89R8719 MCF-F

By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 2338

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the award of work-for-time credits to certain persons released on parole or to mandatory supervision.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 508.148(b), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) To complete a [The time served on] mandatory supervision period, a releasee must serve the entire period of mandatory supervision, less any time credits the releasee has received under Section 508.1559 [is computed as calendar time].

SECTION 2. Section 508.155(a), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) To complete a parole period, a releasee must serve the entire period of parole, less any time credits the releasee has received under Section 508.1559.

SECTION 3. Subchapter E, Chapter 508, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 508.1559 to read as follows:

Sec. 508.1559. WORK-FOR-TIME CREDIT. (a) In this section, "business day" means a day other than a Saturday, Sunday, or state or federal holiday.

(b) This section does not apply to a releasee who is serving a sentence for an offense:

(1) listed in Article 42A.054(a), Code of Criminal Procedure;

(2) described by Article 62.001(5), Code of Criminal Procedure; or

(3) under Section 20.03 or 28.02, Penal Code.

(c) Except as provided by Subsection (e), a releasee is entitled to receive time credits toward the completion of the releasee's period of parole or mandatory supervision in an amount equal to 30 days for every 140 hours the releasee works for pay, regardless of whether there is a break in employment, as verified under Subsection (h).

(d) Except as provided by Subsection (e), a releasee is entitled to receive time credits toward the completion of the releasee's period of parole or mandatory supervision in an amount equal to 10 days for each 30-day period in which the releasee is continuously enrolled and participating, as verified under Subsection (h), in a rehabilitation, faith-based, vocational, or academic education program, including a high school or high school equivalency certificate program, an academic degree program at an institution of higher education, or a vocational, technical, or career education or training program.

(e) A releasee may not receive time credits under this section:

(1) for any hours worked or enrollment and participation in a program described by Subsection (d) that occurs:

(A) while the releasee is in violation of a condition of parole or mandatory supervision, other than a condition to make a payment on a required cost, fine, or fee; or

(B) during the 90-day period following a violation described by Paragraph (A); or

(2) during the 60-day period preceding the expiration of the releasee's period of parole or mandatory supervision, taking into account any time credits to which the releasee is entitled under this section.

(f) A releasee shall, for any employment described by Subsection (c), submit to the releasee's parole officer documentation verifying the releasee's employment. The documentation may include any one of the following:

(1) an employment record;

(2) a letter from an employer;

(3) a contract;

(4) pay stubs or copies of checks received as payment for time worked;

(5) a statement from a vendor the employer contracts with for employment verification purposes; or

(6) a statement from a bank or credit union demonstrating a pattern of deposits.

(g) A releasee shall, for each 30-day period described by Subsection (d), submit to the releasee's parole officer documentation verifying the releasee's continued enrollment and participation in a rehabilitation, faith-based, vocational, or academic education program. The documentation may include a letter, statement, or other form of documentation from the organization or entity administering the program.

(h) A parole officer to whom documentation is submitted under Subsection (f) or (g) shall:

(1) verify that the releasee:

(A) worked 140 hours of paid employment or was continuously enrolled and participating in a program described by Subsection (d), as applicable; and

(B) is otherwise entitled to time credits under this section; and

(2) subject to Subsection (i), enter the documentation and record the time credits received in the system developed under Subsection (j) not later than the fifth business day after receiving the documentation.

(i) If a parole officer is not able to verify the releasee's employment or enrollment and participation in a program, as applicable, according to the received documentation, or determines that the releasee is ineligible for time credits for the applicable period under Subsection (e), the officer shall:

(1) deny the time credits; and

(2) record the denial in the system developed under Subsection (j).

(j) The division shall:

(1) establish a system to record and track time credits received or denied under this section; and

(2) require each parole officer to use the system.

(k) If a releasee's parole or mandatory supervision is revoked, all of the time credits to which the releasee is entitled under this section are forfeited and may not be credited toward the remaining portion of the releasee's sentence.

(l) A releasee may not waive the releasee's entitlement to earn time credits under this section.

SECTION 4. Section 508.155(b), Government Code, is repealed.

SECTION 5. Not later than January 1, 2026, the pardons and paroles division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shall establish the system to record and track time credits required under Section 508.1559, Government Code, as added by this Act.

SECTION 6. The change in law made by this Act applies only to a person who is released on parole or to mandatory supervision for an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. A person who is released on parole or to mandatory supervision for an offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred before that date.

SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.