78R7928 GWK-D

By:  Allen                                                        H.B. No. 1849



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the revocation process for certain persons released 
from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice on parole or 
mandatory supervision.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 508.251(c), Government Code, is amended 
to  read as follows:
	(c)  Instead of the issuance of a warrant under this section, 
the division shall [may] issue to the person a summons requiring the 
person to appear for a hearing under Section 508.281 unless the 
person is a releasee who is on intensive supervision or 
superintensive supervision, who is an absconder, or who is 
determined by the division to be a threat to public safety.  The 
summons must state the time, date, place, and purpose of the 
hearing.
	SECTION 2.  Section 508.252, Government Code, is amended to 
read as follows: 
	Sec. 508.252.  GROUNDS FOR ISSUANCE OF WARRANT OR SUMMONS.  A 
warrant or summons may be issued under Section 508.251 if:
		(1)  there is reason to believe that the person has been 
released although not eligible for release;
		(2)  the person has been arrested for an offense;                             
		(3)  there is a document that is self-authenticating as 
provided by Rule 902, Texas Rules of Evidence, stating that the 
person violated a rule or condition of release; or
		(4)  there is reliable evidence that the person has 
exhibited behavior during the person's release that indicates to a 
reasonable person that the person poses a danger to society that 
warrants the person's immediate return to custody.
	SECTION 3.  Section 508.281, Government Code, is amended by 
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
	(c)  If a hearing before a designated agent of the board is 
held under this section for a releasee who appears in compliance 
with a summons, the sheriff of the county in which the releasee is 
required to appear shall provide the designated agent with a place 
at the county jail to hold the hearing.  Immediately on conclusion 
of a hearing in which the designated  agent determines that a 
releasee has violated a condition of release, the designated agent 
may issue a warrant requiring the releasee to be held in the county 
jail pending:
		(1)  the action of a parole panel on any 
recommendations made by the designated agent; and
		(2)  if subsequently ordered by the parole panel, the 
return of the releasee to the institution from which the releasee 
was released.
	SECTION 4.  Section 508.282, Government Code, is amended by 
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (f) to read as 
follows:
	(c)  In Subsections (a), [and] (b), and (f), charges against 
an inmate or person are disposed of when:
		(1)  the inmate's or person's conditional pardon, 
parole, or release to mandatory supervision is:
			(A)  revoked; or                                                             
			(B)  continued or modified and the inmate or 
person is released from the county jail;
		(2)  the warrant for the inmate or person issued under 
Section 508.251 is withdrawn;  or
		(3)  the inmate or person is transferred to a facility 
described by Section 508.284 for further proceedings.
	(f)  A parole panel, a designee of the board, or the 
department shall dispose of the charges against a releasee for whom 
a warrant is issued under Section 508.281(c) not later than the 31st 
day after the date on which the warrant is issued.
	SECTION 5.  The change in law made by this Act applies only 
to a releasee who on or after the effective date of this Act is 
charged with a violation of release.  A releasee who before the 
effective date of this Act is charged with a violation is covered by 
the law in effect when the violation is charged, and the former law 
is continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.