Under the provisions of the bill, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) would be required to credit up to one-fifth of the sentence against any time a state jail confinee was required to serve for diligent participation in certain programs. A state jail confinee would not be eligible to receive diligent participation credit for any period of time during which the confinee was subject to disciplinary action.

 
Allowing for time served in a state jail facility to be decreased through diligent participation credit is expected to result in decreased demands upon the correctional resources of the state due to shorter terms of confinement in state jails. In fiscal year 2012, there were 23,226 admissions to state jail and the average sentence length for these admissions was 10 months. Based on the average sentence length of 10 months, the average maximum diligent participation credit would be 2 months. After adjusting for the average number of days an offender spends in county jail awaiting transfer and assuming all placements accrue one diligent participation credit day for every day they are confined in a state jail, the maximum diligent participation credit for those eligible under the provisions of the bill would be approximately 2 months. Assuming 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: