Honorable Joe Straus, Speaker of the House, House of Representatives
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB1711 by Turner, Sylvester (Relating to requiring the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to establish a comprehensive reentry and reintegration plan for offenders released or discharged from a correctional facility. ), As Passed 2nd House
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB1711, As Passed 2nd House: a negative impact of ($12,761,794) through the biennium ending August 31, 2011.
The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.
Fiscal Year
Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
2010
($6,380,897)
2011
($6,380,897)
2012
($6,380,897)
2013
($6,380,897)
2014
($6,380,897)
Fiscal Year
Probable Savings/(Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1
Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2009
2010
($6,380,897)
128.0
2011
($6,380,897)
128.0
2012
($6,380,897)
128.0
2013
($6,380,897)
128.0
2014
($6,380,897)
128.0
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would require the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to develop a comprehensive reentry and reintegration plan for offenders released or discharged from a correctional facility. The reentry and reintegration plan must provide for an assessment of each offender entering the facility to determine skills, needs, a comprehensive network of transitional programs to address the offender's needs, identification of providers of existing local programs and transitional services with whom the department may contract, and the sharing of certain information between local coordinators, persons with whom the department contracts, and other providers of services as necessary. The bill would require staff to provide offenders with individualized case management. The bill would allow TDCJ to contract and coordinate with a private vendor, unit of local government, or other entity to implement certain services. The bill would require any contract to contain specific performance measures to evaluate compliance with the terms of the contract.
The bill would specify TDCJ adopt and implement policies that encourage family unity while an offender is confined, as well as post-release or post-discharge participation in the offender’s transition back to the community. The agency shall also take into consideration the best interest of the offender’s family when determining which correctional facility to house the offender. The bill would require TDCJ conduct and coordinate research that examines the impact of an offender’s confinement on the well-being of the offender’s child. In addition, TDCJ must conduct and coordinate research for a report to determine whether the reentry and reintegration plan and family unity and participation policies reduce recidivism rates. The bill would require the recidivism report be due no later than September 1 of each even-numbered year to the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the standing committees of each house of the legislature with primary jurisdiction over criminal justice and corrections.
The bill would require TDCJ to coordinate the work of the task force with the Office of Court Administration and enter into a memorandum of understanding with certain entities to establish a reentry task force. The purpose of the task force would include identifying gaps in services for offenders and coordinating efforts with providers of existing local reentry and reintegration programs.
Methodology
It is assumed the bill is requiring the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to develop a reentry and reintegration plan, which requires individualized case management, and not the expansion of treatment programs. TDCJ estimates the cost of implementing the provisions of the bill to be approximately $4,251,008 in salaries (salaries for 128 additional full-time equivalent positions at $33,211 each), $1,214,513 in benefits (benefits for each position at 28.57 percent), and $915,376 in operating expenses. The total cost for implementing the provisions of the bill would be $6,380,897 in fiscal year 2010 and $6,380,897 in each subsequent fiscal year.
Local Government Impact
No fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.