By:  Shapiro                                            S.B. No. 51

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

                                       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     board shall adopt rules 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, 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, other than the

1-20     inmate;

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

1-22                             (iii)  the victim, if the victim is 17

1-23     years of age or older at the time of giving the consent; and

 2-1                       (B)  provided the inmate with a copy of the

 2-2     consent.

 2-3           (b)  If, during the actual term of imprisonment of an inmate

 2-4     in the institutional division or a transfer facility, the inmate

 2-5     violates a rule adopted under Subsection (a), the department shall

 2-6     forfeit all or any part of the inmate's accrued good conduct time.

 2-7     The department may not restore good conduct time forfeited under

 2-8     this subsection.

 2-9           SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies to an

2-10     inmate who violates a rule adopted by the Texas Board of Criminal

2-11     Justice under Section 498.0042, Government Code, as added by this

2-12     Act, on or after the effective date of the rule, regardless of

2-13     whether the inmate is serving a sentence for an offense committed

2-14     before, on, or after the effective date of the rule.

2-15           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

2-16           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-17     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-18     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-19     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-20     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

2-21                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1

2-22           Amend S.B. 51, on page 1, line 8, by striking "board shall

2-23     adopt rules" and substituting "department shall adopt policies" and

2-24     on page 2, line 5, by striking "rule" and substituting "policy".

2-25                                                                   Allen