SB2581

The repealed section applied to a county with at least 2.1 million residents, two municipalities each with at least 250,000 residents, and an adjacent county with at least 2.1 million residents. It withheld the general law’s exclusive-control-of-funds provision from that sheriff, required commissioners-court approval of renewal bids and disbursements, required delivery of commissary contracts to that court within 10 days, and specially applied Chapter 262’s competitive-purchasing procedures to purchases with commissary proceeds. SB2581 repeals that entire exception. It does not declare all county purchasing laws inapplicable. Repealed special rule; Final law.

Under the remaining general law, the sheriff or designee has exclusive control of commissary funds, must maintain accounts of proceeds and disbursements, and must accept new bids to renew supplier contracts every five years. Authorized uses include inmate programs, clothing and hygiene supplies, commissary administration, libraries, and specified improvements or services benefiting inmates and facility safety. Proceeds may be used only for the listed purposes, and commissioners courts may not use them for the jail’s budgetary operating expenses. Annual account examinations and the law’s contract-selection considerations remain. General commissary law.

All five posted versions contain the same repeal and September 1 effective date. No amendments are listed in the official index. Text versions; Introduced text; Amendment index; Final law.

Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.

The affected sheriff gains spending and contracting autonomy that the special rule had withheld, while the commissioners court loses those particular preapproval and contract-delivery controls. Remaining statutory accounts, audits and restricted uses still provide oversight. The act does not require lower commissary prices, increase inmate benefits or establish that any contract has changed. Repealed special rule; General commissary law; Final law.

The only posted fiscal note, dated April 14, anticipates no state fiscal impact and no significant local-government fiscal impact. It provides no estimate of price changes or savings for inmates and families. Fiscal note.