Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas House Bill HB3538 Compare Versions

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1	1	82R24047 PEP-F
2	2	By: Thompson H.B. No. 3538
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3538:
4	4	By: Cain C.S.H.B. No. 3538
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the release of certain inmates on medically recommended
10	10	intensive supervision or on super-intensive supervision parole.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Subchapter E, Chapter 508, Government Code, is
13	13	amended by adding Sections 508.1451 and 508.1459 to read as
14	14	follows:
15	15	Sec. 508.1451. MANDATORY RELEASE OF CERTAIN ELDERLY
16	16	INMATES. (a) A parole panel shall order the release of an inmate on
17	17	super-intensive supervision parole under Section 508.317 not later
18	18	than the first anniversary of the later of:
19	19	(1) the inmate's initial parole eligibility date
20	20	computed under Section 508.145; or
21	21	(2) the date the inmate reaches 65 years of age.
22	22	(b) This section does not apply to an inmate who is serving a
23	23	sentence for or has been previously convicted of:
24	24	(1) an offense described by Section 508.145(a);
25	25	(2) an offense listed in or described by Section
26	26	3g(a), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure;
27	27	(3) an offense under Section 20.02, 21.11, 21.12,
28	28	25.02, 29.02, 43.05, 43.26, 49.07, 49.08, 71.022, or 71.023, Penal
29	29	Code; or
30	30	(4) an offense under Section 71.02, Penal Code, based
31	31	on a conspiracy to commit an offense listed in or described by
32	32	Subdivision (1), (2), or (3).
33	33	(c) A parole panel may not release an otherwise eligible
34	34	inmate under this section if the inmate:
35	35	(1) has been the subject of major disciplinary action
36	36	within the 12-month period preceding the date the inmate would
37	37	otherwise be eligible for release under this section;
38	38	(2) has been reclassified by the department based on
39	39	the inmate's conduct, obedience, and industry and is in a less
40	40	favorable classification than was originally determined by the
41	41	department under Section 498.002; or
42	42	(3) is considered by the department to be at high risk
43	43	or very high risk of unsuccessful reentry into the community
44	44	following release from the department.
45	45	(d) The board shall adopt a policy establishing the date on
46	46	which a parole panel may reconsider for release an inmate who has
47	47	previously been denied release under Subsection (c). The policy
48	48	must require the parole panel to at least annually reconsider the
49	49	inmate for release as soon as practicable after each anniversary of
50	50	the date of denial.
51	51	Sec. 508.1459. MANDATORY RELEASE OF CERTAIN INMATES ON
52	52	MEDICALLY RECOMMENDED INTENSIVE SUPERVISION. (a) In this section:
53	53	(1) "Condition requiring long-term care" means a
54	54	physical condition that persists for a sustained period of time and
55	55	is unlikely to improve, results in an inability to provide
56	56	sufficient self-care, and requires regular nursing care.
57	57	(2) "Organic brain syndrome" means any one of a group
58	58	of acute or chronic syndromes involving temporary or permanent
59	59	impairment of brain function caused by trauma, infection, toxin,
60	60	tumor, or tissue sclerosis, and resulting in mild to severe
61	61	impairment of memory, orientation, judgment, intellectual
62	62	functions, and emotional adjustment.
63	63	(3) "Persistent vegetative state" means a physical
64	64	condition of profound nonresponsiveness in the wakeful state caused
65	65	by brain damage at any level and characterized by a nonfunctioning
66	66	cerebral cortex, absence of response to the external environment,
67	67	akinesia, mutism, and inability to signal.
68	68	(4) "Terminal illness" means an incurable illness or
69	69	condition that requires skilled nursing care, hospice care, or home
70	70	health care, and is expected to result in death in six months or
71	71	less regardless of life-sustaining treatment.
72	72	(b) A parole panel shall release on medically recommended
73	73	intensive supervision any inmate, regardless of the inmate's
74	74	initial parole eligibility date computed under Section 508.145, if
75	75	on the basis of a medical examination approved by at least two
76	76	physicians the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical
77	77	or Mental Impairments identifies the inmate as:
78	78	(1) having a terminal illness;
79	79	(2) having a condition requiring long-term care;
80	80	(3) being in a persistent vegetative state; or
81	81	(4) having an organic brain syndrome with significant
82	82	to total mobility impairment.
83	83	(c) This section does not apply to an inmate:
84	84	(1) whose condition existed at the time of sentencing
85	85	and has not deteriorated; or
86	86	(2) who is serving a sentence for or has been
87	87	previously convicted of:
88	88	(A) an offense described by Section 508.145(a);
89	89	(B) an offense listed in or described by Section
90	90	3g(a), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure;
91	91	(C) an offense under Section 20.02, 21.11, 21.12,
92	92	25.02, 29.02, 43.05, 43.26, 49.07, 49.08, 71.022, or 71.023, Penal
93	93	Code; or
94	94	(D) an offense under Section 71.02, Penal Code,
95	95	based on a conspiracy to commit an offense listed in or described by
96	96	Paragraph (A), (B), or (C).
97	97	(d) Before releasing an inmate under Subsection (b), the
98	98	Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical or Mental
99	99	Impairments, in cooperation with the department, shall prepare for
100	100	the inmate a medically recommended intensive supervision plan that
101	101	requires the inmate to submit to electronic monitoring, places the
102	102	inmate on super-intensive supervision, or otherwise ensures
103	103	appropriate supervision of the inmate.
