BILL ANALYSIS |
C.S.S.B. 991 |
By: West |
Corrections |
Committee Report (Substituted) |
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE
Questions have been raised in recent years regarding why seriously ill and incapacitated offenders remain behind prison bars, when conceivably, because of their deteriorated health, they no longer pose a legitimate threat to public safety. Interested parties note that providing medical care for these seriously ill offenders can cause the state to incur enormous medical costs. Certain offenders who are terminally ill, mentally ill, physically disabled, elderly, or who are in need of long-term medical care can be considered for release on medically recommended intensive supervision. Their release is contingent on a parole panel's decision that the offender no longer poses a threat to public safety based on the offender's condition and a medical evaluation. C.S.S.B. 991 seeks to modify the types of offenders who may be considered for release on medically recommended intensive supervision in order to allow the state to save on medical costs while also continuing to ensure public safety.
|
||||||||||
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.
|
||||||||||
ANALYSIS
C.S.S.B. 991 amends the Government Code to require the pardons and paroles division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), not later than the 11th day before the date a parole panel orders the release of an inmate on medically recommended intensive supervision, to notify certain criminal justice officials in the county in which the inmate was convicted and the county to which the inmate is released that a parole panel is considering that release. The bill requires such notice to include, among other information, information relating to the inmate's physical or mental health condition.
C.S.S.B. 991 removes language restricting consideration for release on medically recommended intensive supervision of an inmate with an instant offense for which a judge is prohibited from ordering community supervision or of an inmate who has a reportable conviction or adjudication requiring the person's registration under the sex offender registration program to consideration for such release only under circumstances in which a medical condition of terminal illness or long-term care has been diagnosed by a physician. The bill instead restricts consideration for release on medically recommended intensive supervision of any inmate other than an inmate who is serving a sentence of death or life without parole to consideration for such release only under circumstances in which a medical condition of terminal illness has been diagnosed by a physician. The bill defines "terminal illness" as an incurable illness or condition diagnosed by a physician that requires skilled nursing care, hospice care, or home health care, and is expected to result in death in six months or less regardless of life-sustaining care. The bill revises the types of identifications that the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments, in cooperation with the Correctional Managed Health Care Committee, must make regarding an inmate for the inmate to be eligible for release on medically recommended intensive supervision. C.S.S.B. 991 changes the composition of a three-member parole panel authorized to make determinations regarding the release of inmates on medically recommended intensive supervision or of inmates released pending deportation by removing the presiding officer of the Board of Pardons and Paroles and increasing from two to three the number of members appointed to the panel by the presiding officer.
C.S.S.B. 991 removes language restricting the release of an inmate who is not a United States citizen and who is not under a sentence of death or life without parole to immigration authorities pending deportation to the release of an inmate who does not have a reportable conviction or adjudication of an offense requiring the person's registration under the sex offender registration program or of an instant offense that renders a defendant ineligible for placement on community supervision.
C.S.S.B. 991, in a temporary provision set to expire January 1, 2015, requires TDCJ, the Department of Aging and Disability Services, and the Health and Human Services Commission jointly to conduct a study regarding the feasibility of contracting with a private entity to house inmates released on medically recommended intensive supervision who require skilled nursing services or 24-hour care. The bill requires TDCJ, not later than December 1, 2014, to report the results of the study to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the standing committees of the house of representatives and the senate with primary jurisdiction over criminal justice matters.
|
||||||||||
EFFECTIVE DATE
September 1, 2013.
|
||||||||||
COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE
While C.S.S.B. 991 may differ from the engrossed version in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and highlighted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the engrossed and committee substitute versions of the bill.
|
||||||||||
|