87R10897 JRR-D
By: J. Johnson of Harris H.B. No. 2647
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. Section 508.146, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (b), and (e) and adding Subsection (a-1)
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 65 years of age or older
[elderly] or terminally ill, a person with mental illness, an
intellectual disability, or a physical disability, or a person who
has a condition requiring long-term care, if the inmate is an inmate
with an instant offense that is described in Article 42A.054, Code
of Criminal Procedure; or
(B) 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.
(a-1) An inmate who is not under a sentence of death or life
without parole and who does not have a reportable conviction or
adjudication under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, or an
instant offense described in Article 42A.054, Code of Criminal
Procedure, may be released on medically recommended intensive
supervision on a date designated by a parole panel described by
Subsection (e) if:
(1) the inmate is 65 years of age or older; and
(2) the parole panel determines that the inmate does
not constitute a threat to public safety.
(b) An inmate may be released on medically recommended
intensive supervision under Subsection (a) only if the inmate's
medically recommended intensive supervision plan under Subsection
(a)(3) is approved by the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders
with Medical or Mental Impairments.
(e) Only parole panels composed of 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 (a-1) or of inmates released pending deportation. If the Texas
Council on Offenders with Mental Impairments identifies an inmate
as a candidate for release under the guidelines established by
Subsection (a)(1), the 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.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.