| TO: | Honorable David Dewhurst , Lieutenant Governor, Senate Honorable Tom Craddick, Speaker of the House, House of Representatives |
| FROM: | John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | SB880 by Whitmire (Relating to the time allowed for disposition of certain charges regarding a violation of parole or other forms of release from prison.), Conference Committee Report |
The bill would amend the Government Code by shortening the time for the completion of proceedings surrounding the decision of a parole violation from the 61st day following the issuance of a warrant to the 41st day following the issuance of a warrant. The bill would also shorten the time for completion of proceedings for persons receiving continuances from 30 days to 15 days.
The Board of Pardons and Paroles and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice did not indicate an additional cost to the state for shortening the time between execution of warrant and revocation disposition. However, the Board of Pardons and Paroles (BPP) indicated that they would incur a one-time capital cost for high volume scanners and database services in order to process the warrants before the 41st day following an issued warrant. It is assumed that the additional cost for high volume scanners and database services could be absorbed within the current resources of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
In fiscal year 2001, technical parole violators waited an average of 40 days from execution of the warrant to revocation disposition. The bill would reduce the time that a parole panel has to dispose of a parole violation from 61 days to 41 days, which is approximately the current average; therefore, the bill is not likely to result in a significant cost savings to local government.
| Source Agencies: | 696 Department of Criminal Justice
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| LBB Staff: | JK, JO, WK, VDS, GG, KG
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