This website will be unavailable from Friday, April 26, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. through Monday, April 29, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. due to data center maintenance.
S.B. No. 591
AN ACT
relating to the structure and functions of the Texas Council on
Offenders with Mental Impairments and to reassigning the duties of
the council to the Advisory Committee to the Texas Board of Criminal
Justice on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments and the
Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical or Mental
Impairments.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Chapter 614, Health and Safety
Code, is amended to read as follows:
CHAPTER 614. TEXAS CORRECTIONAL OFFICE [TEXAS COUNCIL] ON
OFFENDERS WITH MEDICAL OR MENTAL IMPAIRMENTS
SECTION 2. Section 614.001, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 614.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Board" means the Texas Board of Criminal Justice.
["Adaptive behavior" means the effectiveness with which a person
meets the standards of personal independence and social
responsibility reasonably expected of the person's age and cultural
group.]
(2) "Case management" means a process by which a
person or team responsible for establishing and continuously
maintaining contact with a person with mental illness, a
developmental disability, or mental retardation provides that
person with access to services required by the person and ensures
the coordinated delivery of those services to the person.
(3) "Committee" ["Council"] means the Advisory
Committee to the Texas Board of Criminal Justice [Texas Council] on
Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments.
(4) "Developmental disability" means a severe,
chronic disability that:
(A) is attributable to a mental or physical
impairment or a combination of physical and mental impairments;
(B) is manifested before the person reaches 22
years of age;
(C) is likely to continue indefinitely;
(D) results in substantial functional
limitations in three or more of the following areas of major life
activity:
(i) self-care;
(ii) self-direction;
(iii) learning;
(iv) receptive and expressive language;
(v) mobility;
(vi) capacity for independent living; or
(vii) economic self-sufficiency; and
(E) reflects the person's need for a combination
and sequence of special, interdisciplinary, or generic care,
treatment, or other services of extended or lifelong duration that
are individually planned and coordinated.
(5) "Mental illness" has the meaning assigned by
Section 571.003.
(6) "Mental impairment" means a mental illness, mental
retardation, or a developmental disability.
(7) [(6)] "Mental retardation" has the meaning
assigned by Section 591.003.
(8) [(7)] "Offender with a medical or mental
impairment" means a juvenile or adult [with mental illness, mental
retardation, or a developmental disability] who is arrested or
charged with a criminal offense and who:
(A) has a mental impairment; or
(B) is elderly, physically disabled, terminally
ill, or significantly ill.
(9) "Office" means the Texas Correctional Office on
Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments.
(10) [(8)] "Person with mental retardation" means a
juvenile or adult with mental retardation that is not a mental
disorder who, because of the mental deficit, requires special
training, education, supervision, treatment, care, or control in
the person's home or community or in a private or state school for
persons with mental retardation.
SECTION 3. Section 614.002, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 614.002. COMPOSITION OF COMMITTEE; DUTIES [COUNCIL].
(a) The Advisory Committee to the Texas Board of Criminal Justice
[Texas Council] on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments is
composed of 31 [30] members.
(b) The governor shall appoint, with the advice and consent
of the senate:
(1) four at-large members who have expertise in mental
health, mental retardation, or developmental disabilities, three
[one] of whom must be forensic psychiatrists or forensic
psychologists [a psychiatrist];
(2) one at-large member who is the judge of a district
court with criminal jurisdiction;
(3) one at-large member who is a prosecuting attorney;
(4) one at-large member who is a criminal defense
attorney;
(5) two [one at-large member from an established
pretrial services agency; and
[(6) one] at-large members [member] who have [has]
expertise in the juvenile justice or criminal justice system; and
(6) one at-large member whose expertise can further
the mission of the committee.
(c)(1) The following entities, by September 1 of each
even-numbered year, shall submit to the governor for consideration
a list of five candidates from their respective fields for at-large
membership on the committee:
(A) the Texas District and County Attorneys
Association;
(B) the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers
Association;
(C) the Texas Association of Counties;
(D) the Texas Medical Association;
(E) the Texas Society of Psychiatric Physicians;
(F) the Texas Psychological Association;
(G) the Sheriffs' Association of Texas;
(H) the court of criminal appeals;
(I) the County Judges and Commissioners
Association of Texas; and
(J) the Texas Conference of Urban Counties.
(2) The Texas Medical Association, the Texas Society
of Psychiatric Physicians, and the Texas Psychological Association
may submit a candidate for membership only if the candidate has
documented expertise and educational training in, as appropriate,
medical forensics, forensic psychology, or forensic psychiatry. [A
person may not be an at-large member of the council if the person or
the person's spouse:
[(1) is employed by or participates in the management
of a business entity or other organization regulated by or
receiving money from the council;
[(2) owns or controls, directly or indirectly, more
than a 10 percent interest in a business entity or other
organization regulated by or receiving money from the council; or
[(3) uses or receives a substantial amount of tangible
goods, services, or money from the council other than compensation
or reimbursement authorized by law for council membership,
attendance, or expenses.]
(d) A person may not be a member of the committee [council or
act as the general counsel to the council] if the person is required
to register as a lobbyist under Chapter 305, Government Code,
because of the person's activities for compensation on behalf of a
profession related to the operation of the committee [council].
(e) The executive head of each of the following agencies,
divisions of agencies, or associations, or that person's designated
representative, shall serve as a member of the committee [council]:
(1) the institutional division of the Texas Department
of Criminal Justice;
(2) the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental
Retardation;
(3) the pardons and paroles division of the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice;
(4) the community justice assistance division of the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice;
(5) the state jail division of the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice;
(6) the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission;
(7) the Texas Youth Commission;
(8) the Texas Rehabilitation Commission;
(9) the Texas Education Agency;
(10) the Criminal Justice Policy Council;
(11) the Mental Health Association in Texas;
(12) the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse;
(13) the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer
Standards and Education;
(14) the Texas Council of Community Mental Health and
Mental Retardation Centers;
(15) the Commission on Jail Standards;
(16) the Texas Council for Developmental
Disabilities;
(17) the Texas Association for Retarded Citizens;
(18) the Texas Alliance for the Mentally Ill;
(19) the Parent Association for the Retarded of Texas,
Inc.;
(20) the Texas Department of Human Services; and
(21) the Texas Department on Aging.
(f) In making the appointments under Subsection (b), the
governor shall attempt to reflect the geographic and economic
diversity of the state. Appointments to the committee [council]
shall be made without regard to the race, color, disability, sex,
religion, age, or national origin of the appointees.
(g) It is a ground for removal from the committee [council]
that an at-large member:
(1) does not have at the time of taking office the
qualifications required by Subsection [Subsections] (b)[, (c), and
(k)];
(2) does not maintain during service on the committee
[council] the qualifications required by Subsection [Subsections]
(b)[, (c), and (k)];
(3) is ineligible for membership under Subsection [(c)
or] (d);
(4) cannot, because of illness or disability,
discharge the member's duties for a substantial part of the member's
term;
(5) is absent from more than half of the regularly
scheduled committee [council] meetings that the member is eligible
to attend during a calendar year without an excuse approved by a
majority vote of the committee [council]; or
(6) is absent from more than two consecutive regularly
scheduled committee [council] meetings that the member is eligible
to attend.
(h) The validity of an action of the committee [council] is
not affected by the fact that it is taken when a ground for removal
of a committee [council] member exists.
(i) If the director of the committee [council] has knowledge
that a potential ground for removal exists, the director shall
notify the presiding officer of the committee [council] of the
potential ground. The presiding officer shall then notify the
governor and the attorney general that a potential ground for
removal exists. If the potential ground for removal involves the
presiding officer, the director shall notify the next highest
ranking officer of the committee [council], who shall then notify
the governor and the attorney general that a potential ground for
removal exists.
(j) A representative designated by the executive head of a
state agency must be an officer or employee of the agency when
designated and while serving on the committee [council], except the
representative designated by the director of the Criminal Justice
Policy Council must be an employee of that council.
(k) The committee shall advise the board and the director of
the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical or Mental
Impairments on matters related to offenders with medical or mental
impairments and perform other duties imposed by the board.
[Members who are not associated with a state agency or division must
have expertise in the rehabilitation of persons with mental
illness, mental retardation, or a developmental disability when
appointed or designated and while serving on the council.]
