Texas Attorney General Opinion: DM-86 Page: 3 of 6
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Honorable Richard Barajas - Page 3 (DM- 8 6)
direct the performance of the details incident to its duties"' under the contract is not
on its face inconsistent with the sheriffs authority to monitor operation of the
facility. The resolution of a specific conflict between the sheriff and the private
vendor that arose in the actual execution of the contract would be a matter, in the
first instance, for the parties to the contract.
Your last question is whether the sheriff or the Texas Commission on Jail
Standards (hereinafter the "commission") may withhold certification of a private
prison facility, or whether the commission may de-certify a facility, if 1) it fails to
meet the operational standards of the commission, or 2) jailers employed in the
facility are not certified pursuant to section 415.0541 of the Government Code or by
the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education.
Thus, the various provisions of the Government Code that apply to the United
States Code's certification of a county jail apply to a private prison facility.
A sheriff has no responsibility for certification of a jail. Also, section 351.103
of the Local Government Code requires "the private vendor to operate the facility in
compliance with minimum standards adopted by the [commission] and receive and
retain a certification of compliance from the commission." (Emphasis added.)
Furthermore, chapter 511 of the Government Code gives the commission a duty of
continuing supervision over the facility.
In addition to its duty to adopt rules establishing various kinds of minimum
standards for the operation of a "county jail" pursuant to section 511.009 of the
Government Code, the commission also is charged with a duty to act in the event a
facility does not comply with such minimum standards:
If the commission finds that a county jail does not comply
with state law or the rules, standards, or procedures of the
commission, it shall report the noncompliance to the county
commissioners and sheriff of the county responsible for the
county jail and shall send a copy of the report to the governor.
1The contract specifies that the operator is responsible for training employees, staffing the
facility, food service, laundry services, transportation, telephones, health services, recreation and
exercise, visitation, commissaries, safety, sanitation, libraries, inmate correspondence, religious
services, and security. Id. art. V.p. 437
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: DM-86, text, February 6, 1992; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth273895/m1/3/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.