SGN C.S.H.B. 658 75(R)BILL ANALYSIS CORRECTIONS C.S.H.B. 658 By: Burnam 4-3-97 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND In 1995, of all sex offenders in halfway houses statewide, 75% were in the two halfway houses in Fort Worth. Although current law requires parolees to be released to the county in which the defendant resided when the offense was committed, the number of exceptions allowed may not adequately protect communities from having a disproportionate share of sex offenders paroled into an area. PURPOSE C.S.H.B. 658 would amend Section 8A, Article 42.18, Code of Criminal Procedure to prohibit the Parole Board from placing sex offender parolees in counties with 25% of the statewide total of sex offenders unless the parolee committed the offense in the county or has family members or friends in the county who have expressed a willingness to assist the defendant in successfully completing the terms of their release. C.S.H.B. 658 requires the parole division to notify the sheriff of any county in which the total number of sex offenders in that county, under the supervision of the parole division, exceeds 10% of the statewide total of sex offenders under the supervision of the parole division. 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 Section 8A, Article 42.18, Code of Criminal Procedure, by adding Subsection (g) as follows: (g) Requires the pardons and paroles division on the first working day of each month, to notify the sheriff of any county in which the total number of sex offenders, under the supervision and control of the division, residing in the county exceeds 10% of the total number of sex offenders in the state under the supervision and control of the division. Provides that if the total number of sex offenders under the supervision of the division residing in a county exceeds 25% of the total number of sex offenders in the state under the parole division supervision, a parole panel may require a sex offender to reside in that county only if that is the county in which the defendant resided at the time of committing the offense or if the presence of family members or friends in that county have expressed a willingness to assist the defendant in successfully completing the terms and conditions of their release. Provides that in this subsection "sex offender" means a person who is released on parole or to mandatory supervision after serving a sentence for an offense described by Section 8(u)(2). SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1997. This Act applies only to a person who is released on parole or to mandatory supervision on or after that date. SECTION 3. Emergency clause. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE The substitute eliminates the biennial census of statewide number of sex offenders and replaces it with notification on the first working day of each month to sheriffs in counties that exceed 10% of the statewide total of sex offenders. The substitute changes the counties effected to those with 25% of the statewide total of sex offenders instead of 20%. The substitute prohibits a Parole Panel from placing sex offenders in counties with 25% of the statewide total of sex offenders unless the parolee committed the offense in the county or has family or friends in the county who have expressed a willingness to assist the defendant in successfully completing the terms and conditions of the defendant's release.