SECTION 4. Section 614.003, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 614.003. TEXAS CORRECTIONAL OFFICE ON OFFENDERS WITH
MEDICAL OR MENTAL IMPAIRMENTS; DIRECTOR [INFORMATION:
REQUIREMENTS FOR OFFICE OR EMPLOYMENT]. The Texas Correctional
Office on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments shall
perform duties imposed on or assigned to the office by this chapter,
other law, the board, and the executive director of the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice. The executive director of the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice shall hire a director of the
office. The director serves at the pleasure of the executive
director. The director shall hire the employees for the office [or
the executive director's designee shall provide to members of the
council and to agency employees, as often as necessary, information
regarding the requirements for office or employment under this
chapter, including information regarding a person's
responsibilities under applicable laws relating to standards of
conduct for state officers or employees].
SECTION 5. Section 614.0031, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 614.0031. TRAINING PROGRAM. (a) A person who is
appointed to and qualifies for office as a member of the committee
[council] may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a member in
attendance at a meeting of the committee [council] until the person
completes a training program that complies with this section.
(b) The training program must provide the person with
information regarding:
(1) the legislation that created the committee and the
office [council];
(2) the programs operated by the committee and the
office [council];
(3) the role and functions of the committee and the
office [council];
(4) the rules of the committee and the office
[council];
(5) the current budget for the committee and the
office [council];
(6) the results of the most recent formal audit of the
committee and the office [council];
(7) the requirements of:
(A) the open meetings law, Chapter 551,
Government Code;
(B) the public information law, Chapter 552,
Government Code;
(C) the administrative procedure law, Chapter
2001, Government Code; and
(D) other laws relating to public officials,
including conflict of interest laws; and
(8) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the
committee [council] or the Texas Ethics Commission.
(c) A person appointed to the committee [council] is
entitled to reimbursement, as provided by the General
Appropriations Act, for the travel expenses incurred in attending
the training program regardless of whether the attendance at the
program occurs before or after the person qualifies for office.
SECTION 6. Chapter 614, Health and Safety Code, is amended
by adding Section 614.0032 to read as follows:
Sec. 614.0032. SPECIAL DUTIES RELATED TO MEDICALLY
RECOMMENDED SUPERVISION; COMPETENCY DETERMINATION. (a) The
office shall perform duties imposed on the office by Section
508.146, Government Code.
(b) The office, with the special assistance of committee
members appointed under Section 614.002(b)(1), shall review
examinations to determine the competency of defendants in criminal
cases to stand trial and periodically shall report findings made as
a result of the review to the legislature and the court of criminal
appeals.
SECTION 7. Section 614.004, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 614.004. TERMS. The at-large members of the committee
[council] serve for staggered six-year terms.
SECTION 8. Section 614.005, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 614.005. OFFICERS; MEETINGS. (a) The governor shall
designate a member of the committee [council] as the presiding
officer of the committee [council] to serve in that capacity at the
pleasure of the governor.
(b) The committee [council] shall meet at least four times
each year and may meet at other times at the call of the presiding
officer or as provided by committee [council] rule.
SECTION 9. Section 614.006, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 614.006. APPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN GOVERNMENT CODE
PROVISIONS. (a) The provisions of Chapter 2110, Government Code,
other than Section 2110.002(a), apply to the committee.
(b) [REIMBURSEMENT FOR EXPENSES.] A member of the
committee [council] is not entitled to compensation for performing
duties on the committee [council] but is entitled to receive
reimbursement [from the council] for travel and other necessary
expenses incurred in performing official duties at the rate
provided for state employees in the General Appropriations Act.
SECTION 10. Section 614.007, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 614.007. POWERS AND DUTIES. [(a)] The office
[council] shall:
(1) determine the status of offenders with medical or
mental impairments in the state criminal justice system;
(2) identify needed services for offenders with
medical or mental impairments;
(3) develop a plan for meeting the treatment,
rehabilitative, and educational needs of offenders with medical or
mental impairments that includes a case management system and the
development of community-based alternatives to incarceration;
(4) cooperate in coordinating procedures of
represented agencies for the orderly provision of services for
offenders with medical or mental impairments;
(5) evaluate programs in this state and outside this
state for offenders with medical or mental impairments and
recommend to the directors of state programs methods of improving
the programs;
(6) collect and disseminate information about
available programs to judicial officers, law enforcement officers,
probation and parole officers, providers of social services or
treatment, and the public;
(7) provide technical assistance to represented
agencies and organizations in the development of appropriate
training programs;
(8) apply for and receive money made available by the
federal or state government or by any other public or private source
to be used by the office [council] to perform its duties;
(9) distribute to political subdivisions, private
organizations, or other persons money appropriated by the
legislature to be used for the development, operation, or
evaluation of programs for offenders with medical or mental
impairments;
(10) develop and implement pilot projects to
demonstrate a cooperative program to identify, evaluate, and manage
outside of incarceration offenders with medical or mental
impairments; and
(11) assess the need for demonstration projects and
provide management for approved projects.
[(b) The council shall develop and implement policies that
clearly separate the policymaking responsibilities of the council
and the management responsibilities of the staff of the council.]
SECTION 11. Section 614.008, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 614.008. COMMUNITY-BASED DIVERSION [PILOT] PROGRAM
FOR OFFENDERS WITH MEDICAL OR MENTAL IMPAIRMENTS. (a) The office
may maintain at least one [council shall establish a pilot] program
in a county selected by the office to employ [council to implement]
a cooperative community-based alternative system to divert from the
state criminal justice system offenders with mental impairments or
offenders who are identified as being elderly, physically disabled,
terminally ill, or significantly ill [who do not have an instant
offense that is an offense described in Section 3g, Article 42.12,
Code of Criminal Procedure,] and to rehabilitate those offenders.
(b) [The program must conform to the report and
recommendations made by the Texas Department of Mental Health and
Mental Retardation and the Texas Department of Corrections to the
70th Legislature as directed by S.C.R. No. 128, 69th Legislature,
Regular Session, 1985.
[(c)] The office [council] may contract for or employ and
train a case management team to carry out the purposes of the
program and to coordinate the joint efforts of agencies represented
on the committee [council].
(c) [(d)] The agencies represented on the committee
[council] shall perform duties and offer services as required by
the office [council] to further the purposes of the [pilot] program
and the office [council].
SECTION 12. Section 614.009, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 614.009. BIENNIAL REPORT. Not later than February 1 of
each odd-numbered year, the office [council] shall present to the
board and file with the governor, lieutenant governor, and speaker
of the house of representatives a report giving the details of the
office's [council's] activities during the preceding biennium. The
report must include:
(1) an evaluation of any demonstration project
undertaken by the office [council];
(2) an evaluation of the [council's] progress made by
the office toward developing a plan for meeting the treatment,
rehabilitative, and educational needs of offenders with special
needs;
(3) recommendations of the office [council] made in
accordance with Section 614.007(5);
(4) an evaluation of the development and
implementation of the continuity of care and service programs
established under Sections 614.013, 614.014, 614.015, and 614.016,
changes in rules, policies, or procedures relating to the programs,
future plans for the programs, and any recommendations for
legislation; and
(5) any other recommendations that the office
[council] considers appropriate.
SECTION 13. Section 614.0101, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 614.0101. PUBLIC ACCESS. The committee [council]
shall develop and implement policies that provide the public with a
reasonable opportunity to appear before the committee [council] and
to speak on any issue under the jurisdiction of the committee or
office [council].
SECTION 14. Section 614.0102, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 614.0102. COMPLAINTS. (a) The office [council] shall
maintain a file on each written complaint filed with the office
[council]. The file must include:
(1) the name of the person who filed the complaint;
(2) the date the complaint is received by the office
[council];
(3) the subject matter of the complaint;
(4) the name of each person contacted in relation to
the complaint;
(5) a summary of the results of the review or
investigation of the complaint; and
(6) an explanation of the reason the file was closed,
if the office [council] closed the file without taking action other
than to investigate the complaint.
(b) The office [council] shall provide to the person filing
the complaint and to each person who is a subject of the complaint a
copy of the office's [council's] policies and procedures relating
to complaint investigation and resolution.
(c) The office [council], at least quarterly until final
disposition of the complaint, shall notify the person filing the
complaint and each person who is a subject of the complaint of the
status of the investigation unless the notice would jeopardize an
undercover investigation.
