79R7910 MFC-F


By:  Wong, et al.                                                 H.B. No. 1828



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to requiring sex offenders released on parole or mandatory 
supervision to maintain a certain distance from any premises where 
children frequently gather.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 508.187, Government Code, is amended by 
amending Subsections (b) and (e) and adding Subsection (d-1) to 
read as follows:
	(b)  A parole panel shall establish a child safety zone 
applicable to a releasee if the panel determines that a child as 
defined by Section 22.011(c), Penal Code, was the victim of the 
offense, by requiring as a condition of parole or mandatory 
supervision that the releasee:
		(1)  not:                                                                     
			(A)  supervise or participate in any program that 
includes as participants or recipients persons who are 17 years of 
age or younger and that regularly provides athletic, civic, or 
cultural activities; or
			(B)  go in, on, or within 1,000 feet [a distance 
specified by the panel] of premises where children commonly gather, 
including a school, day-care facility, playground, public or 
private youth center, public swimming pool, or video arcade 
facility; and
		(2)  attend for a period of time determined necessary 
by the panel psychological counseling sessions for sex offenders 
with an individual or organization that provides sex offender 
treatment or counseling as specified by the parole officer 
supervising the releasee after release.
	(d-1)  A parole panel may not modify a releasee's conditions 
of release under Subsection (b)(1) to grant a general exemption 
from child safety zone requirements.  The parole panel must specify 
locations at which the child safety zone requirements do not apply 
to the releasee, and before modifying the conditions notify each 
principal of a school or director of a facility within that location 
of the date on which the modification takes effect.
	(e)  A parole officer supervising a releasee may permit the 
releasee to enter on an event-by-event basis into the child safety 
zone that the releasee is otherwise prohibited from entering if:
		(1)  the releasee has served at least two years of the 
period of supervision imposed on release;
		(2)  the releasee enters the zone as part of a program 
to reunite with the releasee's family;
		(3)  the releasee presents to the parole officer a 
written proposal specifying:
			(A)  where the releasee intends to go within the 
zone;                     
			(B)  why and with whom the releasee is going; and                            
			(C)  how the releasee intends to cope with any 
stressful situations that occur;
		(4)  the sex offender treatment provider treating the 
releasee agrees with the officer that the releasee should be 
allowed to attend the event; [and]
		(5)  the officer and the treatment provider agree on a 
chaperon to accompany the releasee, and the chaperon agrees to 
perform that duty; and
		(6)  the officer notifies the principal of any school 
and the directors of all applicable facilities in the zone at least 
24 hours in advance of the time at which the releasee will enter the 
zone and specifies the approximate time at which the releasee will 
leave the zone.
	SECTION 2.  The change in law made by this Act applies to a 
releasee for whom a child safety zone is required to be established 
under Section 508.187, Government Code, as amended by this Act, 
regardless of whether the child safety zone was established before, 
on, or after the effective date of this Act.  If before the 
effective date of this Act a parole panel under Section 508.187(d), 
Government Code, granted a releasee a general exemption from the 
application of child safety zone requirements, the panel shall 
modify the releasee's conditions of release to conform to Section 
508.187(d-1), Government Code, as added by this Act.
	SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.