SRC-AMY S.B. 917 78(R) BILL ANALYSIS Senate Research CenterS.B. 917 By: Whitmire Criminal Justice 6/4/2003 Enrolled DIGEST AND PURPOSE Currently, Texas has no provision that establishes a specific future date for the review of an inmate for parole purposes. S.B. 917 allows a violent offender to receive a set off of one, two, three, four, or five years and requires a nonviolent offender to be reviewed annually by the Texas Board of Pardons and Parole. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 508.141, Government Code, by adding Subsection (g), to require the policy board of the Board of Pardons and Paroles (parole board) to adopt a policy establishing the date on which the parole board may reconsider for release an inmate who has previously been denied release. Requires the policy to require the parole board to reconsider for release an inmate serving a sentence for an offense listed in Section 508.149(a) (Inmates Ineligible for Mandatory Supervision), Government Code, during a month designated by the parole panel that denied release. Requires the designated month to begin after the first anniversary of the date of the denial and before the fifth anniversary of the date of the denial. Requires the policy to require the parole board to reconsider for release an inmate serving a sentence for an offense listed in Section 508.149(a) (Inmates Ineligible for Mandatory Supervision), Government Code, as soon as practicable after the first anniversary of the date of the denial. SECTION 2. Requires the policy board to adopt the reconsideration policy required by Section 508.141(g), Government Code, as added by this Act, by January 1, 2004. SECTION 3. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2003.