Could the Texas Commission on Jail Standards inspect and approve a Bowie County jail located in an interstate justice center that was not wholly inside Texas?
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This page answers the general question as of 1984. Ezel answers yours: what it means for your facts, under current Texas law, with citations.
Texas AG Opinion JM-272: Interstate Jail Inspections
Plain-English summary
The Texas Commission on Jail Standards asked whether it could inspect, approve occupancy of, and later conduct annual inspections at a Bowie County jail housed in a justice center built on the Texas-Arkansas state line. The facility involved Texas and Arkansas counties and cities and federal Law Enforcement Assistance Administration cooperation. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1984/jm0272.pdf
JM-272 answered all three questions yes, subject to statutory conditions. Arkansas had to enact legislation relating to the justice center, and the affected counties and cities had to enter contracts consistent with article 2370c-3. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1984/jm0272.pdf
The commission's authority was not defeated because the jail facility was not wholly in Texas. Article 5115.1 defined a county jail as a jail, lockup, or other facility operated by or for a county, and earlier opinions had recognized authority over conditions for people in county custody wherever they were confined. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1984/jm0272.pdf
Once the interstate statutory and contractual requirements were met, the commission could perform the initial occupancy inspection, authorize Bowie County to occupy the jail and house Texas inmates there, and inspect it annually for compliance with Texas minimum jail standards. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1984/jm0272.pdf
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 1984. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.
Common questions
Could Texas inspect a county jail that crossed the state line?
Yes, under the conditions stated in JM-272. The commission's authority followed the Bowie County jail and Texas inmates even though the justice-center facility was not wholly located in Texas. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1984/jm0272.pdf
Could the commission perform the first occupancy inspection?
Yes. The opinion concluded that the commission could conduct the initial inspection when the interstate legislation and required local contracts were in place. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1984/jm0272.pdf
Could it authorize Bowie County to house Texas inmates there?
Yes. If the jail met standards and the statutory conditions were satisfied, the commission could authorize occupancy and use by Bowie County. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1984/jm0272.pdf
Could the commission continue inspecting the jail each year?
Yes. JM-272 concluded that annual minimum-standards inspections were within the commission's authority. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1984/jm0272.pdf
What had to happen in Arkansas first?
Article 2370c-3 required the adjoining state to enact legislation relating to establishment of the justice center under a contract. The relevant counties and cities also had to contract as the Texas statute required. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1984/jm0272.pdf
Background and statutory framework
Sections 9 and 11 of article 5115.1 authorized the commission to inspect county jails and enforce minimum jail standards. Section 2(3) defined a county jail to include any jail, lockup, or other facility operated by or for a county. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1984/jm0272.pdf
Article 2370c-3 authorized Texas and adjoining-state counties and municipalities to contract for construction, operation, and management of a state-line justice center. Section 4 allowed the contract to allocate responsibility for operations, personnel, purchasing, reporting, records, communications, and other center duties. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1984/jm0272.pdf
Attorney General Opinions MW-328 and MW-559 had recognized the commission's authority to regulate confinement conditions for inmates in a county's custody wherever the inmates were confined. Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1984/jm0272.pdf
Citations and references
- Article 5115.1, V.T.C.S., sections 2(3), 9, and 11
- Article 2370c-3, V.T.C.S., sections 2(a)(2), 4, and 9
- Texas Commission on Jail Standards Rules 217.04.00.007, 217.04.00.009, and 217.25.00.011
- Attorney General Opinions MW-328 (1981) and MW-559 (1982)
Source: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1984/jm0272.pdf
Source
- Landing page: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinions/jim-mattox/jm-0272
- Original PDF: https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/sites/default/files/opinion-files/opinion/1984/jm0272.pdf
Original opinion text
Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain. The linked PDF is authoritative.
The Attorney General of Texas
December 27, 1984
Mr. Robert O. Viterna
Executive Director
Texas Commission on Jail Standards
P. O. Box 12985
Austin, Texas 78711
Opinion No. JM-272
Re: Authority of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards to perform an occupancy inspection of jail facilities in a project built pursuant to article 2370c-3, V.T.C.S.
