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H.B. No. 1670
AN ACT
relating to medically recommended intensive supervision of certain
inmates of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and to the
release pending deportation of certain inmates of the department.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 508.146, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (c) and adding Subsections (e) and (f)
to read as follows:
(a) An inmate, other than an inmate who is serving a
sentence of death or an inmate who has a reportable conviction or
adjudication under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, [serving
a sentence for which parole eligibility is otherwise determined
under Section 508.145(f)] may be released [become eligible for
release] on medically recommended intensive supervision on a date
designated by a parole panel described by Subsection (e), except
that an inmate with an instant offense that is an offense described
in Section 3g, Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, may only
be considered if a medical condition of terminal illness or
long-term care has been diagnosed, [that is earlier than the date
computed under that section] if:
(1) the Texas Council on Offenders with Mental
Impairments, in cooperation with the Correctional Managed Health
Care Committee, identifies the inmate as being elderly, physically
handicapped, mentally ill, terminally ill, mentally retarded, or
having a condition requiring long-term care;
(2) the parole panel determines that, based on the
inmate's condition and a medical evaluation, the inmate does not
constitute a threat to public safety; and
(3) the Texas Council on Offenders with Mental
Impairments, in cooperation with the pardons and paroles division,
has prepared for the inmate a medically recommended intensive
supervision plan that requires the inmate to submit to electronic
monitoring, places the inmate on super-intensive supervision, or
otherwise ensures appropriate supervision of the inmate.
(c) The [A] parole panel shall require as a condition of
release under Subsection (a) [this section] that the releasee
remain under the care of a physician and in a medically suitable
placement. At least once each calendar quarter, the Texas Council
on Offenders with Mental Impairments shall report to the parole
panel [board] on the releasee's medical and placement status. On
the basis of the report, the [a] parole panel may modify conditions
of release and impose any condition on the releasee that a [the]
panel could impose on a releasee released under Section 508.145,
including a condition that the releasee reside in a halfway house or
community residential facility.
(e) Only parole panels composed of the presiding officer of
the board and two members appointed to the panel by the presiding
officer may make determinations regarding the release of inmates on
medically recommended intensive supervision under Subsection (a)
or of inmates released pending deportation. If the Texas Council on
Offenders with Mental Impairments identifies an inmate as a
candidate for release under the guidelines established by
Subsection (a)(1), the council shall present to a parole panel
described by this subsection relevant information concerning the
inmate and the inmate's potential for release under this section.
(f) An inmate who is not a citizen of the United States, as
defined by federal law, who is not under a sentence of death, and
who does not have a reportable conviction or adjudication under
Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, or an instant offense
described in Section 3g, Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure,
may be released to immigration authorities pending deportation on a
date designated by a parole panel described by Subsection (e) if the
parole panel determines that on release the inmate would be
deported to another country and that the inmate does not constitute
a threat to public safety in the other country or this country and
is unlikely to reenter this country illegally.
SECTION 2. Section 2, Chapter 1435, Acts of the 77th
Legislature, Regular Session, 2001, is repealed.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies to an
inmate who on or after the effective date of this Act is serving a
sentence in the institutional division of the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice and who is described by Section 508.146(a)(1),
Government Code, or Section 508.146(f), Government Code, as added
by this Act, regardless of whether the sentence is for an offense
committed before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1670 was passed by the House on April
30, 2003, by a non-record vote; and that the House concurred in
Senate amendments to H.B. No. 1670 on May 28, 2003, by a non-record
vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 1670 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 26, 2003, by a viva-voce vote.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor