By: Shapiro S.B. No. 2037
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the sex offender civil commitment program and to the
creation of a state agency to perform the functions relating to the
sex offender civil commitment program that are currently performed
by the Council on Sex Offender Treatment.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter F, Chapter 411, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 411.1389 to read as follows:
Sec. 411.1389. ACCESS TO CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORD
INFORMATION: OFFICE OF VIOLENT SEX OFFENDER MANAGEMENT. (a) The
Office of Violent Sex Offender Management is entitled to obtain
from the department criminal history record information that is
maintained by the department and that relates to a person who has
applied with the office to be:
(1) an employee of the office; or
(2) a contracted service provider with the office.
(b) Criminal history record information obtained by the
Office of Violent Sex Offender Management under Subsection (a) may
not be released or disclosed to any person or agency except on court
order or with the consent of the person who is the subject of the
information.
(c) The Office of Violent Sex Offender Management shall
destroy criminal history record information obtained under
Subsection (a) as soon as practicable after the date on which, as
applicable:
(1) the person's employment or contract with the
office terminates; or
(2) the office decides not to employ or contract with
the person.
SECTION 2. Subtitle B, Title 4, Government Code, is amended
by adding Chapter 420A to read as follows:
CHAPTER 420A. OFFICE OF VIOLENT SEX OFFENDER MANAGEMENT
Sec. 420A.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Board" means the governing board of the Office of
Violent Sex Offender Management.
(2) "Office" means the Office of Violent Sex Offender
Management.
Sec. 420A.002. OFFICE; GOVERNING BOARD. (a) The Office of
Violent Sex Offender Management is a state agency.
(b) The office is governed by a board composed of the
following three members appointed by the governor:
(1) one member experienced in the management of sex
offenders;
(2) one member experienced in the investigation or
prosecution of sex offenses; and
(3) one member experienced in counseling or advocating
on behalf of victims of sexual assault.
(c) Members of the board serve staggered two-year terms.
Two members' terms expire February 1 of each even-numbered year and
one member's term expires February 1 of each odd-numbered year.
(d) A member of the board is entitled to travel expenses
incurred in performing official duties and to a per diem equal to
the maximum amount allowed on January 1 of that year for federal
employees per diem for federal income tax purposes, subject to the
same limitations provided for members of state boards and
commissions in the General Appropriations Act.
Sec. 420A.003. PRESIDING OFFICER; MEETINGS. (a) The
governor shall designate a member of the board as presiding
officer. The presiding officer serves at the discretion of the
governor.
(b) The board shall meet at least quarterly and at other
times at the call of the presiding officer.
Sec. 420A.004. SUNSET PROVISION. The Office of Violent Sex
Offender Management is subject to Chapter 325 (Texas Sunset Act).
Unless continued in existence as provided by that chapter, the
office is abolished and this chapter expires September 1, 2021.
Sec. 420A.005. GRANTS AND DONATIONS. On behalf of the
state, the office may apply for and accept grants and donations from
any source to be used by the office in the performance of the duties
of the office.
Sec. 420A.006. PUBLIC INTEREST INFORMATION. The office
shall prepare information of public interest describing the
functions of the office and the procedures by which complaints are
filed with and resolved by the office. The office shall make the
information available to the public and appropriate state agencies.
Sec. 420A.007. BIENNIAL REPORT. Not later than December 1
of each even-numbered year, the office shall submit to the
governor, the lieutenant governor, and the speaker of the house of
representatives a report concerning the operation of the office.
The office may include in the report any recommendations that the
office considers appropriate.
Sec. 420A.008. STAFF. The office may select and employ a
general counsel, staff attorneys, and other staff necessary to
perform the office's functions.
Sec. 420A.009. SALARY CAREER LADDER FOR CASE MANAGERS.
(a) The board shall adopt a salary career ladder for case
managers. The salary career ladder must base a case manager's
salary on the manager's classification and years of service with
the office.
(b) For purposes of the salary schedule, the office shall
classify all case manager positions as Case Manager I, Case Manager
II, Case Manager III, Case Manager IV, or Case Manager V.