Dear Mr. Viterna:
You have asked the following three questions about your authority under article 5115.1, V.T.C.S., with regard to the jail facilities in a project authorized by article 2370c-3, V.T.C.S.:
May the Texas Commission on Jail Standards perform an occupancy inspection of the facility? Rule 217.04.00.007 of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.
If the jail complies with standards, may the Texas Commission on Jail Standards authorize Bowie County to occupy the jail and house Texas inmates therein? Rule 217.04.00.009 of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.
Finally, if the jail is occupied, does the Texas Commission on Jail Standards have authority to inspect the jail yearly for compliance with Texas minimum jail standards? Rule 217.25.00.011 of the Texas Commission on Jail Standards.
These rules are promulgated under sections 9 and 11 of article 5115.1, V.T.C.S., which authorize the inspection of county jails to enforce minimum jail standards.
The project in question involves a jail in a “justice center” built, with the cooperation of the federal Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, as well as of Arkansas and Texas county and municipal authorities, on the state line in Texarkana, Texas and Arkansas, and Bowie County, Texas, and Miller County, Arkansas. The gravamen of your request is whether the Texas Commission on Jail Standards may carry out its duties and responsibilities under sections 9 and 11 of article 5115.1 in a jail facility not wholly located in Texas. We answer all three questions in the affirmative.
Section 2(3) of article 5115.1 defines a county jail as “any jail, lockup, or other facility that is operated by or for a county. . . .” (Emphasis added). Section 2(a)(2) of article 2370c-3 authorizes the creation of the “jail, lockup, and other detention facilities” that have been created in the subject “justice center” for Bowie County, Texas. Attorney General Opinions MW-328 (1981) and MW-559 (1982) clearly affirmed the Jail Standards Commission's statutory authority “to regulate the conditions of confinement for inmates in a county's custody wherever they are confined.” Attorney General Opinion MW-559. (Emphasis added).
While article 2370c-3, section 2, authorizes the respective counties and municipalities in Texas and the adjoining state to contract for the “construction, . . . operation, and management” of the jail in the state line justice center, section 9 also limits such county and municipality in Texas to contracting for such purposes “only if the other state enacts legislation relating to the establishment of a justice center pursuant to a contract. . . .” The act further provides that
Sec. 4. The contracting parties may specify in the contract the manner of determining the persons responsible for:
(1) the operation, alteration, maintenance, cleaning, and repair of the facilities;
(2) the employment of center personnel;
(3) the purchase of materials, supplies, tools, and other equipment to be jointly used by offices provided or used by the contracting parties;
(4) preparing reports to the governing bodies of the contracting parties;
(5) joint record-keeping, communications, or dispatch systems; and
(6) the performance of any other powers or duties relating to operation of the center.
If the state of Arkansas has enacted legislation consistent with section 9 of article 2370c-3 and the respective counties and cities have contracted in accord with sections 2 and 4 thereof, we conclude that the holdings of MW-328 and MW-559 apply to the regulations about which you inquire.
SUMMARY
If the state of Arkansas has enacted appropriate legislation and the counties and cities affected have contracted as mandated, the Texas Commission on Jail Standards may perform an initial occupancy inspection of, may allow Bowie County to use, and may thereafter annually inspect the jail facilities housed in the “justice center” built pursuant to article 2370c-3.
Very truly yours,
JIM MATTOX
Attorney General of Texas
TOM GREEN
First Assistant Attorney General
DAVID R. RICHARDS
Executive Assistant Attorney General
RICK GILPIN
Chairman, Opinion Committee
Prepared by Colin Carl
Assistant Attorney General
APPROVED:
OPINION COMMITTEE
Rick Gilpin, Chairman
Colin Carl
Susan Garrison
Tony Guillory
Jim Moellinger
Jennifer Riggs
Bruce Youngblood
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