By: Parker (Senate Sponsor - Whitmire) H.B. No. 200
(In the Senate - Received from the House March 31, 2011;
April 13, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on
Criminal Justice; May 12, 2011, reported adversely, with favorable
Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 7, Nays 0;
May 12, 2011, sent to printer.)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 200 By: Ellis
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the notification of the release of certain inmates
given to certain courts, law enforcement agencies, and the United
States Social Security Administration.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 493.025, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 493.025. NOTIFICATION OF COURT OF RELEASE. On release
of an inmate who discharges the inmate's sentence or on release of
an inmate on parole or to mandatory supervision, the department
promptly shall notify the clerk of the court in which the inmate was
convicted of that fact. The notice must be provided by e-mail or
other electronic communication.
SECTION 2. Chapter 493, Government Code, is amended by
adding Section 493.030 to read as follows:
Sec. 493.030. NOTICE TO SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION.
(a) The department shall notify the United States Social Security
Administration of the release or discharge of a prisoner who:
(1) immediately before the prisoner's confinement in a
state correctional facility, was receiving:
(A) Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits
under 42 U.S.C. Section 1381 et seq.; or
(B) Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
benefits under 42 U.S.C. Section 401 et seq.; and
(2) before the release or discharge, was confined in
the facility for a period of less than 12 consecutive months.
(b) The department shall provide the notice described by
Subsection (a) to the United States Social Security Administration
by mail and electronically immediately on the prisoner's release or
discharge from custody. The department shall provide a copy of the
notice to the prisoner at the time of the prisoner's release or
discharge.
SECTION 3. Section 499.026(d), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(d) Not later than the 10th day before the date on which a
parole panel proposes to release an inmate under this subchapter,
the department shall give notice of the proposed release to the
sheriff, the attorney representing the state, and the district
judge of the county in which the defendant was convicted. If there
was a change of venue in the case, the department shall also notify
the sheriff, the attorney representing the state, and the district
judge of the county in which the prosecution was originated. Any
notice required by this subsection must be provided by e-mail or
other electronic communication.
SECTION 4. Section 499.051(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) On the release of an inmate determined by the department
to be a member of a security threat group, the department shall
notify the sheriff of the county to which the inmate is released
and, if the inmate is released to a municipality, the chief of
police for that municipality. The notice must state the date on
which the inmate was released and state that the inmate has been
determined by the department to be a member of a security threat
group. The notice must be provided by e-mail or other electronic
communication.
SECTION 5. Section 508.115, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(e) The notice must be provided by e-mail or other
electronic communication.
SECTION 6. Section 508.181(g), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(g) The division shall, on the first working day of each
month, notify the sheriff of any county in which the total number of
sex offenders under the supervision and control of the division
residing in the county exceeds 10 percent of the total number of sex
offenders in the state under the supervision and control of the
division. The notice must be provided by e-mail or other electronic
communication. If the total number of sex offenders under the
supervision and control of the division residing in a county
exceeds 22 percent of the total number of sex offenders in the state
under the supervision and control of the division, a parole panel
may require a sex offender to reside in that county only as required
by Subsection (a) or for the reason stated in Subsection (b)(2)(B).
In this subsection, "sex offender" means a person who is released on
parole or to mandatory supervision after serving a sentence for an
offense described by Section 508.187(a).
SECTION 7. Subchapter C, Chapter 351, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 351.045 to read as follows:
Sec. 351.045. NOTICE TO SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION.
(a) The sheriff of a county shall notify the United States Social
Security Administration of the release or discharge of a prisoner
who:
(1) immediately before the prisoner's confinement in
the county jail, was receiving:
(A) Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits
under 42 U.S.C. Section 1381 et seq.; or
(B) Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
benefits under 42 U.S.C. Section 401 et seq.; and
(2) before the release or discharge, was confined in
the facility for a period of less than 12 consecutive months.
(b) The sheriff shall provide the notice described by
Subsection (a) to the United States Social Security Administration
by mail and electronically immediately on the prisoner's release or
discharge from custody. The sheriff shall provide a copy of the
notice to the prisoner at the time of the prisoner's release or
discharge.
(c) The county or sheriff, or an employee of the county or
sheriff, is not liable in a civil action for damages resulting from
a failure to comply with this section.
SECTION 8. Section 493.030, Government Code, as added by
this Act, and Section 351.045, Local Government Code, as added by
this Act, apply to the release or discharge of a prisoner from a
state correctional facility or county jail, as applicable, that
occurs on or after the effective date of this Act, regardless of the
date the prisoner was initially confined in the state correctional
facility or county jail.
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.
* * * * *