By: Perry (Senate Sponsor - Huffman) H.B. No. 1940
(In the Senate - Received from the House April 27, 2011;
May 3, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal
Justice; May 23, 2011, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0;
May 23, 2011, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 1940 By: Huffman
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to certain matters affecting the supervision of persons
released from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and to
certain hearings conducted concerning persons released from the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 508.040(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The presiding officer is responsible for the employment
and supervision of:
(1) parole commissioners;
(2) a general counsel to the board;
(3) a board administrator to manage the day-to-day
activities of the board;
(4) hearing officers;
(5) institutional parole officers;
(6) personnel to assist in clemency and hearing
matters; and
(7) [(6)] secretarial or clerical personnel.
SECTION 2. Section 508.0441(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) Board members and parole commissioners shall determine:
(1) which inmates are to be released on parole or
mandatory supervision;
(2) conditions of parole or mandatory supervision,
including special conditions;
(3) the modification and withdrawal of conditions of
parole or mandatory supervision; and
(4) [which releasees may be released from supervision
and reporting; and
[(5)] the continuation, modification, and revocation
of parole or mandatory supervision.
SECTION 3. Section 508.045, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(c) A parole panel may:
(1) grant, deny, or revoke parole;
(2) deny release to mandatory supervision, under
Section 508.149(b), or revoke mandatory supervision; [and]
(3) conduct parole revocation hearings and mandatory
supervision revocation hearings; and
(4) conduct hearings concerning whether, as a
condition of release on parole or to mandatory supervision, a
releasee who does not have a reportable conviction or adjudication,
as defined by Article 62.001(5), Code of Criminal Procedure, must
comply with any sex offender restrictions, including, if
applicable, registering as a sex offender under Chapter 62, Code of
Criminal Procedure.
(d) A parole panel or a designated agent of the board may
conduct a hearing described by Subsection (c)(3) or (4).
SECTION 4. Section 508.224, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 508.224. SUBSTANCE ABUSE COUNSELING. A parole panel
may require as a condition of parole or mandatory supervision that
the releasee attend counseling sessions for substance abusers or
participate in substance abuse treatment services in a program or
facility approved or licensed by the Department of State Health
Services [Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse] if:
(1) the releasee was sentenced for an offense
involving a controlled substance; or
(2) the panel determines that the releasee's substance
abuse was related to the commission of the offense.
SECTION 5. Section 508.283(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) If a releasee waives the releasee's right to a hearing
or, if a releasee does not waive the releasee's right to a hearing,
after [After] a parole panel or designated agent of the board has
held a hearing under Section 508.281, in any manner warranted by the
evidence:
(1) the board may recommend to the governor to
continue, revoke, or modify the conditional pardon; and
(2) a parole panel may continue, revoke, or modify the
parole or mandatory supervision.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
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