HBA-MSH C.S.H.B. 3504 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 3504 By: Allen Corrections 4/16/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, an offender who is released on parole or mandatory supervision and who violates the terms of the release or commits another offense is issued a pre-revocation warrant, known as a blue warrant. During the 60 days allowed for the processing of a blue warrant, offenders are detained in county jails. In the past, this has contributed to overcrowding in county jails that costs the local taxpayers even though the parolee is under state supervision. C.S.H.B. 3504 provides that a violator may remain under custodial supervision for a period between 60 and 180 days only if the county commissioners court and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice have entered into a contract providing for the housing of such violators. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 3504 amends the Government Code to provide that if a person's parole or mandatory supervision is modified after it is established that the person violated conditions of release the board is authorized to require the releasee to remain under custodial supervision in a county jail for a period of not less than 60 days or more than 180 days. The bill requires a sheriff to accept such an inmate only if the commissioners court of the county in which the sheriff serves and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice have entered into a contract providing for the housing of such an inmate. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 3504 differs from the original by removing provisions that provided for the releasee to remain under custodial supervision only for having violated conditions of release by committing an administrative violation or an offense punishable by fine only. The substitute changes the period of custodial supervision to between 60 and 180 days rather than a period not to exceed 30 days or not to exceed 90 days if the person previously violated conditions of release.