Honorable Jerry Madden, Chair, House Committee on Corrections
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB575 by Haggerty (Relating to the operation of community supervision and corrections departments and to the early release of a defendant from community supervision.), As Introduced
The bill would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure by requiring judges to dismiss the proceedings and discharge a defendant from community supervision when the defendant has successfully completed one-third of their term. The bill would not apply to defendants charged with misdemeanors, certain intoxication offenses, or offenses requiring defendants to register as sex offenders.
The change in law would apply only to a defendant who is originally placed on community supervision on or after September 1, 2005.
In this analysis, it is assumed that 50 percent of offenders meeting the basic early termination requirements will be considered successful candidates by the courts. The 50 percent assumption is based on the current percentage of felony probationers under the minimum level of supervision and half of felony offenders under the medium level of supervision. It is also assumed that probationers who have been revoked to prison for a technical violation serve an average of 2.7 years before release.
Assuming that sentencing patterns and release policies not addressed in this bill remain constant, the probable impact of implementing the provisions of the bill during each of the first five years following passage, in terms of daily demand upon the adult corrections agencies, is estimated as follows: