BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

 

C.S.H.B. 5525

By: Jones, Jolanda

Criminal Jurisprudence

Committee Report (Substituted)

 

 

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

 

Texas law currently provides a uniform parole review process for all inmates, regardless of their age at the time of the offense. The bill author has informed the committee that courts and researchers have increasingly recognized that individuals who commit offenses as minors possess a different level of culpability and a higher potential for rehabilitation than adults. In particular, the U.S. Supreme Court has emphasized that youth must be treated differently in the criminal justice system due to their developmental immaturity and greater capacity for change. C.S.H.B. 5525 seeks to address this issue by requiring the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to create a new set of parole guidelines specifically for individuals who were under 18 years of age at the time of their offense.

 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

 

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

 

ANALYSIS

 

C.S.H.B. 5525 amends the Government Code to require the Board of Pardons and Paroles (BPP), in consultation with the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD), to develop and implement the following not later than September 1, 2026:

·         a version of the parole guidelines for eligible inmates serving a sentence in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) that prioritizes rehabilitation, educational attainment, mental health treatment, and reintegration support; and

·         specific procedures to be used during the consideration for release on parole of an inmate who was younger than 18 years of age at the time the offense for which the inmate is eligible for release on parole was committed.

The bill requires BPP, in consultation with TJJD, to develop and implement as soon as practicable after September 1, 2025, a version of the parole guidelines for eligible inmates serving a sentence in TDCJ that is specifically designed for an inmate who was younger than 18 years of age at the time the offense for which the inmate is eligible for release on parole was committed. The bill requires the BPP, as soon as practicable after the date the BPP implements the parole guidelines and procedures, to reconsider for release on parole any inmate who was younger than 18 years of age at the time the offense for which the inmate is eligible for release on parole was committed and who was previously denied release on parole before the implementation of the new parole guidelines and procedures.

 

C.S.H.B. 5525 requires the procedures developed under the bill's provisions for such an inmate to do the following:

·         require a parole panel considering the release on parole of the inmate to use the parole guidelines developed under the bill;

·         prohibit the parole panel from applying the parole guidelines for eligible inmates serving a sentence in TDCJ;

·         require the parole panel to consider the following:

o   the inmate's age at the time the offense for which the inmate is eligible for release on parole was committed;

o   the inmate's demonstrated rehabilitation progress;

o   the inmate's educational and vocational achievements;

o   the inmate's psychological and behavioral evaluations; and

o   input from relevant professionals, family members, and victims, if appropriate; and

·         include a comprehensive reintegration plan for the inmate and

·         include the additional parole considerations required under the bill's provisions.

 

C.S.H.B. 5525 requires the BPP to annually submit to the governor, lieutenant governor, and members of the legislature a report that includes the following:

·         with respect to the inmates who are considered for release on parole under the parole guidelines and procedures developed under the bill:

o   the number of inmates considered and the number released;

o   the success rate of reintegration of inmates released; and

o   the recidivism rate of inmates released; and

·         recommendations for improving the parole guidelines and procedures developed under the bill.

The bill requires the BPP to publish the report on the BPP website and to do the following to the extent possible:

·         use data compiled by the Legislative Budget Board (LBB) in creating the report; and

·         collaborate with the LBB to ensure the accuracy and consistency of the data used in the report.

 

C.S.H.B. 5525 requires a parole panel, in determining whether to release an inmate who was younger than 18 years of age at the time the offense for which the inmate is eligible for release on parole was committed, to assess the growth and maturity of the inmate, taking into consideration the following:

·         the diminished culpability of persons younger than 18 years of age, as compared to that of adults;

·         the hallmark features of youth; and

·         the greater capacity of persons younger than 18 years of age for change, as compared to that of adults.

The bill requires the BPP to adopt a policy establishing factors for a parole panel to consider when reviewing for release on parole for such an inmate to ensure that the inmate is provided a meaningful opportunity to obtain release. The bill requires the policy to do the following:

·         consider the age of the inmate at the time of the commission of the offense as a mitigating factor in favor of granting release on parole; and

·         permit persons having knowledge of the inmate before the inmate committed the offense or having knowledge of the inmate's growth and maturity after the offense was committed to submit statements regarding the inmate for consideration by the parole panel.

The bill establishes that its provisions relating to the requirements to assess the growth and maturity of the inmate and adopt the policy establishing factors to consider when reviewing an inmate for release on parole expressly do not affect the rights granted under applicable statutory provisions to a victim, guardian of a victim, or close relative of a deceased victim or create a legal cause of action.

C.S.H.B. 5525 requires TJJD, as soon as practicable after the bill's effective date, to develop and provide training to members of the BPP and parole commissioners on best practices for parole consideration for inmates who were younger than 18 years of age at the time the offense for which the inmate is eligible for release on parole was committed.

 

EFFECTIVE DATE

 

September 1, 2025.

 

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

 

While C.S.H.B. 5525 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

 

The substitute includes the additional parole considerations added by the substitute among the considerations the parole panel must make under the procedures to be used during the consideration for release on parole of an applicable inmate, which the introduced did not include.

 

The substitute includes provisions that were not in the introduced that do the following:

·         require the BPP, to the extent possible, to:

o   use data compiled by the LBB in creating the report; and

o   collaborate with the LBB to ensure the accuracy and consistency of the data used in the report;

·         require a parole panel, in determining whether to release an inmate who was younger than 18 years of age at the time the offense for which the inmate is eligible for release on parole was committed, to assess the growth and maturity of the inmate, taking into consideration:

o   the diminished culpability of persons younger than 18 years of age, as compared to that of adults;

o   the hallmark features of youth; and

o   the greater capacity of persons younger than 18 years of age for change, as compared to that of adults;

·         require the BPP to adopt a policy establishing factors for a parole panel to consider when reviewing for release on parole for such an inmate to ensure that the inmate is provided a meaningful opportunity to obtain release;

·         require the policy to:

o   consider the age of the inmate at the time of the commission of the offense as a mitigating factor in favor of granting release on parole; and

o   permit persons having knowledge of the inmate before the inmate committed the offense or having knowledge of the inmate's growth and maturity after the offense was committed to submit statements regarding the inmate for consideration by the parole panel;

·         establish that such provisions expressly do not affect the rights granted under applicable statutory provisions to a victim, guardian of a victim, or close relative of a deceased victim or create a legal cause of action.

 

The substitute changes from the 180th day after the bill's effective date, as in the introduced, to September 1, 2026, the deadline by which the BPP, in consultation with TJJD, is required to develop and implement certain guidelines and procedures.

 

The substitute changes the bill's effective date from on passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2025, as in the introduced, to September 1, 2025.