(c) Under the salary career ladder adopted under Subsection
(a), a case manager to whom the schedule applies and who received an
overall evaluation of at least satisfactory in the case manager's
most recent annual evaluation is entitled to an annual salary
increase, during each of the case manager's first 10 years of
service in a designated case manager classification as described by
Subsection (b), equal to one-tenth of the difference between:
(1) the case manager's current annual salary; and
(2) the minimum annual salary of a case manager in the
next highest classification.
Sec. 420A.010. POWERS AND DUTIES. The office shall perform
appropriate functions related to the sex offender civil commitment
program provided under Chapter 841, Health and Safety Code,
including functions related to the provision of treatment and
supervision to civilly committed sex offenders.
SECTION 3. Subdivisions (3) and (4), Section 841.002,
Health and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
(3) "Case manager" means a person employed by or under
contract with the office [council] to perform duties related to
outpatient treatment and supervision of a person committed under
this chapter.
(4) "Office" ["Council"] means the Office of Violent
Sex Offender Management [Council on Sex Offender Treatment].
SECTION 4. Section 841.007, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 841.007. DUTIES OF OFFICE OF VIOLENT SEX OFFENDER
MANAGEMENT [COUNCIL ON SEX OFFENDER TREATMENT]. The Office of
Violent Sex Offender Management [Council on Sex Offender Treatment]
is responsible for providing appropriate and necessary treatment
and supervision through the case management system.
SECTION 5. Subsection (a), Section 841.022, Health and
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) The executive director of the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice and the commissioner of the [Texas] Department of
State Health Services [Mental Health and Mental Retardation]
jointly shall establish a multidisciplinary team to review
available records of a person referred to the team under Section
841.021. The team must include:
(1) one person [two persons] from the [Texas]
Department of State Health Services [Mental Health and Mental
Retardation];
(2) two persons from the Texas Department of Criminal
Justice, one of whom must be from the victim services office of that
department;
(3) one person from the [Texas] Department of Public
Safety; [and]
(4) two persons from the office [council] or office
[council] personnel; and
(5) one person from the Council on Sex Offender
Treatment.
SECTION 6. Subsections (a) and (c), Section 841.082, Health
and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) Before entering an order directing a person's
outpatient civil commitment, the judge shall impose on the person
requirements necessary to ensure the person's compliance with
treatment and supervision and to protect the community. The
requirements shall include:
(1) requiring the person to reside in a Texas
residential facility under contract with the office [council] or at
another location or facility approved by the office [council];
(2) prohibiting the person's contact with a victim or
potential victim of the person;
(3) prohibiting the person's possession or use of
alcohol, inhalants, or a controlled substance;
(4) requiring the person's participation in and
compliance with a specific course of treatment provided by the
office and compliance with all written requirements imposed by the
case manager or otherwise by the office;
(5) requiring the person to:
(A) submit to tracking under a particular type of
tracking service and to any other appropriate supervision; and
(B) refrain from tampering with, altering,
modifying, obstructing, or manipulating the tracking equipment;
(6) prohibiting the person from changing the person's
residence without prior authorization from the judge and from
leaving the state without that prior authorization;
(7) if determined appropriate by the judge,
establishing a child safety zone in the same manner as a child
safety zone is established by a judge under Section 13B, Article
42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, and requiring the person to
comply with requirements related to the safety zone; and
(8) [requiring the person to notify the case manager
immediately but in any event within 24 hours of any change in the
person's status that affects proper treatment and supervision,
including a change in the person's physical health or job status and
including any incarceration of the person; and
[(9)] any other requirements determined necessary by
the judge.
(c) The judge shall provide a copy of the requirements
imposed under Subsection (a) to the person and to the office
[council]. The office [council] shall provide a copy of those
requirements to the case manager and to the service providers.
SECTION 7. Section 841.083, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 841.083. TREATMENT; SUPERVISION. (a) The office
[council] shall approve and contract for the provision of a
treatment plan for the committed person to be developed by the
treatment provider. A treatment plan may include the monitoring of
the person with a polygraph or plethysmograph. The treatment
provider may receive annual compensation in an amount not to exceed
$10,000 [$6,000] for providing the required treatment.
