Texas Government Code Title 4, Chapter 497 - Industry And Agriculture; Labor Of Inmates

SUBCHAPTER A TEXAS CORRECTIONAL INDUSTRIES

• Texas Section 497.001 - Texas Correctional Industries; Definitions
  (a) Texas Correctional Industries is an office in the department. (b) In this subchapter and Subchapter B: (1) "Office" means Texas Correctional Industries. (2) "Articles...
• Texas Section 497.002 - Purpose; Implementation
  (a) The purposes of the office are to implement this subchapter and Subchapter B to: (1) provide work program participants with marketable job skills to...
• Texas Section 497.003 - Advisory Committee
  (a) The board may establish a prison industries advisory committee. If the board establishes a prison industries advisory committee, the advisory committee must be composed...
• Texas Section 497.004 - Labor, Pay
  (a) The board may develop by rule and the department may administer an incentive pay scale for work program participants consistent with rules adopted by...
• Texas Section 497.005 - Industrial Receipts
  The office may use money appropriated to the office in amounts corresponding to receipts from the sale of articles and products under this subchapter and...
• Texas Section 497.006 - Contracts With Private Business
  (a) To encourage the development and expansion of prison industries, the prison industries office may enter into necessary contracts related to the prison industries program....
• Texas Section 497.007 - Grants
  The office may accept any grant designated for work program participant vocational rehabilitation. The office shall maintain records relating to the receipt and disbursement of...
• Texas Section 497.008 - Lease Of Land
  To further the expansion and development of prison industries, the department may lease prison land to a private business. A lease under this section may...
• Texas Section 497.010 - Offense: Sale Or Offer Of Sale Of Prison-produced Articles Or Products
  (a) A person commits an offense if the person intentionally sells or offers to sell on the open market in this state an article or...
• Texas Section 497.011 - Certain Contracts Prohibited
  The department may not enter into a contract with a private business or public entity that requires or permits an inmate confined in a correctional...

SUBCHAPTER B SALES OF PRISON-MADE ARTICLES OR PRODUCTS

• Texas Section 497.012 - Repair And Resale Of Surplus Data Processing Equipment
  (a) The department may receive surplus or salvage data processing equipment from a state agency under Chapter 2175 or from any political subdivision that chooses...
• Texas Section 497.021 - Authority
  This subchapter governs the sale of prison-made products to governmental agencies. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1409, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1997.
• Texas Section 497.0211 - Exception: Institutions Of Higher Education
  This subchapter does not apply to an institution of higher education, as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code. Added by Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch....
• Texas Section 497.022 - Contracts
  The department may contract with: (1) another state, the federal government, a foreign government, or an agency of any of those governments to manufacture for...
• Texas Section 497.023 - Priorities
  Under this subchapter and Subchapter A, the office shall produce products and articles first to fulfill the needs of agencies of the state and second...
• Texas Section 497.024 - Agencies And Political Subdivisions: Duties To Purchase
  (a) If the office produces an article or product under this subchapter, an agency of the state or a political subdivision may purchase the article...
• Texas Section 497.025 - Purchasing Procedure
  (a) An agency of the state that purchases articles and products under this subchapter must requisition the purchase through the comptroller except for purchases of...
• Texas Section 497.026 - Prices
  The office and the comptroller shall determine the sales price of articles and products produced under this subchapter. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch....
• Texas Section 497.027 - Specifications
  (a) The comptroller shall establish specifications for articles and products produced under this subchapter. An article or product produced under this subchapter must meet specifications...
• Texas Section 497.028 - Catalogs
  The office shall prepare catalogs that accurately and completely describe articles and products produced under this subchapter. The office shall send copies of the catalogs...
• Texas Section 497.029 - New Articles And Products
  The comptroller may request the office to produce additional articles or products under this subchapter. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1409, Sec. 1,...

SUBCHAPTER C PRIVATE SECTOR PRISON INDUSTRIES PROGRAMS

• Texas Section 497.031 - Sale Of State Flags To State Agency
  The department shall sell state flags to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement at a price that does not exceed the department's cost in producing...
• Texas Section 497.051 - Purpose; Definitions
  (a) The board shall approve, certify, and supervise the operation of private sector prison industries programs in the department, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, and...
• Texas Section 497.0527 - Complaints
  (a) The board shall maintain a file on each written complaint filed with the board in relation to a private sector prison industries program. The...
• Texas Section 497.056 - Private Sector Prison Industries Account
  (a) The department shall forward money collected under Section 497.0581 to the comptroller. The comptroller shall deposit the money in the general revenue fund. (b)...
• Texas Section 497.057 - Rules
  The board shall adopt rules as necessary to ensure that the private sector prison industries program authorized by this subchapter is in compliance with the...
• Texas Section 497.058 - Piecp Wage
  (a) The board by rule shall require that participants at each private sector prison industries program be paid not less than the prison industry enhancement...
• Texas Section 497.0581 - Participant Contributions; Assistance Account
  (a) The board by rule shall determine the amount of deductions to be taken from wages received by the participant under this subchapter and the...
• Texas Section 497.059 - Limiting Impact Of Certification On Non-prison Industry
  (a) The board may not grant initial certification to a private sector prison industries program if the board determines that the operation of the program...
• Texas Section 497.0595 - Limitation On Contracts
  (a) A governmental entity may not enter into a contract or renew a contract with an employer for a private sector prison industries program under...
• Texas Section 497.0596 - Notice Concerning Certain Contracts
  (a) Not later than the 60th day before the date a governmental entity intends to enter into a contract with an employer for a private...
• Texas Section 497.060 - Workers' Compensation
  The board by rule shall require private sector prison industries program employers to meet or exceed all federal requirements for providing compensation to participants injured...
• Texas Section 497.061 - Recidivism Studies
  The board shall gather data to determine whether participation in a private sector prison industries program is a factor that reduces recidivism among participants. Added...
• Texas Section 497.062 - Limitation On Number Of Participants And Cost Accounting Centers
  (a) The board may certify private sector prison industries programs that meet or exceed the requirements of federal law and the rules of the board....
• Texas Section 497.063 - Contract Requirements
  (a) The board shall adopt rules requiring a contract entered into by a governmental entity concerning a private sector prison industries program operated under this...

SUBCHAPTER D TRUSTIES

• Texas Section 497.064 - Availability Of Certain Information On Internet
  The board shall make the following information available on any publicly accessible Internet website that is maintained by the board and contains any information concerning...
• Texas Section 497.081 - Appointment
  (a) For the purposes of this subchapter, only the institutional division may appoint an inmate to serve as a trusty, under policies adopted by the...
• Texas Section 497.082 - Use Of Regular Inmates As Trusties Prohibited
  An employee of the institutional division may not use the inmate as a trusty unless the division appoints the inmate to serve as a trusty....
• Texas Section 497.083 - Restrictions On Trusties
  (a) A trusty may not be permitted to leave the location where the institutional division has assigned the trusty unless the trusty is on division...
• Texas Section 497.084 - Honor Farms
  This subchapter does not apply to an institutional division farm established by the board as an honor farm. Added by Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch....

SUBCHAPTER E GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATED TO INMATE LABOR

• Texas Section 497.085 - Failure To Enforce; Removal
  A member of the board or employee of the institutional division who is required to enforce this subchapter and fails or refuses to do so...
• Texas Section 497.091 - Contracts For Inmate Labor
  (a) In this section: (1) "Agency" has the meaning assigned that term by Section 771.002. (2) "Local government" has the meaning assigned that term by...
• Texas Section 497.092 - Highway Improvement
  (a) The board and the Texas Transportation Commission may enter into and perform an agreement or contract for the use of inmate labor for a...
• Texas Section 497.093 - Inmate Labor At Sam Houston State University
  The institutional division may provide trusties to work at Sam Houston State University. The institutional division shall maintain control over the trusties at all times....
• Texas Section 497.094 - Job Training Programs
  (a) The department shall implement a job training program for each job performed by an inmate confined in a facility operated by or under contract...
• Texas Section 497.095 - Inmate's Work Record
  The department shall establish a permanent record for each inmate confined, and for each defendant or releasee housed, in a facility operated by or under...
• Texas Section 497.096 - Liability Protections
  An employee of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, sheriff, employee of a sheriff's department, county commissioner, county employee, county judge, employee of a community...
• Texas Section 497.097 - Use Of State Jail Felons
  The department may use the labor of defendants confined in a state jail felony facility in any work or community service program or project performed...

SUBCHAPTER F AGRICULTURE

• Texas Section 497.099 - Participation In Work Program Required
  (a) The department shall require each inmate and each defendant or releasee housed in a facility operated by or under contract with the department to...
• Texas Section 497.111 - Advisory Committee On Agriculture
  (a) The Advisory Committee on Agriculture to the institutional division is created. (b) The advisory committee consists of five members. One member must be a...
• Texas Section 497.112 - Agricultural Efficiency And Economy
  (a) The institutional division shall review annually the agricultural operations of the division. The review must include: (1) a cost-effectiveness analysis of all agricultural programs;...
• Texas Section 497.113 - Surplus Agricultural Property And Products
  (a) The board may authorize the sale or disposal of surplus agricultural products and personal property owned by the department, other than products or property...

Last modified: September 28, 2016