86R11996 JRR-D
By: West S.B. No. 1687
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the release of certain inmates on medically recommended
intensive supervision.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 508.115(a) and (d), Government Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) Not later than the 11th day before the date a parole
panel orders the release of an inmate on parole or medically
recommended intensive supervision [of an inmate] or not later than
the 11th day after the date the board recommends that the governor
grant executive clemency, the division shall notify the sheriffs,
each chief of police, the prosecuting attorneys, and the district
judges in the county in which the inmate was convicted and the
county to which the inmate is released that a parole panel is
considering release on parole or medically recommended intensive
supervision or the governor is considering clemency.
(d) The notice must include [state]:
(1) the inmate's name;
(2) the county in which the inmate was convicted;
[and]
(3) the offense for which the inmate was convicted;
and
(4) to the extent permitted by federal law,
information relating to the inmate's physical or mental health
condition if the inmate is being considered for release on
medically recommended intensive supervision under Section 508.146.
SECTION 2. Section 508.146, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a) and (e) and adding Subsection (g) to read
as follows:
(a) An inmate other than an inmate who is serving a sentence
of death or life without parole may be released on medically
recommended intensive supervision on a date designated by a parole
panel described by Subsection (e), except that an inmate with an
instant offense that is an offense described in Article 42A.054,
Code of Criminal Procedure, or an inmate who has a reportable
conviction or adjudication under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal
Procedure, may only be considered if a medical condition of
terminal illness or long-term care has been diagnosed by a
physician, if:
(1) the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with
Medical or Mental Impairments, in cooperation with the Correctional
Managed Health Care Committee, identifies the inmate as [being]:
(A) [a person who is elderly or terminally ill, a
person with mental illness, an intellectual disability, or a
physical disability, or a person who has a condition] requiring
permanent long-term care, having a terminal illness, or being a
person with a severe and persistent mental illness or intellectual
and developmental disability, if the inmate is an inmate with an
instant offense that is described in Article 42A.054, Code of
Criminal Procedure; or
(B) being in a persistent vegetative state or
being a person with an organic brain syndrome with significant to
total mobility impairment, if the inmate is an inmate who has a
reportable conviction or adjudication under Chapter 62, Code of
Criminal Procedure;
(2) the parole panel determines that, based on the
inmate's condition and a medical evaluation, the inmate does not
constitute a threat to public safety; and
(3) the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with
Medical or Mental Impairments, in cooperation with the [pardons and
paroles] division, has prepared for the inmate a medically
recommended intensive supervision plan that requires the inmate to
submit to electronic monitoring, places the inmate on
super-intensive supervision, or otherwise ensures appropriate
supervision of the inmate.
(e) Only a parole panel [panels] composed of three [the
presiding officer of the] board [and two] members appointed to the
panel by the presiding officer may make determinations regarding
the release of inmates on medically recommended intensive
supervision under Subsection (a) or of inmates released pending
deportation. If the Texas Correctional Office [Council] on
Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments identifies an inmate
as a candidate for release under the guidelines established by
Subsection (a)(1), the office [council] shall present to a parole
panel described by this subsection relevant information concerning
the inmate and the inmate's potential for release under this
section.
(g) For purposes of Subsection (a), "terminal illness"
means an incurable illness or condition that is expected to result
in death within one year regardless of life-sustaining treatment.
SECTION 3. (a) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice and
the Health and Human Services Commission jointly shall conduct a
study regarding the feasibility of contracting with a private
entity to house inmates released on medically recommended intensive
supervision under Section 508.146, Government Code, as amended by
this Act, who require skilled nursing services or 24-hour care.
(b) Not later than December 1, 2020, the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice shall report the results of the study conducted
under this section to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the
speaker of the house of representatives, and the standing
committees of the house of representatives and the senate with
primary jurisdiction over criminal justice matters.
(c) This section expires January 1, 2021.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.