Sec. 614.002. COMPOSITION OF COMMITTEE; DUTIES.

(a) The Advisory Committee to the Texas Board of Criminal Justice on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments is composed of 28 members.

(b) The governor shall appoint, with the advice and consent of the senate:

(1) four at-large members who have expertise in mental health, intellectual disabilities, or developmental disabilities, three of whom must be forensic psychiatrists or forensic psychologists;

(2) one at-large member who is the judge of a district court with criminal jurisdiction;

(3) one at-large member who is a prosecuting attorney;

(4) one at-large member who is a criminal defense attorney;

(5) two at-large members who have expertise in the juvenile justice or criminal justice system; and

(6) one at-large member whose expertise can further the mission of the committee.

(c)(1) The following entities, by September 1 of each even-numbered year, shall submit to the governor for consideration a list of five candidates from their respective fields for at-large membership on the committee:

(A) the Texas District and County Attorneys Association;

(B) the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association;

(C) the Texas Association of Counties;

(D) the Texas Medical Association;

(E) the Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians;

(F) the Texas Psychological Association;

(G) the Sheriffs' Association of Texas;

(H) the court of criminal appeals;

(I) the County Judges and Commissioners Association of Texas; and

(J) the Texas Conference of Urban Counties.

(2) The Texas Medical Association, the Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians, and the Texas Psychological Association may submit a candidate for membership only if the candidate has documented expertise and educational training in, as appropriate, medical forensics, forensic psychology, or forensic psychiatry.

(d) A person may not be a member of the committee if the person is required to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305, Government Code, because of the person's activities for compensation on behalf of a profession related to the operation of the committee.

(e) The executive head of each of the following agencies, divisions of agencies, or associations, or that person's designated representative, shall serve as a member of the committee:

(1) the correctional institutions division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice;

(2) the Department of State Health Services;

(3) the parole division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice;

(4) the community justice assistance division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice;

(5) the Texas Juvenile Justice Department;

(6) the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services;

(7) the Correctional Managed Health Care Committee;

(8) Mental Health America of Texas;

(9) the Board of Pardons and Paroles;

(10) the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement;

(11) the Texas Council of Community Centers;

(12) the Commission on Jail Standards;

(13) the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities;

(14) the Arc of Texas;

(15) the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Texas;

(16) the Parent Association for the Retarded of Texas, Inc.;

(17) the Health and Human Services Commission; and

(18) the Department of Aging and Disability Services.

(f) In making the appointments under Subsection (b), the governor shall attempt to reflect the geographic and economic diversity of the state. Appointments to the committee shall be made without regard to the race, color, disability, sex, religion, age, or national origin of the appointees.

(g) It is a ground for removal from the committee that an at-large member:

(1) does not have at the time of taking office the qualifications required by Subsection (b);

(2) does not maintain during service on the committee the qualifications required by Subsection (b);

(3) is ineligible for membership under Subsection (d);

(4) cannot, because of illness or disability, discharge the member's duties for a substantial part of the member's term;

(5) is absent from more than half of the regularly scheduled committee meetings that the member is eligible to attend during a calendar year without an excuse approved by a majority vote of the committee; or

(6) is absent from more than two consecutive regularly scheduled committee meetings that the member is eligible to attend.

(h) The validity of an action of the committee is not affected by the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal of a committee member exists.

(i) If the director of the committee has knowledge that a potential ground for removal exists, the director shall notify the presiding officer of the committee of the potential ground. The presiding officer shall then notify the governor and the attorney general that a potential ground for removal exists. If the potential ground for removal involves the presiding officer, the director shall notify the next highest ranking officer of the committee, who shall then notify the governor and the attorney general that a potential ground for removal exists.

(j) A representative designated by the executive head of a state agency must be an officer or employee of the agency when designated and while serving on the committee.

(k) The committee shall advise the board and the director of the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments on matters related to offenders with medical or mental impairments and perform other duties imposed by the board.

Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1991. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 107, Sec. 6.53(a), eff. Aug. 30, 1993; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 321, Sec. 2.020, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 165, Sec. 6.50, eff. Sept. 1, 1997; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 79, Sec. 5, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1188, Sec. 3.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 856, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 1, 2003; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1170, Sec. 27.01, eff. Sept. 1, 2003.

Amended by:

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 728 (H.B. 2018), Sec. 9.005, eff. September 1, 2005.

Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 1112 (H.B. 2384), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2005.

Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 87 (S.B. 1969), Sec. 25.112, eff. September 1, 2009.

Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1176 (H.B. 3278), Sec. 8, eff. June 17, 2011.

Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 93 (S.B. 686), Sec. 2.39, eff. May 18, 2013.

Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 3.1490, eff. April 2, 2015.