By: Shapiro S.B. No. 1741

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the creation of a state agency to perform the functions relating to the sex offender civil commitment program that are currently performed by the Council on Sex Offender Treatment.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 4, Government Code, is amended by adding Chapter 420A to read as follows:

CHAPTER 420A. OFFICE OF VIOLENT SEX OFFENDER MANAGEMENT

Sec. 420A.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Board" means the governing board of the Office of Violent Sex Offender Management.

(2) "Office" means the Office of Violent Sex Offender Management.

Sec. 420A.002. OFFICE; GOVERNING BOARD. (a) The Office of Violent Sex Offender Management is a state agency.

(b) The office is governed by a board composed of five members appointed by the governor.

(c) Members of the board serve staggered two-year terms. Two members' terms expire February 1 of each even-numbered year and three members' terms expire February 1 of each odd-numbered year.

(d) A member of the board is entitled to travel expenses incurred in performing official duties and to a per diem equal to the maximum amount allowed on January 1 of that year for federal employees per diem for federal income tax purposes, subject to the same limitations provided for members of state boards and commissions in the General Appropriations Act.

Sec. 420A.003. PRESIDING OFFICER; MEETINGS. (a) The governor shall designate a member of the board as presiding officer. The presiding officer serves at the discretion of the governor.

(b) The board shall meet at least once each month and at other times at the call of the presiding officer.

Sec. 420A.004. SUNSET PROVISION. The Office of Violent Sex Offender Management is subject to Chapter 325 (Texas Sunset Act). Unless continued in existence as provided by that chapter, the office is abolished and this chapter expires September 1, 2019.

Sec. 420A.005. STAFF. The office may select and employ a general counsel, staff attorneys, and other staff necessary to perform the office's functions.

Sec. 420A.006. POWERS AND DUTIES. The office shall perform appropriate functions related to the sex offender civil commitment program provided under Chapter 841, Health and Safety Code, including functions related to the provision of treatment and supervision to civilly committed sex offenders.

SECTION 2. Subdivisions (3) and (4), Section 841.002, Health and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:

(3) "Case manager" means a person employed by or under contract with the office [council] to perform duties related to outpatient treatment and supervision of a person committed under this chapter.

(4) "Office" ["Council"] means the Office of Violent Sex Offender Management [Council on Sex Offender Treatment].

SECTION 3. Section 841.007, Health and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 841.007. DUTIES OF OFFICE OF VIOLENT SEX OFFENDER MANAGEMENT [COUNCIL ON SEX OFFENDER TREATMENT]. The Office of Violent Sex Offender Management [Council on Sex Offender Treatment] is responsible for providing appropriate and necessary treatment and supervision through the case management system.

SECTION 4. Subsection (a), Section 841.022, Health and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The executive director of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the commissioner of the [Texas] Department of State Health Services [Mental Health and Mental Retardation] jointly shall establish a multidisciplinary team to review available records of a person referred to the team under Section 841.021. The team must include:

(1) two persons from the [Texas] Department of State Health Services [Mental Health and Mental Retardation];

(2) two persons from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, one of whom must be from the victim services office of that department;

(3) one person from the Texas Department of Public Safety; and

(4) two persons from the office [council] or office [council] personnel.

SECTION 5. Subsections (a) and (c), Section 841.082, Health and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) Before entering an order directing a person's outpatient civil commitment, the judge shall impose on the person requirements necessary to ensure the person's compliance with treatment and supervision and to protect the community. The requirements shall include:

(1) requiring the person to reside in a Texas residential facility under contract with the office [council] or at another location or facility approved by the office [council];

(2) prohibiting the person's contact with a victim or potential victim of the person;

(3) prohibiting the person's possession or use of alcohol, inhalants, or a controlled substance;

(4) requiring the person's participation in and compliance with a specific course of treatment;

(5) requiring the person to:

(A) submit to tracking under a particular type of tracking service and to any other appropriate supervision; and

(B) refrain from tampering with, altering, modifying, obstructing, or manipulating the tracking equipment;

(6) prohibiting the person from changing the person's residence without prior authorization from the judge and from leaving the state without that prior authorization;

(7) if determined appropriate by the judge, establishing a child safety zone in the same manner as a child safety zone is established by a judge under Section 13B, Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, and requiring the person to comply with requirements related to the safety zone;

(8) requiring the person to notify the case manager immediately but in any event within 24 hours of any change in the person's status that affects proper treatment and supervision, including a change in the person's physical health or job status and including any incarceration of the person; and

(9) any other requirements determined necessary by the judge.

(c) The judge shall provide a copy of the requirements imposed under Subsection (a) to the person and to the office [council]. The office [council] shall provide a copy of those requirements to the case manager and to the service providers.

SECTION 6. Section 841.083, Health and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 841.083. TREATMENT; SUPERVISION. (a) The office [council] shall approve and contract for the provision of a treatment plan for the committed person to be developed by the treatment provider. A treatment plan may include the monitoring of the person with a polygraph or plethysmograph. The treatment provider may receive annual compensation in an amount not to exceed $6,000 for providing the required treatment.

(b) The case manager shall provide supervision to the person. The provision of supervision shall include a tracking service and, if required by court order, supervised housing.

(c) The office [council] shall enter into appropriate memoranda of understanding with the Texas Department of Public Safety for the provision of a tracking service and for assistance in the preparation of criminal complaints, warrants, and related documents and in the apprehension and arrest of a person.

(c-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (c) or any other provision of this subchapter, the office [council] shall provide through the case management system any supervision or tracking service required under this chapter for persons residing in Dallas, Harris, or Tarrant County. The office [council] shall provide the tracking service under this subsection through two employees of the Department of State Health Services. Any tracking personnel used by the department for purposes of this chapter must be approved by the office [council].

(c-2) If the equipment necessary to implement the tracking service is available through a contract entered into by the Texas Building and Procurement Commission, the Department of Public Safety or the office [council], as appropriate, shall acquire that equipment through that contract.

(d) The office [council] shall enter into appropriate memoranda of understanding for any necessary supervised housing. The office [council] shall reimburse the applicable provider for housing costs under this section. The committed person may not be housed for any period [of time] in a mental health facility, state school, or community center, unless the placement results from a commitment of the person to that facility, school, or center by governmental action. In this subsection:

(1) "Community center" means a center established under Subchapter A, Chapter 534.

(2) "Mental health facility" has the meaning assigned by Section 571.003.

(3) "State school" has the meaning assigned by Section 531.002.

(e) The case manager shall:

(1) coordinate the outpatient treatment and supervision required by this chapter, including performing a periodic assessment of the success of that treatment and supervision;

(2) make timely recommendations to the judge on whether to allow the committed person to change residence or to leave the state and on any other appropriate matters; and

(3) provide a report to the office [council], semiannually or more frequently as necessary, which must include:

(A) any known change in the person's status that affects proper treatment and supervision; and

(B) any recommendations made to the judge.

SECTION 7. Section 841.101, Health and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 841.101. BIENNIAL EXAMINATION. (a) A person committed under Section 841.081 shall receive a biennial examination. The office [council] shall contract for an expert to perform the examination.

(b) In preparation for a judicial review conducted under Section 841.102, the case manager shall provide a report of the biennial examination to the judge. The report must include consideration of whether to modify a requirement imposed on the person under this chapter and whether to release the person from all requirements imposed on the person under this chapter. The case manager shall provide a copy of the report to the office [council].

SECTION 8. Section 841.141, Health and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 841.141. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY. (a) The office [council] by rule shall administer this chapter. Rules adopted by the office [council] under this section must be consistent with the purposes of this chapter.

(b) The office [council] by rule shall develop standards of care and case management for persons committed under this chapter.

SECTION 9. Subsections (c) and (d), Section 841.142, Health and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:

(c) On the written request of any attorney for another state or for a political subdivision in another state, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the office [council], a service provider contracting with one of those agencies, the multidisciplinary team, and the attorney representing the state shall release to the attorney any available information relating to a person that is sought in connection with an attempt to civilly commit the person as a sexually violent predator in another state.

(d) To protect the public and to enable an assessment or determination relating to whether a person is a sexually violent predator or to enable the provision of supervision and treatment to a person who is a sexually violent predator, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the office [council], a service provider contracting with one of those agencies, the multidisciplinary team, and the attorney representing the state may exchange any available information relating to the person.

SECTION 10. Section 841.147, Health and Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 841.147. IMMUNITY. The following persons are immune from liability for good faith conduct under this chapter:

(1) an employee or officer of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the [Texas] Department of State Health Services [Mental Health and Mental Retardation], the [Texas] Department of Aging and Disability Services [Health], or the office [council];

(2) a member of the multidisciplinary team established under Section 841.022;

(3) an employee of the division of the prison prosecution unit charged with initiating and pursuing civil commitment proceedings under this chapter; and

(4) a person providing, or contracting, appointed, or volunteering to perform, a tracking service or another service under this chapter.

SECTION 11. The functions of the Council on Sex Offender Treatment that relate to the sex offender civil commitment program are transferred to the Office of Violent Sex Offender Management.

SECTION 12. As soon as possible after the effective date of this Act, the governor shall appoint five members to the Office of Violent Sex Offender Management.

SECTION 13. (a) The Office of Violent Sex Offender Management and the Council on Sex Offender Treatment shall coordinate the transfer of functions relating to the sex offender civil commitment program as required by this Act.

(b) The transfer of all functions relating to the sex offender civil commitment program to the Office of Violent Sex Offender Management shall be accomplished as soon as possible but not later than the 45th day after the date that the last member of the Office of Violent Sex Offender Management qualifies for office.

(c) The transfer required by this Act includes the transfer of all assets, duties, powers, obligations, and liabilities, including contracts, leases, real or personal property, funds, employees, furniture, computers and other equipment, and files and related materials used by the Council on Sex Offender Treatment in performing the functions relating to the sex offender civil commitment program that are transferred by this Act.

(d) A form, rule, or procedure adopted by the Health and Human Services Commission or the Department of State Health Services in relation to the Council on Sex Offender Treatment that is in effect on the effective date of this Act remains in effect on and after that date as if adopted by the Office of Violent Sex Offender Management until amended, repealed, withdrawn, or otherwise superseded by that office.

(e) All unexpended appropriations for functions relating to the sex offender civil commitment program that are made for use by the Council on Sex Offender Treatment are transferred to the Office of Violent Sex Offender Management.

(f) The Office of Violent Sex Offender Management shall publish in the Texas Register the date on which the transfer of functions under this Act is accomplished.

SECTION 14. After the effective date of this Act, the Council on Sex Offender Treatment shall continue to perform applicable functions until the transfer of functions required by this Act is completed, and the laws providing for those functions are continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 15. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2007.