1-1     By:  Wise (Senate Sponsor - Bernsen)                   H.B. No. 223
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 19, 2001;
 1-3     April 20, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Criminal Justice; May 11, 2001, reported favorably by the following
 1-5     vote:  Yeas 5, Nays 0; May 11, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to procedural requirements applicable to the release on
 1-9     parole of certain sex offenders.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1.  Section 508.152, Government Code, is amended by
1-12     adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
1-13           (f)  An attorney representing the state in the prosecution of
1-14     an inmate serving a sentence for an offense described by Section
1-15     508.187(a) shall provide written comments to the department on the
1-16     circumstances related to the commission of the offense and other
1-17     information determined by the attorney to be relevant to any
1-18     subsequent parole decisions regarding the inmate.
1-19           SECTION 2.  Section 508.187, Government Code, is amended by
1-20     amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (g) and (h) to read
1-21     as follows:
1-22           (b)  A parole panel shall establish a child safety zone
1-23     applicable to a releasee if the panel determines that a child as
1-24     defined by Section 22.011(c), Penal Code, was the victim of the
1-25     offense, by requiring as a condition of parole or mandatory
1-26     supervision that the releasee:
1-27                 (1)  not:
1-28                       (A)  supervise or participate in any program that
1-29     includes as participants or recipients persons who are 17 years of
1-30     age or younger and that regularly provides athletic, civic, or
1-31     cultural activities;  or
1-32                       (B)  with respect to [go in, on, or within a
1-33     distance specified by the panel of] premises where children
1-34     commonly gather, including a school, day-care facility, playground,
1-35     public or private youth center, public swimming pool, or video
1-36     arcade facility:
1-37                             (i)  go in or on the premises or within a
1-38     distance of the premises specified by the panel; or
1-39                             (ii)  reside in a residence located within
1-40     500 feet of the premises; and
1-41                 (2)  attend for a period of time determined necessary
1-42     by the panel psychological counseling sessions for sex offenders
1-43     with an individual or organization that provides sex offender
1-44     treatment or counseling as specified by the parole officer
1-45     supervising the releasee after release.
1-46           (g)  For purposes of Subsection (b)(1)(B)(ii), the
1-47     measurement of the distance between a residence and a premises
1-48     described by Subsection (b)(1)(B) is a direct line from the
1-49     property line of the residence to the property line of the
1-50     premises, and in a direct line across intersections.
1-51           (h)  Notwithstanding Subsection (b)(1)(B)(ii), a parole panel
1-52     requirement that a releasee not reside in a residence located
1-53     within 500 feet of premises where children commonly gather does not
1-54     apply to a releasee if:
1-55                 (1)  the premises became a premises where children
1-56     commonly gather only after the releasee began residing in the
1-57     residence; or
1-58                 (2)  the residence is owned by the releasee and was
1-59     owned by the releasee at the time of committing the offense giving
1-60     rise to supervision under this chapter.
1-61           SECTION 3.  Article 56.11(c), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
1-62     amended to read as follows:
1-63           (c)  This article applies to a person convicted of an offense
1-64     described by Section 508.187(a), Government Code, or an offense
 2-1     involving  family violence, stalking, or violation of a protective
 2-2     order or magistrate's order.
 2-3           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
 2-4                                  * * * * *