Honorable Abel Herrero, Chair, House Committee on Corrections
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB353 by Johnson, Jarvis (Relating to parole determinations and individual treatment plans for inmates.), As Introduced
Estimated Two-year Net Impact to General Revenue Related Funds for HB353, As Introduced : a negative impact of ($29,380,810) through the biennium ending August 31, 2025.
The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.
General Revenue-Related Funds, Five- Year Impact:
Fiscal Year
Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds
2024
($14,634,905)
2025
($14,745,905)
2026
($14,745,905)
2027
($14,745,905)
2028
($14,745,905)
All Funds, Five-Year Impact:
Fiscal Year
Probable (Cost) from General Revenue Fund 1
Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2023
2024
($14,634,905)
137.0
2025
($14,745,905)
137.0
2026
($14,745,905)
137.0
2027
($14,745,905)
137.0
2028
($14,745,905)
137.0
Fiscal Analysis
The bill would make changes relating to individual treatment plans for release on parole. The bill would direct the Board of Pardons and Paroles (BPP) to provide inmates denied release on parole a copy of the parole decision statement along with specific actions they may take to address the factors that contributed to the decision, as well as provide a copy of these documents to the rehabilitation programs division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ). The bill would also make changes related to individual treatment plans and would require BPP to prepare an annual report as outlined in the bill.
There would be a significant fiscal impact for BPP as the agency would be required to contract with an outside expert to conduct a review of the Parole Guidelines and offer recommendations on how they will need to be revised as it relates to the risk level and parole denial analysis. There would be a significant fiscal impact for TDCJ as the agency would need to increase capacity within certain programs and hire additional FTEs to meet the requirements of this bill.
Methodology
According to BPP, based on previous similar work related to reviewing and upgrading parole guidelines, the cost would be approximately $300,000 in General Revenue for the biennium.
According to TDCJ, in order to comply with the requirements of the bill, they would need to expand availability of certain programs and hire additional staff to meet the shortened timeframes. The cost incurred for expanding capacity in various treatment programs would total $18,742,376 per biennium. The cost of the additional 137 FTEs needed to ensure compliance with the bill would total $10,338,434 for the biennium.
Local Government Impact
No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.
Source Agencies:
696 Department of Criminal Justice, 697 Board of Pardons and Paroles