By Wise                                                H.B. No. 300
         76R2300 GWK-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to procedural requirements applicable to the release on
 1-3     parole of certain sex offenders.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 508.141, Government Code, is amended by
 1-6     adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
 1-7           (g)  Before a parole panel considers for release on parole an
 1-8     inmate serving a sentence for an offense described by Section
 1-9     508.187(a), the panel shall require that the inmate submit to an
1-10     evaluation by an individual or organization that provides sex
1-11     offender treatment or counseling for the purpose of determining
1-12     whether the inmate if released would pose a threat to public
1-13     safety.
1-14           SECTION 2.  Section 508.152, Government Code, is amended by
1-15     adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
1-16           (f)  An attorney representing the state in the prosecution of
1-17     an inmate serving a sentence for an offense described by Section
1-18     508.187(a) shall provide written comments to the department on the
1-19     circumstances related to the commission of the offense and other
1-20     information determined by the attorney to be relevant to any
1-21     subsequent parole decisions regarding the inmate.
1-22           SECTION 3.  Section 508.187(b), Government Code, is amended
1-23     to read as follows:
1-24           (b)  A parole panel shall establish a child safety zone
 2-1     applicable to a releasee if the panel determines that a child as
 2-2     defined by Section 22.011(c), Penal Code, was the victim of the
 2-3     offense, by requiring as a condition of parole or mandatory
 2-4     supervision that the releasee:
 2-5                 (1)  not:
 2-6                       (A)  supervise or participate in any program that
 2-7     includes as participants or recipients persons who are 17 years of
 2-8     age or younger and that regularly provides athletic, civic, or
 2-9     cultural activities;  or
2-10                       (B)  go in, on, or within a distance specified by
2-11     the panel of premises where children commonly gather, including a
2-12     school, day-care facility, playground, public or private youth
2-13     center, public swimming pool, or video arcade facility;  and
2-14                 (2)  attend for not less than three years psychological
2-15     counseling sessions for sex offenders with an individual or
2-16     organization that provides sex offender treatment or counseling as
2-17     specified by the parole officer supervising the releasee after
2-18     release.
2-19           SECTION 4.  Article 56.11(c), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
2-20     amended to read as follows:
2-21           (c)  This article applies to a person convicted of an offense
2-22     described by Section 508.187(a), Government Code, or an offense
2-23     involving  family violence, stalking, or violation of a protective
2-24     order or magistrate's order.
2-25           SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
2-26           SECTION 6.  The importance of this legislation and the
2-27     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
 3-1     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
 3-2     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
 3-3     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.