86R21774 MAW-D
 
  By: White, Ramos H.B. No. 2701
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to county jailer training and continuing education
  requirements regarding interacting with pregnant women confined in
  jail.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter F, Chapter 1701, Occupations Code, is
  amended by adding Section 1701.269 to read as follows:
         Sec. 1701.269.  TRAINING PROGRAM RELATING TO COUNTY JAILER
  INTERACTIONS WITH PREGNANT WOMEN. The commission shall develop a
  training program for county jailers that consists of education and
  training concerning interacting with a pregnant woman confined in a
  county jail. The program must be based on obstetrical and
  gynecological best practices and include general information on:
               (1)  pregnancy, labor, delivery, and recovery;
               (2)  identifying when a woman is in labor;
               (3)  appropriate prenatal and postnatal care and first
  aid techniques specific to pregnant women; and
               (4)  factors that increase the risk of a miscarriage.
         SECTION 2.  Section 1701.310(a), Occupations Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Except as provided by Subsection (e), a person may not
  be appointed as a county jailer, except on a temporary basis, unless
  the person has satisfactorily completed a preparatory training
  program, as required by the commission, in the operation of a county
  jail at a school operated or licensed by the commission. The
  training program must:
               (1)  consist of at least eight hours of mental health
  training approved by the commission and the Commission on Jail
  Standards; and
               (2)  include the training program developed under
  Section 1701.269.
         SECTION 3.  Section 1701.352, Occupations Code, is amended
  by adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
         (b-1)  The commission shall require a county that appoints or
  employs a county jailer to provide each jailer with the training
  program developed under Section 1701.269 at least once every 48
  months. The training must be provided by a medical professional.
         SECTION 4.  Section 1701.310(a), Occupations Code, as
  amended by this Act, applies only to a person appointed as a county
  jailer on or after January 1, 2020. A person appointed as a county
  jailer before January 1, 2020, is governed by the law in effect
  immediately before the effective date of this Act, and the former
  law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 5.  As soon as practicable after the effective date
  of this Act, the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement shall:
               (1)  develop the training program required by Section
  1701.269, Occupations Code, as added by this Act; and
               (2)  adopt rules necessary to implement Section
  1701.352(b-1), Occupations Code, as added by this Act.
         SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.