HB 2708 (Authors: Swanson; Venton Jones | Sponsor: Flores), Relating to visitation policies for inmates and state jail felony defendants. HB 2708 requires the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to allow in-person visitation for eligible incarcerated people and defendants, regardless of the existing implementation of video visitation or visitation by other electronic means. TDCJ may temporarily suspend in-person visitation in the event of a health or safety emergency. Effective on 9/1/23
During the 2023 session of the Texas Legislature, the Texas Center for Justice and Equity tracked around 40 youth and adult justice bills that made it to the Governor's desk. You can find links to all of our analyses in our 2023 Bill Analysis Guide.