Texas won’t comply with federal prison rape law, gov. says

HOUSTON - Texas will not comply with parts of a federal law designed to reduce prison rape, Gov. Rick Perry has said in a letter to the U.S. attorney general, calling the rules too costly and an infringement on state rights.

Perry's letter, dated Friday and obtained by The Associated Press from the governor's office, touches on matters that he has railed against in the past, saying "the rules appear to have been created in a vacuum with little regard for input from those who daily operate state prisons and local jails."

Texas could lose federal grant money if it doesn't comply with the law, although it's not clear how much. The head of a local union representing corrections officers said the state and prison workers could be exposed to costly lawsuits.

The Houston Chronicle first reported that Perry had written the letter to Attorney General Eric Holder.

Perry also wrote that the state will not raise the age -- from 17 to 18 -- when it treats inmates as adults. The federal rules do not allow for "differences among the states," he said.

The Prison Rape Elimination Act was passed in 2003 under President George W. Bush, a former Texas governor.

The rules were completed in 2012, and states were given until May 15 to complete an audit of nearly all prisons, jails and other lockups. Perry said that deadline was "impossible to meet," especially since there are only about 100 certified auditors nationwide. Texas alone has nearly 300 incarceration facilities.

Texas state prisons will comply with most of the rules, prison spokesman Jason Clark said in an emailed statement.

In his letter, Perry cited a portion of the law that bars guards from searching the bodies of inmates of the opposite sex and from seeing inmates without clothing. He said that because 40 percent of prison guards in male units are women, complying with the law may mean the loss of job and promotion opportunities.

Clark said the limits on opposite-sex supervision would have a "substantial operational impact," adding that Texas already has a "zero-tolerance policy" on sexual violence in prisons.

But Lance Lowry, president of a local union representing corrections officers in Huntsville, said Texas already bars male officers from doing pat-downs on female inmates -- although female officers can and do search male inmates.

"Mr. Perry's argument on that is very shortsighted and from our stance, he is opening the agency and the agency staff to a tremendous amount of liability," Lowry said.

Perry also criticized a suggestion from a consultant that prisons remove some security cameras, calling it ridiculous.

"Doing so would not only be a security risk for both prisoners and staff but also increase the likelihood of assaults taking place, defeating the intent of the law," Perry wrote.

States that do not comply could lose federal grant dollars. Three grants that totaled $23.9 million last year could face partial cuts, Perry spokeswoman Lucy Nashed said. But, she said, Texas has not been told how much money could be at stake.

County jails and local lockups can take measures to comply with the federal rules. Some already have, including the Harris County Jail, which revamped policies on housing gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender inmates.

Most issues can be resolved easily if staffing levels systemwide are corrected, Lowry said.

"The lack of staff is something the politicians need to address," Lowry said. "They have run these facilities short of staff for years."