(b) The case manager shall provide supervision to the
person. The provision of supervision must [shall] include a
tracking service and, if required by court order, supervised
housing.
(c) The office [council] shall enter into appropriate
memoranda of understanding with the [Texas] Department of Public
Safety for the provision of a tracking service and with the
Department of Public Safety and local law enforcement authorities
for assistance in the preparation of criminal complaints, warrants,
and related documents and in the apprehension and arrest of a
person.
[(c-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (c) or any other
provision of this subchapter, the council shall provide through the
case management system any supervision or tracking service required
under this chapter for persons residing in Dallas, Harris, or
Tarrant County. The council shall provide the tracking service
under this subsection through two employees of the Department of
State Health Services. Any tracking personnel used by the
department for purposes of this chapter must be approved by the
council.
[(c-2) If the equipment necessary to implement the tracking
service is available through a contract entered into by the
comptroller, the Department of Public Safety or the council, as
appropriate, shall acquire that equipment through that contract.]
(d) The office [council] shall enter into appropriate
memoranda of understanding for any necessary supervised housing.
The office [council] shall reimburse the applicable provider for
housing costs under this section. The committed person may not be
housed for any period of time in a mental health facility, state
school, or community center, unless the placement results from a
commitment of the person to that facility, school, or center by
governmental action. In this subsection:
(1) "Community center" means a center established
under Subchapter A, Chapter 534.
(2) "Mental health facility" has the meaning assigned
by Section 571.003.
(3) "State school" has the meaning assigned by Section
531.002.
(e) The case manager shall:
(1) coordinate the outpatient treatment and
supervision required by this chapter, including performing a
periodic assessment of the success of that treatment and
supervision;
(2) make timely recommendations to the judge on
whether to allow the committed person to change residence or to
leave the state and on any other appropriate matters; and
(3) provide a report to the office [council],
semiannually or more frequently as necessary, which must include:
(A) any known change in the person's status that
affects proper treatment and supervision; and
(B) any recommendations made to the judge.
SECTION 8. Section 841.084, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 841.084. COST OF TRACKING SERVICE. Notwithstanding
Section 841.146(c), a civilly committed person who is not indigent
is responsible for the cost of the tracking service required by
Section 841.082 and monthly shall pay to the office [council] the
amount that the office [council] determines will be necessary to
defray the cost of operating the service with respect to the person
during the subsequent month. The office [council] immediately
shall transfer the money to the appropriate service provider.
SECTION 9. Section 841.101, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 841.101. BIENNIAL EXAMINATION. (a) A person
committed under Section 841.081 shall receive a biennial
examination. The office [council] shall contract for an expert to
perform the examination.
(b) In preparation for a judicial review conducted under
Section 841.102, the case manager shall provide a report of the
biennial examination to the judge. The report must include
consideration of whether to modify a requirement imposed on the
person under this chapter and whether to release the person from all
requirements imposed on the person under this chapter. The case
manager shall provide a copy of the report to the office [council].
SECTION 10. Section 841.141, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 841.141. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY. (a) The office
[council] by rule shall administer this chapter. Rules adopted by
the office [council] under this section must be consistent with the
purposes of this chapter.
(b) The office [council] by rule shall develop standards of
care and case management for persons committed under this chapter.
SECTION 11. Subsections (c) and (d), Section 841.142,
Health and Safety Code, are amended to read as follows:
(c) On the written request of any attorney for another state
or for a political subdivision in another state, the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice, the office [council], a service
provider contracting with one of those agencies, the
multidisciplinary team, and the attorney representing the state
shall release to the attorney any available information relating to
a person that is sought in connection with an attempt to civilly
commit the person as a sexually violent predator in another state.
(d) To protect the public and to enable an assessment or
determination relating to whether a person is a sexually violent
predator or to enable the provision of supervision and treatment to
a person who is a sexually violent predator, the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice, the office [council], a service provider
contracting with one of those agencies, the multidisciplinary team,
and the attorney representing the state may exchange any available
information relating to the person.
SECTION 12. Section 841.147, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 841.147. IMMUNITY. The following persons are immune
from liability for good faith conduct under this chapter:
(1) an employee or officer of the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice, the Department of State Health Services, the
Department of Aging and Disability Services, or the office
[council];
(2) a member of the multidisciplinary team established
under Section 841.022;
(3) an employee of the civil division of the special
prosecution unit charged with initiating and pursuing civil
commitment proceedings under this chapter; and
(4) a person providing, or contracting, appointed, or
volunteering to perform, a tracking service or another service
under this chapter.
SECTION 13. Subchapter H, Chapter 841, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 841.151 to read as follows:
Sec. 841.151. NOTICE OF RELEASE OF SEXUALLY VIOLENT
PREDATOR. (a) In this section:
(1) "Correctional facility" has the meaning assigned
by Section 1.07, Penal Code.
(2) "Secure correctional facility" and "secure
detention facility" have the meanings assigned by Section 51.02,
Family Code.
(b) This section applies to a person who has been civilly
committed under this chapter and who is detained or confined in a
correctional facility, secure correctional facility, or secure
detention facility as a result of violating:
(1) a civil commitment requirement imposed under
Section 841.082; or
(2) a law of this state.
(c) Not later than the day preceding the date a correctional
facility, secure correctional facility, or secure detention
facility releases a person who, at the time of the person's
detention or confinement, was civilly committed under this chapter
as a sexually violent predator, the facility shall notify the
person's case manager in writing of the anticipated date and time of
the person's release.
(d) A case manager, on request, shall provide a correctional
facility, a secure correctional facility, or a secure detention
facility with the case manager's appropriate contact information
for notification under Subsection (c).
SECTION 14. The following are transferred to the Office of
Violent Sex Offender Management:
(1) the functions of the Council on Sex Offender
Treatment that relate to the sex offender civil commitment program;
(2) the director of the Department of State Health
Services who has jurisdiction over the sex offender civil
commitment program; and
(3) the staff of the council whose primary duties
include the operation of the sex offender civil commitment program.
SECTION 15. As soon as possible after the effective date of
this Act, the governor shall appoint three members to the Office of
Violent Sex Offender Management.
SECTION 16. (a) The Office of Violent Sex Offender
Management, the Department of State Health Services, and the
Council on Sex Offender Treatment shall coordinate the transfer of
functions relating to the sex offender civil commitment program as
required by this Act.
(b) The transfer of all functions relating to the sex
offender civil commitment program to the Office of Violent Sex
Offender Management shall be accomplished as soon as possible but
not later than the 90th day after the date that the last member of
the Office of Violent Sex Offender Management qualifies for office.
(c) The transfer required by this Act includes the transfer
of all assets, duties, powers, obligations, and liabilities,
including contracts, leases, real or personal property, funds,
employees, furniture, computers and other equipment, and files and
related materials used by the Department of State Health Services
and the Council on Sex Offender Treatment in performing the
functions relating to the sex offender civil commitment program
that are transferred by this Act. For purposes of this subsection,
"employees" includes the executive director of the Council on Sex
Offender Treatment and administrative technicians and program
specialists employed by the council.
(d) A form, rule, or procedure adopted by the Health and
Human Services Commission or the Department of State Health
Services in relation to the Council on Sex Offender Treatment that
is in effect on the effective date of this Act remains in effect on
and after that date as if adopted by the Office of Violent Sex
Offender Management until amended, repealed, withdrawn, or
otherwise superseded by that office.
(e) All unexpended appropriations for functions relating to
the sex offender civil commitment program that are made for use by
the Department of State Health Services or the Council on Sex
Offender Treatment are transferred to the Office of Violent Sex
Offender Management.
(f) The Office of Violent Sex Offender Management shall
publish in the Texas Register the date on which the transfer of
functions under this Act is accomplished.
SECTION 17. After the effective date of this Act, the
Council on Sex Offender Treatment shall continue to perform
applicable functions until the transfer of functions required by
this Act is completed, and the laws providing for those functions
are continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 18. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.