BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

Senate Research Center

C.S.S.B. 663

89R24021 BCH-D

By: Huffman

 

Criminal Justice

 

4/15/2025

 

Committee Report (Substituted)

 

 

 

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

 

�         The operation and management of Community Supervision and Corrections Department (CSCD) budgets is incredibly complex.

o   This stems from in-depth standards, guidelines, reporting, and formatting requirements set by Texas Department of Criminal Justice�Community Justice and Assistance Division (TDCJ�CJAD) to ensure CSCD budgets, strategic plans, and operations are adequate and comply with state law.

�         It is challenging for a judge to perform the court's primary adjudicative responsibilities for managing a large docket and also take on the administrative responsibility for approving a CSCD's budget and strategic plan.

o   For example:

�  In Harris County, the CSCD has over 30 detailed budgets across four� different funding lines and outside funding sources, supervises over 30,000 cases, completes nearly 18,000 assessments and presentence investigations each year, provides staff to perform court functions for 45 different criminal courts, supports eight emergency and specialized dockets, operates multiple programs, employs and manages nearly 700 employees, and provides residential treatment services at a community corrections facility for a daily average of 700 probationers across four programs.

 

BILL SUMMARY:

�         S.B. 663 removes the requirement for a CSCD budget to be approved by the district judges of a county.

o   The CSCD budget is still required to be presented to the district judge for review following the TDCJ�CJAD's approval of the budget and strategic plan.

 

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE:

�         The committee substitute makes minor clarifications and conforming changes.

 

C.S.S.B. 663 amends current law relating to the approval of a community supervision and corrections department's budget and strategic plan.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

 

SECTION 1. Amends Section 76.002(a), Government Code, as follows:

 

(a) Requires the district judge or district judges trying criminal cases in each judicial district and the statutory county court judges trying criminal cases in the county or counties served by the judicial district to perform certain actions, including reviewing, rather than approving, a community supervision and corrections department's (department) budget and strategic plan following approval of the budget and plan by the community justice assistant division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (division).

 

SECTION 2. Amends Section 76.0045(b), Government Code, to make conforming changes.

 

SECTION 3. Amends Section 509.004(a), Government Code, as follows:

 

(a) Requires the division to require each department to perform certain actions, including submitting the department's budget and a strategic plan and all supporting information requested by the division. Makes nonsubstantive changes.

 

SECTION 4. Amends the heading to Section 509.007, to read as follows:

 

Sec. 509.007. DEPARTMENT BUDGET AND STRATEGIC PLAN.

 

SECTION 5. Amends Section 509.007, Government Code, by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (a-1) and (a-2), as follows:

 

(a) Requires the division to require as a condition to payment of state aid to a department or county under Section 509.011 (Payment of State Aid) that the department submit the department's budget for the state fiscal biennium and a strategic plan to the division and that the department's budget and plan be approved by the division.

 

Deletes existing text requiring the division to require as a condition to payment of state aid to a department or county under Section 509.011 that a strategic plan be submitted for the department. Deletes existing text requiring the department to submit the plan required by this subsection. Deletes existing text prohibiting a department from submitting a plan under this section unless the plan is first approved by the judges described by Section 76.002 (Establishment of Departments) who established the department. Makes a nonsubstantive change.

 

(a-1) Creates this subsection from existing text. Requires a department to submit a revised strategic plan to the division each even-numbered year not later than March 1. Makes a nonsubstantive change.

 

(a-2) Creates this subsection from existing text. Authorizes a department's budget or strategic plan to be amended at any time with the approval of the division.

 

SECTION 6. Amends Section 140.004, Local Government Code, as follows:

 

Sec. 140.004. New heading: BUDGETS OF CERTAIN JUVENILE BOARDS. (a) Provides that this section applies only to a juvenile board, juvenile probation office, or juvenile department established for one or more counties. Deletes existing text providing that this section applies to a community supervision and corrections department established for a judicial district. Makes nonsubstantive changes.

 

(b) Requires a juvenile board, rather than a juvenile board and a community supervision and corrections department, that has jurisdiction in the county, before the 45th day before the first day of the fiscal year of a county, to prepare a budget for the board's, rather than the board's or department's, next fiscal year and hold a meeting to finalize the budget. Makes a nonsubstantive change.

 

(c)-(f) Makes conforming changes to these subsections.

 

SECTION 7. Effective date: September 1, 2025.