By Gallego                                            H.B. No. 1582
         77R5790 GWK-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to establishing  required work hours for members of the
 1-3     Board of Pardons and Paroles.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 508.036(c), Government Code, is amended
 1-6     to read as follows:
 1-7           (c)  The policy board shall:
 1-8                 (1)  adopt rules relating to the decision-making
 1-9     processes used by the board and parole panels;
1-10                 (2)  establish caseloads and required work hours for
1-11     members of the board and assign duties to members of the policy
1-12     board that are in addition to the duties those members have in
1-13     handling a caseload;
1-14                 (3)  update parole guidelines, assign precedential
1-15     value to previous decisions of the board relating to the granting
1-16     of parole and the revocation of parole or mandatory supervision,
1-17     and develop policies to ensure that members of the board use
1-18     guidelines and previous decisions of the board in making decisions
1-19     under this chapter;
1-20                 (4)  require members of the board to file activity
1-21     reports, on forms provided by the policy board, that provide
1-22     information on release decisions made by members of the board, the
1-23     workload and hours worked of the members of the board, and the use
1-24     of parole guidelines by members of the board; and
 2-1                 (5)  report at least annually to the governor and the
 2-2     legislature on board activities, parole release decisions, and the
 2-3     use of parole guidelines by the board.
 2-4           SECTION 2.  The Board of Pardons and Paroles Policy Board
 2-5     shall establish required work hours for members of the Board of
 2-6     Pardons and Paroles, as provided by Section 508.036(c)(2), as
 2-7     amended by this Act, not later than the 30th day after the
 2-8     effective date of this Act.  The requirements of Section
 2-9     508.036(c)(4), Government Code, as amended by this Act, that board
2-10     members file reports providing information on hours worked applies
2-11     to the first activity report filed after the Board of Pardons and
2-12     Paroles Policy Board requirement that Board of Pardons and Paroles
2-13     members work required hours has been in effect for one month.
2-14           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
2-15     a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
2-16     provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
2-17     Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
2-18     Act takes effect September 1, 2001.