inmate's intentional damage to property belonging to the state. If more than one inmate is involved in damage to property, …

Sec. 500.003. GAMBLING PROHIBITED. Gambling is not permitted at any place in a facility operated by or under contract with the department where inmates are housed or worked. An employee of the department who engages in gambling or knowingly permits gambling at any place where inm…