BILL ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 236 By: Driver 4-27-95 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND Under current state law, a judge or parole panel may, but is not required to, prohibit contact with a victim as a condition of a defendant's parole or mandatory supervision. When this condition is not required, the criminal may continue to have unlimited contact with his victim. PURPOSE If enacted, C.S.H.B. 236 would prohibit contact with the victim as a mandatory condition of parole or mandatory supervision for certain offenders. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Subsection (o), Section 8, Article 42.18, Code of Criminal Procedure (ADULT PAROLE AND MANDATORY SUPERVISION LAW), as added by Section 5, Chapter 10, Acts of the 73rd Legislature, by requiring the parole panel to prohibit contact with the victim as a condition of parole for a person convicted of a stalking offense. SECTION 2. Amends Article 42.18, Code of Criminal Procedure (ADULT PAROLE AND MANDATORY SUPERVISION LAW), by adding Section 8B as follows: Sec. 8B. NO CONTACT WITH VICTIM. (a) Requires a parole panel that releases a defendant on parole or to mandatory supervision to prohibit contact with the victim as a condition of parole or mandatory supervision; permits a victim to petition the parole panel at any time after the defendant is placed on parole or mandatory supervision to modify conditions of the defendant's parole to allow contact. (b) Allows condition imposed under this section to prevail no longer than 90 days if a condition imposed under this section conflicts with an existing court order granting possession of or access to a child. (c) Defines "victim." SECTION 3. Emergency clause. Effective upon passage. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE SECTION 1 of the original, amending Section 11, Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, is deleted. This section required judges to prohibit contact between defendant and victim as a condition of the former's parole or mandatory supervision. The following sections are renumbered accordingly. SECTION 2 of the substitute deletes the phrase "or a legal representative of the victim" on page 3, lines 25-26 of the original. This eliminates the provision allowing victim's counsel to petition the parole panel to permit contact, while retaining the victim's right to petition the panel. SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE ACTION HB 236 was considered by the full committee in a public hearing on April 3, 1995. The bill was left pending. HB 236 was considered by the full committee in a formal meeting on April 27, 1995. A complete committee substitute was considered by the committee. The substitute was adopted by a non-record vote. HB 236 was reported favorably as substituted with the recommendation that it do pass and be printed, by a record vote of 6 ayes, 0 nays, 0 pnv, and 3 absent.