Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
SB1266 by Whitmire (Relating to the administration of a system of community supervision for certain defendants convicted of criminal offenses and to the suspension of driver's licenses for defendants convicted of certain offenses.), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted
The bill would amend the sections of the Code of Criminal Procedure relating to the maximum period of community supervision, dismissal and discharge of defendants prior to the expiration of a term of deferred adjudication or community supervision, a continuum of care treatment plan for offenders released from the substance abuse felony program, credit toward time required to serve in a state jail facility, changing the requirements concerning termination of community supervision and grounds for termination of community supervision, and allowing a judge to grant a defendant credit for time spent on community supervision if the judge revokes community supervision due to an administrative violation.
The maximum period of community supervision for certain violent offenders (Section 3g of the Code of Criminal Procedure) would continue to be 10 years. For other felony offenders of the first, second or third degree, the bill would lower the maximum period of community supervision from ten years to five years for judge ordered community supervision and deferred adjudication. The bill would lower the maximum period of community supervision for persons convicted of state jail felonies from five years to three years, except that the judge may extend the maximum period of community supervision to not more than five years. Under current law the judge can extend the maximum period of community supervision for state jail felons to ten years. Because the bill would apply to all persons on community supervision on or after the effective date of the bill, the impact would be substantial in fiscal years 2006 and 2007 due to the significant number of persons in the community supervision population who have served more than the maximum community supervision terms proposed by this bill (5 years for felony and 3 years for state jail felony). For the purposes of this analysis, it is assumed that persons who have served more than the proposed maximum terms and are eligible for release under the bill would be distributed throughout fiscal year 2006, rather than all released at the beginning of the fiscal year. It is also assumed that a reduction in the community supervision population will result in a decrease of future community supervision revocations to prison.
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: