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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. Sections 15(h)(5) and (6), Article 42.12, Code |
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of Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows: |
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(5) For a defendant who has participated in an |
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educational, vocational, treatment, or work program while confined |
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in a state jail felony facility, [not later than the 30th day before
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the date on which the defendant will have served 80 percent of the
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defendant's sentence,] the Texas Department of Criminal Justice |
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shall record [report to the sentencing court] the number of days |
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during which the defendant diligently participated in any |
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educational, vocational, treatment, or work program. The |
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department shall [The contents of a report submitted under this
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subdivision are not subject to challenge by a defendant.
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[(6)
A judge, based on the report received under
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Subdivision (5), may] credit against a defendant's sentence [any
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time a defendant is required to serve in a state jail felony
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facility] additional time for each day the defendant actually |
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served in the facility while diligently participating in an |
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educational, vocational, treatment, or work program. A time |
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credit under this subdivision may not exceed one-fifth of the |
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defendant's original sentence [amount of time the defendant is
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originally required to serve in the facility]. A defendant may not |
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be awarded a credit under this subdivision for any period during |
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which the defendant is subject to disciplinary status [action]. A |
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time credit under this subdivision is a privilege and not a right. |
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SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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to a person confined in a state jail felony facility for an offense |
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committed on or after the effective date of this Act. A person |
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confined in a state jail felony facility for an offense committed |
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before the effective date of this Act is covered by the law in |
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effect when the offense was committed, and the former law is |
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continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, |
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an offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if |
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any element of the offense occurred before that date. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |