1-1     By:  Haggerty, Allen (Senate Sponsor - Armbrister)     H.B. No. 772
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 9, 2001;
 1-3     April 9, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Criminal Justice; April 30, 2001, reported adversely, with
 1-5     favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote:  Yeas 6, Nays
 1-6     0; April 30, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-7     COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 772               By:  Armbrister
 1-8                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-9                                   AN ACT
1-10     relating to the eligibility of certain offenders for medically
1-11     recommended intensive supervision and the provision of facilities
1-12     for those offenders.
1-13           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-14           SECTION 1.  Section 508.146, Government Code, is amended to
1-15     read as follows:
1-16           Sec. 508.146.  MEDICALLY RECOMMENDED INTENSIVE SUPERVISION
1-17     [SPECIAL NEEDS PAROLE]. (a)  An inmate serving a sentence for which
1-18     parole eligibility is otherwise determined under Section 508.145(f)
1-19     may become eligible for release on medically recommended intensive
1-20     supervision [special needs parole] on a date designated by a parole
1-21     panel that is earlier than the date computed under that section if:
1-22                 (1)  the Texas Council on Offenders with Mental
1-23     Impairments, in cooperation with the Correctional Managed Health
1-24     Care Committee, [institutional division] identifies the inmate as
1-25     being elderly, physically handicapped, mentally ill, terminally
1-26     ill, [or] mentally retarded, or having a condition requiring
1-27     long-term care;
1-28                 (2)  the parole panel determines that, based on the
1-29     inmate's condition and a medical evaluation, the inmate does not
1-30     constitute a threat to public safety [or a threat to commit an
1-31     offense]; and
1-32                 (3)  the Texas Council on Offenders with Mental
1-33     Impairments, in cooperation with the pardons and paroles division,
1-34     has prepared for the inmate a medically recommended intensive
1-35     supervision [special needs parole] plan that requires the inmate to
1-36     submit to electronic monitoring, places the inmate on
1-37     super-intensive supervision, or otherwise ensures appropriate
1-38     supervision of the inmate[, service provision, and placement].
1-39           (b)  An inmate [diagnosed as mentally ill or mentally
1-40     retarded] may be released on medically recommended intensive
1-41     supervision [special needs parole] only if the inmate's medically
1-42     recommended intensive supervision [special needs parole] plan under
1-43     Subsection (a)(3) is approved by the Texas Council on Offenders
1-44     with Mental Impairments.
1-45           (c)  A parole panel shall require as a condition of release
1-46     under this section that the releasee remain under the care of a
1-47     physician and in a medically suitable placement.  At least once
1-48     each calendar quarter, the Texas Council on Offenders with Mental
1-49     Impairments shall report to the board on the releasee's medical and
1-50     placement status.  On the basis of the report, a parole panel may
1-51     modify conditions of release and impose any condition on the
1-52     releasee that the panel could impose on a releasee released under
1-53     Section 508.145, including a condition that the releasee reside in
1-54     a halfway house or community residential facility.
1-55           (d)  The Texas Council on Offenders with Mental Impairments
1-56     and the Texas Department of Human Services shall jointly request
1-57     proposals from public or private vendors to provide under contract
1-58     services for inmates released on medically recommended intensive
1-59     supervision.  A request for proposals under this subsection may
1-60     require that the services be provided in a medical care facility
1-61     located in an urban area.  For the purposes of this subsection,
1-62     "urban area" means the area in this state within a metropolitan
1-63     statistical area, according to the standards of the United States
1-64     Bureau of the Census.
 2-1           SECTION 2.  In issuing requests for proposals on or after the
 2-2     effective date of this Act, the council and the department shall
 2-3     give consideration to the efficient use of capacity made available
 2-4     to serve releasees pursuant to requests for proposals issued before
 2-5     the effective date of this Act.
 2-6           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
 2-7                                  * * * * *