Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB991 Compare Versions

The same version is selected twice. Please select two different versions to compare.

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: West S.B. No. 991
2	2	(Thompson of Harris)
3	3	Substitute the following for S.B. No. 991: No.
4	4
5	5
6	6	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	relating to the release of certain inmates on medically recommended
9	9	intensive supervision.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Subsections (a) and (d), Section 508.115,
12	12	Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
13	13	(a) Not later than the 11th day before the date a parole
14	14	panel orders the release of an inmate on parole or medically
15	15	recommended intensive supervision [of an inmate] or not later than
16	16	the 11th day after the date the board recommends that the governor
17	17	grant executive clemency, the division shall notify the sheriffs,
18	18	each chief of police, the prosecuting attorneys, and the district
19	19	judges in the county in which the inmate was convicted and the
20	20	county to which the inmate is released that a parole panel is
21	21	considering release on parole or medically recommended intensive
22	22	supervision or the governor is considering clemency.
23	23	(d) The notice must include [state]:
24	24	(1) the inmate's name;
25	25	(2) the county in which the inmate was convicted;
26	26	[and]
27	27	(3) the offense for which the inmate was convicted;
28	28	and
29	29	(4) information relating to the inmate's physical or
30	30	mental health condition if the inmate is being considered for
31	31	release on medically recommended intensive supervision under
32	32	Section 508.146.
33	33	SECTION 2. Section 508.146, Government Code, is amended by
34	34	amending Subsections (a), (e), and (f) and adding Subsection (g) to
35	35	read as follows:
36	36	(a) An inmate other than an inmate who is serving a sentence
37	37	of death or life without parole may be released on medically
38	38	recommended intensive supervision only if a medical condition of
39	39	terminal illness has been diagnosed by a physician on a date
40	40	designated by a parole panel described by Subsection (e)[, except
41	41	that an inmate with an instant offense that is an offense described
42	42	in Section 3g, Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, or an
43	43	inmate who has a reportable conviction or adjudication under
44	44	Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, may only be considered if a
45	45	medical condition of terminal illness or long-term care has been
46	46	diagnosed by a physician,] if:
47	47	(1) the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with
48	48	Medical or Mental Impairments, in cooperation with the Correctional
49	49	Managed Health Care Committee, identifies the inmate as [being]:
50	50	(A) [elderly, physically disabled, mentally ill,
51	51	terminally ill, or mentally retarded or having a condition]
52	52	requiring permanent long-term care, having a terminal illness, or
53	53	being a person with a severe and persistent mental illness or
54	54	intellectual and developmental disability, if the inmate is an
55	55	inmate who does not have a reportable conviction or adjudication
56	56	under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure [with an instant
57	57	offense that is described in Section 3g, Article 42.12, Code of
58	58	Criminal Procedure]; or
59	59	(B) being in a persistent vegetative state or
60	60	being a person with an organic brain syndrome with significant to
61	61	total mobility impairment, if the inmate is an inmate who has a
62	62	reportable conviction or adjudication under Chapter 62, Code of
63	63	Criminal Procedure;
64	64	(2) the parole panel determines that, based on the
65	65	inmate's condition and a medical evaluation, the inmate does not
66	66	constitute a threat to public safety; and
67	67	(3) the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with
68	68	Medical or Mental Impairments, in cooperation with the pardons and
69	69	paroles division, has prepared for the inmate a medically
70	70	recommended intensive supervision plan that requires the inmate to
71	71	submit to electronic monitoring, places the inmate on
72	72	super-intensive supervision, or otherwise ensures appropriate
73	73	supervision of the inmate.
74	74	(e) Only a parole panel [panels] composed of three [the
75	75	presiding officer of the board and two] members appointed to the
76	76	panel by the presiding officer may make determinations regarding
77	77	the release of inmates on medically recommended intensive
78	78	supervision under Subsection (a) or of inmates released pending
79	79	deportation. If the Texas Correctional Office [Council] on
80	80	Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments identifies an inmate
81	81	as a candidate for release under the guidelines established by
82	82	Subsection (a)(1), the office [council] shall present to a parole
83	83	panel described by this subsection relevant information concerning
84	84	the inmate and the inmate's potential for release under this
85	85	section.
86	86	(f) An inmate who is not a citizen of the United States, as
87	87	defined by federal law, and who is not under a sentence of death or
88	88	life without parole[, and who does not have a reportable conviction
89	89	or adjudication under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, or an
90	90	instant offense described in Section 3g, Article 42.12, Code of
91	91	Criminal Procedure,] may be released to immigration authorities
92	92	pending deportation on a date designated by a parole panel
93	93	described by Subsection (e) if the parole panel determines that on
94	94	release the inmate would be deported to another country and that the
95	95	inmate does not constitute a threat to public safety in the other
96	96	country or this country and is unlikely to reenter this country
97	97	illegally.
98	98	(g) For purposes of Subsection (a), "terminal illness"
99	99	means an incurable illness or condition diagnosed by a physician
100	100	that requires skilled nursing care, hospice care, or home health
101	101	care, and is expected to result in death in six months or less
102	102	regardless of life-sustaining treatment.
103	103	SECTION 3. (a) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice,
104	104	the Department of Aging and Disability Services, and the Health and
105	105	Human Services Commission jointly shall conduct a study regarding
106	106	the feasibility of contracting with a private entity to house
107	107	inmates released on medically recommended intensive supervision
108	108	under Section 508.146, Government Code, as amended by this Act, who
109	109	require skilled nursing services or 24-hour care.
110	110	(b) Not later than December 1, 2014, the Texas Department of
111	111	Criminal Justice shall report the results of the study conducted
112	112	under this section to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the
113	113	speaker of the house of representatives, and the standing
114	114	committees of the house of representatives and the senate with
115	115	primary jurisdiction over criminal justice matters.
116	116	(c) This section expires January 1, 2015.
117	117	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.