The bill would amend the Code of Criminal Procedure and Government Code relating to community supervision for certain drug possession offenses.  The bill would require a judge to suspend the imposition of a sentence and place a defendant on community supervision for certain drug possession offenses.  The bill would also specify conditions in which the judge would not be required to suspend the sentence and place a defendant on community supervision.  A court granting community supervision as a result of the bill would require as a condition of community supervision that the defendant submit to an evidence-based risks and needs screening and evaluation procedure and, based on the evaluation, participate in a prescribed course of treatment in a program or facility and pay a fee to cover all or part of the cost of the treatment based on the defendant’s ability to pay.  The bill would specify revocation conditions for a defendant’s violation of the terms of community supervision relating to the revocation of supervision. 
 
The defendant would be required to pay a fee to cover all or part of the cost of the treatment based on the defendant’s ability to pay.
 
The bill would also require the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to study and report to the Legislature on the effectiveness and financial impact to the state of the bill.
 
For fiscal year 2008, approximately 13,300 admissions to prison and state jail were for drug possession offenses punishable as a felony of the third degree or lower.  The bill specifies a number of conditions in which the judge would not be required to suspend the sentence and place a defendant on community supervision.  At present, statewide criminal history records do not provide the exact amount the offender was convicted of possessing.  It is assumed half of those convicted of a third degree felony would have possessed more than two grams and would not be eligible under the provisions of the bill.  After excluding ineligible drug possession offenses, admissions with prior convictions of a felony offense other than drug possession, parole revocations for the current offense, community supervision revocations for the current offense, those released on shock probation, and third degree felonies where the amount possessed was more than two grams, 1,716 admissions would be affected by the provisions of the bill.   For this analysis, it is assumed 82 percent of admissions are for state jail felonies and 18 percent are for third degree felonies.  

Assuming 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: