Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB126 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: West S.B. No. 126
2	2	(In the Senate - Filed November 10, 2014; January 27, 2015,
3	3	read first time and referred to Committee on Criminal Justice;
4	4	May 4, 2015, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
5	5	Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 4, Nays 2; May 4, 2015, sent
6	6	to printer.)
7	7	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 126 By: Whitmire
8	8
9	9
10	10	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
11	11	AN ACT
12	12	relating to the release of certain inmates on medically recommended
13	13	intensive supervision.
14	14	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
15	15	SECTION 1. Sections 508.115(a) and (d), Government Code,
16	16	are amended to read as follows:
17	17	(a) Not later than the 11th day before the date a parole
18	18	panel orders the release of an inmate on parole or medically
19	19	recommended intensive supervision [of an inmate] or not later than
20	20	the 11th day after the date the board recommends that the governor
21	21	grant executive clemency, the division shall notify the sheriffs,
22	22	each chief of police, the prosecuting attorneys, and the district
23	23	judges in the county in which the inmate was convicted and the
24	24	county to which the inmate is released that a parole panel is
25	25	considering release on parole or medically recommended intensive
26	26	supervision or the governor is considering clemency.
27	27	(d) The notice must include [state]:
28	28	(1) the inmate's name;
29	29	(2) the county in which the inmate was convicted;
30	30	[and]
31	31	(3) the offense for which the inmate was convicted;
32	32	and
33	33	(4) to the extent permitted by federal law,
34	34	information relating to the inmate's physical or mental health
35	35	condition if the inmate is being considered for release on
36	36	medically recommended intensive supervision under Section 508.146.
37	37	SECTION 2. Section 508.146, Government Code, is amended by
38	38	amending Subsections (a) and (e) and adding Subsection (g) to read
39	39	as follows:
40	40	(a) An inmate other than an inmate who is serving a sentence
41	41	of death or life without parole may be released on medically
42	42	recommended intensive supervision on a date designated by a parole
43	43	panel described by Subsection (e), except that an inmate with an
44	44	instant offense that is an offense described in Section 3g, Article
45	45	42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, or an inmate who has a reportable
46	46	conviction or adjudication under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal
47	47	Procedure, may only be considered if a medical condition of
48	48	terminal illness or long-term care has been diagnosed by a
49	49	physician, if:
50	50	(1) the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with
51	51	Medical or Mental Impairments, in cooperation with the Correctional
52	52	Managed Health Care Committee, identifies the inmate as [being]:
53	53	(A) [elderly, physically disabled, mentally ill,
54	54	terminally ill, or mentally retarded or having a condition]
55	55	requiring permanent long-term care, having a terminal illness, or
56	56	being a person with a severe and persistent mental illness or
57	57	intellectual and developmental disability, if the inmate is an
58	58	inmate with an instant offense that is described in Section 3g,
59	59	Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure; or
60	60	(B) being in a persistent vegetative state or
61	61	being a person with an organic brain syndrome with significant to
62	62	total mobility impairment, if the inmate is an inmate who has a
63	63	reportable conviction or adjudication under Chapter 62, Code of
64	64	Criminal Procedure;
65	65	(2) the parole panel determines that, based on the
66	66	inmate's condition and a medical evaluation, the inmate does not
67	67	constitute a threat to public safety; and
68	68	(3) the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with
69	69	Medical or Mental Impairments, in cooperation with the pardons and
70	70	paroles division, has prepared for the inmate a medically
71	71	recommended intensive supervision plan that requires the inmate to
72	72	submit to electronic monitoring, places the inmate on
73	73	super-intensive supervision, or otherwise ensures appropriate
74	74	supervision of the inmate.
75	75	(e) Only a parole panel [panels] composed of three [the
76	76	presiding officer of the board and two] members appointed to the
77	77	panel by the presiding officer may make determinations regarding
78	78	the release of inmates on medically recommended intensive
79	79	supervision under Subsection (a) or of inmates released pending
80	80	deportation. If the Texas Correctional Office [Council] on
81	81	Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments identifies an inmate
82	82	as a candidate for release under the guidelines established by
83	83	Subsection (a)(1), the office [council] shall present to a parole
84	84	panel described by this subsection relevant information concerning
85	85	the inmate and the inmate's potential for release under this
86	86	section.
87	87	(g) For purposes of Subsection (a), "terminal illness"
88	88	means an incurable illness or condition that is expected to result
89	89	in death within one year regardless of life-sustaining treatment.
90	90	SECTION 3. (a) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice,
91	91	the Department of Aging and Disability Services, and the Health and
92	92	Human Services Commission jointly shall conduct a study regarding
93	93	the feasibility of contracting with a private entity to house
94	94	inmates released on medically recommended intensive supervision
95	95	under Section 508.146, Government Code, as amended by this Act, who
96	96	require skilled nursing services or 24-hour care.
97	97	(b) Not later than December 1, 2016, the Texas Department of
98	98	Criminal Justice shall report the results of the study conducted
99	99	under this section to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the
100	100	speaker of the house of representatives, and the standing
101	101	committees of the house of representatives and the senate with
102	102	primary jurisdiction over criminal justice matters.
103	103	(c) This section expires January 1, 2017.
104	104	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
105	105	* * * * *