| TO: | Honorable Tan Parker, Chair, House Committee on Corrections |
| FROM: | Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB1645 by Riddle (Relating to the monitoring of the Internet access of certain sex offenders placed on community supervision or released on parole or to mandatory supervision.), As Introduced |
The bill would amend Code of Criminal Procedure to include a person assigned a sex offender registry risk level of two, rather than the current level of three, in prohibiting accessing the Internet for certain purposes as a condition of community supervision.
The bill would also require the defendant to submit to regular inspection or monitoring of each electronic device used by the defendant to access the Internet to ensure compliance with this section.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Board of Pardons and Paroles reported no fiscal impact associated with the bill.
No significant impact on state correctional populations, programs, or workload is anticipated from any provisions of the bill that authorize or require a change in the sanctions applicable to adults convicted of felony crimes.
The Bexar County Community Supervision and Corrections Department reported that any costs associated with the bill could be absorbed with existing resources.
The Lubbock County Probation Department reported that costs would vary depending on how thoroughly law enforcement personnel were required to inspect internet-capable electronic devices; brief inspections would not have a significant impact on Lubbock County, but intensive searches could be significant.
Ward County reported that officers would need additional training on inspecting and monitoring devices; these costs are not anticipated to be significant.
| Source Agencies: | 696 Department of Criminal Justice, 697 Board of Pardons and Paroles
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| LBB Staff: | UP, ESi, KKR, JGA
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