78R6910 GWK-D

By:  Allen                                                        H.B. No. 1670



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to medically recommended intensive supervision of certain 
inmates of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
	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 Subsection (e) to read 
as follows:
	(a)  An inmate, other than an inmate who, on release from the 
institutional division, is required to register as a sex offender 
under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, [serving a sentence 
for which parole eligibility is otherwise determined under Section 
508.145(f)] may become eligible for release on medically 
recommended intensive supervision on a date designated by the [a] 
parole panel described by Subsection (e) [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 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 a parole panel composed of the presiding officer of 
the board and two members appointed to the panel by the presiding 
officer may make a determination regarding the release of an inmate 
on medically recommended intensive supervision under this section.  
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 the parole panel relevant information concerning the 
inmate and the inmate's potential for release under this section.  
The council's presentation of information under this section must 
be made in person to the entire parole panel.
	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, 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.