VISITATION

(a) In this section: (1) "Guardian" has the meaning assigned by Section 1002.012, Estates Code. (2) "Letters of guardianship" means a certificate issued under Section 1106.001(a), Estates Code. (a-1) The department shall allow the governor, members of the legislature, and officials of the executive and judicial branches to enter during business hours any part of a state jail felony facility operated by the department, for the purpose of observing the operations of the department. A visitor described by this subsection may talk with defendants away from employees of the state jail felony facility. (b) The department shall establish a visitation policy for persons confined in state jail felony facilities. The visitation policy must: (1) allow visitation by a guardian of a defendant confined in a state jail felony facility to the same extent as the defendant's next of kin, including placing the guardian on the defendant's approved visitors list on the guardian's request and providing the guardian access to the defendant during a facility's standard visitation hours if the defendant is otherwise eligible to receive visitors; and (2) require the guardian to provide the director of the facility with letters of guardianship before being allowed to visit the defendant. (c) Regardless of the implementation of video visitation or visitation by other electronic means, the visitation policy must allow in-person visitation for defendants who are eligible to receive visitors, provided that the policy may allow the temporary suspension of in-person visitation for a health or safety emergency.