LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas
 
CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT STATEMENT

88TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION
 
March 27, 2023

TO:
Honorable Abel Herrero, Chair, House Committee on Corrections
 
FROM:
Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board
 
IN RE:
HB1705 by Allen (Relating to the award of diligent participation credit to defendants confined in a state jail felony facility.), As Introduced

The bill would remove the required process of a judge making a finding regarding whether a person convicted of a state jail felony is presumptively entitled to diligent participation credit and would require the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to award diligent participation credit towards the sentence of a defendant in a state jail facility for each day a defendant served in the facility while diligently participating in an educational, vocational, treatment, or work program. 

Expanding eligibility for credits for time served may result in a decrease in demands upon state correctional resources due to a possible decrease in the length of stay for individuals sentenced to a term of confinement.

Of the 6,406 individuals released form a state jail correctional facility in fiscal year 2022, 2,834 had a finding that they were presumptively entitled to diligent participation credit. Of the 2,834 individuals released with such a finding, 2,649 were awarded an average of 38 days credit towards their sentence.

The impact on state correctional populations or on the demand for state correctional resources cannot be determined due to the lack of data necessary to estimate the number of eligible state jail defendants who would meet the criteria of diligently participating in an educational, vocational, treatment, or work program or the amount of time credit they would receive for such participation. 



Source Agencies:
LBB Staff:
JMc, DDel, LBO, DGI