BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 93

By: Hodge

Corrections

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Under current law, once an inmate's good conduct time has been revoked for a disciplinary offense, the inmate cannot gain the time back through cooperation or good behavior. Wardens would benefit from a tool to better ensure inmate cooperation and compliance.

H.B. 93 authorizes the restoration of good conduct time at the discretion of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 93 reenacts and amends Section 498.004(a), Government Code, as amended by Chapters 249 and 321, Acts of the 74th Legislature, Regular Session, 1995, to grant the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) unrestricted administrative authority to restore good conduct time forfeited by an inmate for the commission of an offense or the violation of a rule during the inmate's term of imprisonment in a TDCJ facility. The bill reconciles conflicting provisions that either prohibited TDCJ from restoring good conduct time that had been forfeited or that made such restoration subject to certain institutional policies.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the act does not receive the necessary vote, the act takes effect September 1, 2009.