BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Research Center H.B. 429
80R1463 HLT-D By: Madden (Deuell)
AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
Incarcerated individuals are not eligible to receive Medicare or Medicaid. Because of this restriction, prisoner health care is an expense that the state must bear, and elderly inmates are expensive to care for.
H.B. 429 requires the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to conduct a study on the potential savings to the state in health care services costs if TDCJ were to release certain elderly inmates into the community on parole.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. INMATE HEALTH CARE STUDY. (a) Requires the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to conduct a study to determine the number of inmates 55 years of age or older who receive health care services from TDCJ and have never been convicted of or received a grant of deferred adjudication for an offense described by Section 3g (Limitation on Judge Ordered Community Supervision), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure.
(b) Requires TDCJ, after determining the number of inmates described by Subsection (a), to determine the amount of savings that would result to the state in health care services costs if it were to release the inmates into the community on parole.
(c) Requires TDCJ to submit a report to the legislature regarding the results of the study conducted under this section not later than December 1, 2008.
SECTION 2. EXPIRATION. Provides that this Act expires January 1, 2009.
SECTION 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. Effective date: September 1, 2007.