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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the award of diligent participation credit to |
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defendants confined in a state jail felony facility. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 15(h), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal |
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Procedure, is amended by amending Subdivision (1) and adding |
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Subdivisions (4) and (5) to read as follows: |
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(1) A defendant confined in a state jail felony |
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facility does not earn good conduct time for time served in the |
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facility but may be awarded diligent participation credit in |
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accordance with Subdivision (5). |
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(4) Not later than the 30th day before the date on |
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which a defendant will have served 80 percent of the defendant's |
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sentence, the facility director of the state jail felony facility |
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in which the defendant is confined shall report to the sentencing |
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court on the defendant's conduct and programmatic progress while |
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confined in the facility. The report must contain an indication of: |
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(A) whether the defendant completed a substance |
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abuse treatment program or an industrial, work, agricultural, |
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educational, or vocational program in which the defendant |
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participated; and |
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(B) if the defendant did not fully complete a |
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program described by Paragraph (A) but completed at least |
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two-thirds of the program, whether the defendant nonetheless |
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diligently participated in the program and did not fully complete |
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the program only because of illness, injury, or an emergency |
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circumstance. |
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(5) A judge, based on the report received under |
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Subdivision (4), may credit against any time a defendant is |
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required to serve in a state jail felony facility an additional time |
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for each day the defendant actually serves in the facility for the |
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defendant's completion of, or diligent participation in, a program |
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provided to defendants confined in the facility that is a substance |
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abuse treatment program not otherwise described by this subsection |
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or is an industrial, work, agricultural, educational, or vocational |
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program. A time credit under this subdivision may not exceed |
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one-fifth of the amount of time the defendant is originally |
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required to serve in the facility. A defendant may not be awarded a |
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credit under this subdivision for any period during which the |
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defendant is subject to disciplinary action. |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies to a |
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person confined in a state jail felony facility on or after the |
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effective date of this Act, regardless of when the offense for which |
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the person is serving a sentence was committed. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |