By: Perry (Senate Sponsor - Huffman) H.B. No. 1940

(In the Senate - Received from the House April 27, 2011; May 3, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice; May 23, 2011, reported adversely, with favorable Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 23, 2011, sent to printer.)

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1940 By: Huffman

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to certain matters affecting the supervision of persons released from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and to certain hearings conducted concerning persons released from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

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

SECTION 1. Section 508.040(a), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The presiding officer is responsible for the employment and supervision of:

(1) parole commissioners;

(2) a general counsel to the board;

(3) a board administrator to manage the day-to-day activities of the board;

(4) hearing officers;

(5) institutional parole officers;

(6) personnel to assist in clemency and hearing matters; and

(7) [(6)] secretarial or clerical personnel.

SECTION 2. Section 508.0441(a), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) Board members and parole commissioners shall determine:

(1) which inmates are to be released on parole or mandatory supervision;

(2) conditions of parole or mandatory supervision, including special conditions;

(3) the modification and withdrawal of conditions of parole or mandatory supervision; and

(4) [which releasees may be released from supervision and reporting; and

[(5)] the continuation, modification, and revocation of parole or mandatory supervision.

SECTION 3. Section 508.045, Government Code, is amended by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:

(c) A parole panel may:

(1) grant, deny, or revoke parole;

(2) deny release to mandatory supervision, under Section 508.149(b), or revoke mandatory supervision; [and]

(3) conduct parole revocation hearings and mandatory supervision revocation hearings; and

(4) conduct hearings concerning whether, as a condition of release on parole or to mandatory supervision, a releasee who does not have a reportable conviction or adjudication, as defined by Article 62.001(5), Code of Criminal Procedure, must comply with any sex offender restrictions, including, if applicable, registering as a sex offender under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure.

(d) A parole panel or a designated agent of the board may conduct a hearing described by Subsection (c)(3) or (4).

SECTION 4. Section 508.224, Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 508.224. SUBSTANCE ABUSE COUNSELING. A parole panel may require as a condition of parole or mandatory supervision that the releasee attend counseling sessions for substance abusers or participate in substance abuse treatment services in a program or facility approved or licensed by the Department of State Health Services [Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse] if:

(1) the releasee was sentenced for an offense involving a controlled substance; or

(2) the panel determines that the releasee's substance abuse was related to the commission of the offense.

SECTION 5. Section 508.283(a), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) If a releasee waives the releasee's right to a hearing or, if a releasee does not waive the releasee's right to a hearing, after [After] a parole panel or designated agent of the board has held a hearing under Section 508.281, in any manner warranted by the evidence:

(1) the board may recommend to the governor to continue, revoke, or modify the conditional pardon; and

(2) a parole panel may continue, revoke, or modify the parole or mandatory supervision.

SECTION 6. 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, 2011.

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