AN ACT

 1-1     relating to  the forfeiture of good conduct time by certain inmates

 1-2     confined in the institutional division or a transfer facility of

 1-3     the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Chapter 498, Government Code, is amended by

 1-6     adding Section 498.0042 to read as follows:

 1-7           Sec. 498.0042.  FORFEITURE FOR CONTACTING VICTIMS.  (a)  The

 1-8     department shall adopt policies that prohibit an inmate in the

 1-9     institutional division or in a transfer facility from contacting by

1-10     letter, telephone, or any other means, either directly or

1-11     indirectly, a victim of the offense for which the inmate is serving

1-12     a sentence or a member of the victim's family, if:

1-13                 (1)  the victim was younger than 17 years of age at the

1-14     time of the commission of the offense; and

1-15                 (2)  the department has not, before the inmate makes

1-16     contact:

1-17                       (A)  received written consent to the contact

1-18     from:

1-19                             (i)  a parent of the victim or the member

1-20     of the victim's family, other than the inmate;

1-21                             (ii)  a legal guardian of the victim or the

1-22     member of the victim's family; or

1-23                             (iii)  the victim or the member of the

 2-1     victim's family, if the victim is 17 years of age or older at the

 2-2     time of giving the consent; and

 2-3                       (B)  provided the inmate with a copy of the

 2-4     consent.

 2-5           (b)  If, during the actual term of imprisonment of an inmate

 2-6     in the institutional division or a transfer facility, the inmate

 2-7     violates a policy adopted under Subsection (a), the department

 2-8     shall forfeit all or any part of the inmate's accrued good conduct

 2-9     time.  The department may not restore good conduct time forfeited

2-10     under this subsection.

2-11           (c)  In this section, "family" has the meaning assigned by

2-12     Section 71.003, Family Code.

2-13           SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies to an

2-14     inmate who violates a policy adopted by the Texas Department of

2-15     Criminal Justice under Section 498.0042, Government Code, as added

2-16     by this Act, on or after the effective date of the policy,

2-17     regardless of whether the inmate is serving a sentence for an

2-18     offense committed before, on, or after the effective date of the

2-19     policy.

2-20           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

2-21           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-22     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-23     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-24     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-25     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

         _______________________________     _______________________________

             President of the Senate              Speaker of the House

               I hereby certify that S.B. No. 51 passed the Senate on

         March 20, 1997, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that

         the Senate concurred in House amendments on May 31, 1997, by a

         viva-voce vote.

                                             _______________________________

                                                 Secretary of the Senate

               I hereby certify that S.B. No. 51 passed the House, with

         amendments, on May 27, 1997, by a non-record vote.

                                             _______________________________

                                                 Chief Clerk of the House

         Approved:

         _______________________________

                     Date

         _______________________________

                   Governor