104	104	(e) A parole panel releasing an inmate under Subsection (b)
105	105	shall require as a condition of release that the releasee remain
106	106	under the care of a physician and in a medically suitable placement.
107	107	At least once each calendar quarter, the Texas Correctional Office
108	108	on Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments shall report to the
109	109	parole panel on the releasee's medical and placement status. On the
110	110	basis of the report, the parole panel may modify conditions of
111	111	release and impose any condition on the releasee that the panel
112	112	could impose on a releasee released under Section 508.145.
113	113	(f) Section 508.146(d) applies to a request for proposals to
114	114	provide under contract services for inmates released on medically
115	115	recommended intensive supervision under this section.
116	116	SECTION 2. The heading to Section 508.146, Government Code,
117	117	is amended to read as follows:
118	118	Sec. 508.146. DISCRETIONARY RELEASE OF CERTAIN INMATES ON
119	119	MEDICALLY RECOMMENDED INTENSIVE SUPERVISION.
120	120	SECTION 3. Section 508.146, Government Code, is amended by
121	121	amending Subsections (a), (b), and (e) and adding Subsection (a-1)
122	122	to read as follows:
123	123	(a) An inmate other than an inmate who is serving a sentence
124	124	of death or life without parole may be released on medically
125	125	recommended intensive supervision on a date designated by a parole
126	126	panel described by Subsection (e)[, except that an inmate with an
127	127	instant offense that is an offense described in Section 3g, Article
128	128	42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, or an inmate who has a reportable
129	129	conviction or adjudication under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal
130	130	Procedure, may only be considered if a medical condition of
131	131	terminal illness or long-term care has been diagnosed by a
132	132	physician,] if:
133	133	(1) the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with
134	134	Medical or Mental Impairments, in cooperation with the Correctional
135	135	Managed Health Care Committee, identifies the inmate as:
136	136	(A) being 65 years of age or older[:
137	137	[(A) elderly], physically disabled, mentally
138	138	ill, [terminally ill,] or mentally retarded; or
139	139	(B) having been diagnosed by a physician as:
140	140	(i) having a medical condition of terminal
141	141	illness or requiring long-term care, if the inmate is an inmate with
142	142	an instant offense that is described in Section 3g, Article 42.12,
143	143	Code of Criminal Procedure, or is an inmate who has a reportable
144	144	conviction or adjudication under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal
145	145	Procedure; and[; or]
146	146	(ii) being [(B)] in a persistent vegetative
147	147	state or being a person with an organic brain syndrome with
148	148	significant to total mobility impairment, if the inmate is an
149	149	inmate who has a reportable conviction or adjudication under
150	150	Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure;
151	151	(2) the suitability of the inmate for release on
152	152	medically recommended intensive supervision, based on a medical
153	153	examination of the inmate, has been approved by a panel of at least
154	154	two physicians;
155	155	(3) the parole panel determines that, based on the
156	156	inmate's condition and a medical evaluation, the inmate does not
157	157	constitute a threat to public safety; and
158	158	(4) [(3)] the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders
159	159	with Medical or Mental Impairments, in cooperation with the pardons
160	160	and paroles division, has prepared for the inmate a medically
161	161	recommended intensive supervision plan that requires the inmate to
162	162	submit to electronic monitoring, places the inmate on
163	163	super-intensive supervision, or otherwise ensures appropriate
164	164	supervision of the inmate.
165	165	(a-1) For purposes of Subsection (a), "condition requiring
166	166	long-term care," "organic brain syndrome," "persistent vegetative
167	167	state," and "terminal illness" have the meanings assigned by
168	168	Section 508.1459.
169	169	(b) An inmate may be released on medically recommended
170	170	intensive supervision only if the inmate's medically recommended
171	171	intensive supervision plan under Subsection (a)(4) [(a)(3)] is
172	172	approved by the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with Medical
173	173	or Mental Impairments.
174	174	(e) Only parole panels composed of the presiding officer of
175	175	the board and two members appointed to the panel by the presiding
176	176	officer may make determinations regarding the release of inmates on
177	177	medically recommended intensive supervision under Subsection (a)
178	178	or of inmates released pending deportation. If the Texas Council on
179	179	Offenders with Mental Impairments identifies an inmate as a
180	180	candidate for release under the guidelines established by
181	181	Subsection (a) [(a)(1)], the council shall present to a parole
182	182	panel described by this subsection relevant information concerning
183	183	the inmate and the inmate's potential for release under this
184	184	section.
185	185	SECTION 4. Not later than January 1, 2012, the Texas
186	186	Department of Criminal Justice shall release on supervision:
187	187	(1) any elderly inmate eligible for release under
188	188	Section 508.1451, Government Code, as added by this Act, with
189	189	respect to whom a parole panel has not denied release on parole
190	190	under that section; and
191	191	(2) any inmate identified for release under Section
192	192	508.1459, Government Code, as added by this Act.
193	193	SECTION 5. Section 508.146, Government Code, as amended by
194	194	this Act, applies to the release of an inmate under that section on
195	195	or after the effective date of this Act, regardless of when the
196	196	offense for which the inmate is serving a sentence was committed.
197	197	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.