LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
 
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT STATEMENT
 
81ST LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
 
March 26, 2009

TO:
Honorable John Whitmire, Chair, Senate Committee on Criminal Justice
 
FROM:
John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
 
IN RE:
SB1206 by Hinojosa (Relating to the release from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice of certain inmates who complete a rehabilitation program.), As Introduced

The bill would amend the Government Code by reducing the number of days an offender with a FI-R (rehabilitation tier) vote is incarcerated.  This analysis assumes that implementation of the LBB Government Effectiveness and Efficiency Report entitled “Reduce the Prison Population by Reducing Parole Process Delays” would decrease the time between program completion and release by an average of 25 days. 

Although the bill does not contain any provisions that authorize or require a change in the sanctions applicable to adults convicted of felony crimes, the bill is expected to result in a decrease in the prison population and an increase in the parole supervision population.  The reduction in days served before release would result in a shift of offenders from prison to parole supervision, with the largest impact in the first year of implementation and decreasing impact in subsequent years. 

Assuming that 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:




Fiscal Year Decrease In Demand For Prison Capacity Increase In Release Population
2010 619 619
2011 393 393
2012 270 270
2013 266 266
2014 172 172


Source Agencies:
LBB Staff:
JOB, GG, LM