SECTION 15. Subsections (a), (b), and (e), Section 614.013,
Health and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the Texas
Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation,
representatives of local mental health or mental retardation
authorities appointed by the commissioner of the Texas Department
of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, and the directors of
community supervision and corrections departments shall adopt a
memorandum of understanding that establishes their respective
responsibilities to institute a continuity of care and service
program for offenders with mental impairments in the criminal
justice system. The office [council] shall coordinate and monitor
the development and implementation of the memorandum of
understanding.
(b) The memorandum of understanding must establish methods
for:
(1) identifying offenders with mental impairments in
the criminal justice system and collecting and reporting prevalence
rate data to the office [council];
(2) developing interagency rules, policies,
procedures, and standards for the coordination of care of and the
exchange of information on offenders with mental impairments by
local and state criminal justice agencies, the Texas Department of
Mental Health and Mental Retardation, local mental health or mental
retardation authorities, the Commission on Jail Standards, and
local jails;
(3) identifying the services needed by offenders with
mental impairments to reenter the community successfully; and
(4) establishing a process to report implementation
activities to the office [council].
(e) The office [council], in coordination with each state
agency identified in Subsection (b)(2), shall develop a
standardized process for collecting and reporting the memorandum of
understanding implementation outcomes by local and state criminal
justice agencies and local and state mental health or mental
retardation authorities. The findings of these reports shall be
submitted to the office [council] by September 1 of each
even-numbered year and shall be included in recommendations to the
board [legislature] in the office's biennial [council's biennium]
report under Section 614.009.
SECTION 16. Subsection (a), Section 614.014, Health and
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the Texas
Department of Human Services, and the Texas Department on Aging by
rule shall adopt a memorandum of understanding that establishes
their respective responsibilities to institute a continuity of care
and service program for elderly offenders in the criminal justice
system. The office [council] shall coordinate and monitor the
development and implementation of the memorandum of understanding.
SECTION 17. Section 614.016, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 614.016. CONTINUITY OF CARE FOR CERTAIN OFFENDERS BY
LAW ENFORCEMENT AND JAILS. (a) The office [council], the
Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education, and
the Commission on Jail Standards by rule shall adopt a memorandum of
understanding that establishes their respective responsibilities
to institute a continuity of care and service program for offenders
in the criminal justice system who are mentally impaired, elderly,
physically disabled, terminally ill, or significantly ill.
(b) The memorandum of understanding must establish methods
for:
(1) identifying offenders in the criminal justice
system who are mentally impaired, elderly, physically disabled,
terminally ill, or significantly ill;
(2) developing procedures for the exchange of
information relating to offenders who are mentally impaired,
elderly, physically disabled, terminally ill, or significantly ill
by the office [council], the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer
Standards and Education, and the Commission on Jail Standards for
use in the continuity of care and services program; and
(3) adopting rules and standards that assist in the
development of a continuity of care and services program for
offenders who are mentally impaired, elderly, physically disabled,
terminally ill, or significantly ill.
SECTION 18. Subdivision (2), Subsection (c), Section
614.017, Health and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
(2) "Special needs offender" includes [means] an
individual for whom criminal charges are pending or who after
conviction or adjudication is in custody or under any form of
criminal justice supervision.
SECTION 19. Section 614.019, Health and Safety Code, as
added by Chapter 328, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2001, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 614.019. [PILOT] PROGRAMS FOR JUVENILES. The office
[council], in cooperation with the Texas Commission on Alcohol and
Drug Abuse, the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental
Retardation, the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services,
the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, the Texas Youth
Commission, and the Texas Education Agency, may establish and
maintain [pilot] programs, building on existing successful efforts
in communities, to address prevention, intervention, and
continuity of care for juveniles with mental health and substance
abuse disorders.
SECTION 20. Section 614.019, Health and Safety Code, as
added by Chapter 1499, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2001, is renumbered as Section 614.020, Health and Safety
Code, and amended to read as follows:
Sec. 614.020 [614.019]. YOUTH ASSERTIVE COMMUNITY
TREATMENT [PILOT] PROGRAM. (a) The office [council] may establish
and maintain in Tarrant County an assertive community treatment
[pilot] program to provide treatment, rehabilitation, and support
services to individuals in that county who:
(1) are under 18 years of age;
(2) have severe and persistent mental illness;
(3) have a history of:
(A) multiple hospitalizations;
(B) poor performance in school;
(C) placement in emergency shelters or
residential treatment facilities; or
(D) chemical dependency or abuse; and
(4) have been placed on probation by a juvenile court.
(b) The [pilot] program must be modeled after other
assertive community treatment programs established by the Texas
Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. The program is
limited to serving not more than 30 program participants at any
time.
(c) If the office [council] creates and maintains a [pilot]
program under this section, the office [council] shall provide for
the program a team of licensed or degreed professionals in the
clinical treatment or rehabilitation field to administer the
[pilot] program. A team provided [created] under this subsection
must include:
(1) a registered nurse to provide full-time direct
services to the program participants; and
(2) a psychiatrist available to the program for 10 or
more hours each week.
(d) In administering the [pilot] program, the program's
professional team shall:
(1) provide psychiatric, substance abuse, and
employment services to program participants;
(2) maintain a ratio of one or more team members for
each 10 program participants to the extent practicable;
(3) be available to program participants during
evening and weekend hours;
(4) meet the needs of special populations;
(5) maintain at all times availability for addressing
and managing a psychiatric crisis of any program participant; and
(6) cover the geographic areas served by the program.
(e) The office [council] and the [pilot] program shall
cooperate with or contract with local agencies to avoid duplication
of services and to maximize federal Medicaid funding.
SECTION 21. Section 508.146, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 508.146. MEDICALLY RECOMMENDED INTENSIVE SUPERVISION.
(a) An inmate 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 a parole panel that is earlier than the date
computed under that section if:
(1) the Texas Correctional Office [Texas Council] on
Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments, in cooperation with
the Correctional Managed Health Care Committee, identifies the
inmate as being elderly, physically disabled [handicapped],
mentally ill, terminally ill, or 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 Correctional Office [Texas Council] on
Offenders with Medical or 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.
(b) An inmate may be released on medically recommended
intensive supervision only if the inmate's medically recommended
intensive supervision plan under Subsection (a)(3) is approved by
the Texas Correctional Office [Texas Council] on Offenders with
Medical or Mental Impairments.
(c) 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 Correctional Office [Texas Council] on
Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments shall report to the
board on the releasee's medical and placement status. On the basis
of the report, a parole panel may modify conditions of release and
impose any condition on the releasee that 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.
(d) The Texas Correctional Office [Texas Council] on
Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments and the Texas
Department of Human Services shall jointly request proposals from
public or private vendors to provide under contract services for
inmates released on medically recommended intensive supervision. A
request for proposals under this subsection may require that the
services be provided in a medical care facility located in an urban
area. For the purposes of this subsection, "urban area" means the
area in this state within a metropolitan statistical area,
according to the standards of the United States Bureau of the
Census.
SECTION 22. The following sections of the Health and Safety
Code are repealed:
(1) Section 614.010;
(2) Section 614.011; and
(3) Section 614.012.
SECTION 23. (a) The changes in law made by this Act in
renaming the Texas Council on Offenders with Mental Impairments as
the Advisory Committee to the Texas Board of Criminal Justice on
Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments and in amending the
qualifications of, and the prohibitions applying to, members of the
committee do not affect the entitlement of a person serving as a
member of the council immediately before September 1, 2003, to
continue as a member of the committee for the remainder of the
person's term. The changes in law apply only to a person appointed
on or after September 1, 2003. This Act does not prohibit a person
who is a member of the Texas Council on Offenders with Mental
Impairments immediately before September 1, 2003, from being
reappointed as a member of the Advisory Committee to the Texas Board
of Criminal Justice on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments
if the person has the qualifications required for the position
under Section 614.002, Health and Safety Code, as amended by this
Act. The entities required by Subsection (c), Section 614.002,
Health and Safety Code, as amended by this Act, to submit a list of
candidates for membership on the Advisory Committee to the Texas
Board of Criminal Justice on Offenders with Medical or Mental
Impairments shall make that submission no later than September 1,
2003.
(b) The Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical
or Mental Impairments shall present to the Texas Board of Criminal
Justice the first biennial report required by Section 614.009,
Health and Safety Code, as amended by this Act, not later than
February 1, 2005.
SECTION 24. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 591 passed the Senate on
April 3, 2003, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that
the Senate concurred in House amendments on May 29, 2003, by a
viva-voce vote.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 591 passed the House, with
amendments, on May 24, 2003, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor