88R14369 MCF-D
By: Reynolds H.B. No. 4502
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to jury instructions regarding parole eligibility, to
certain conditions of bail and community supervision, and to the
early termination of community supervision and the dismissal and
discharge of deferred adjudication community supervision.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Article 17.41(d), Code of Criminal Procedure, is
amended to read as follows:
(d) To the extent that a condition imposed under this
article conflicts with an existing court order granting possession
of or access to a child, the condition imposed under this article
prevails for a period specified by the magistrate[, not to exceed 90
days].
SECTION 2. Section 4(a), Article 37.07, Code of Criminal
Procedure, is amended to read as follows:
(a) In the penalty phase of the trial of a felony case in
which the punishment is to be assessed by the jury rather than the
court, if the offense of which the jury has found the defendant
guilty is an offense under Section 71.02, Penal Code, other than an
offense punishable as a state jail felony under that section, an
offense under Section 71.023, Penal Code, or an offense listed in
Article 42A.054(a), or if the judgment contains an affirmative
finding under Article 42A.054(c) or (d), unless the defendant has
been convicted of an offense under Section 21.02, Penal Code, an
offense under Section 22.021, Penal Code, that is punishable under
Subsection (f) of that section, or a capital felony, the court shall
charge the jury in writing as follows:
"The length of time for which a defendant is imprisoned may be
reduced by the award of parole.
"Under the law applicable in this case, if the defendant is
sentenced to a term of imprisonment, the defendant will not become
eligible for parole until the actual time served equals one-half of
the sentence imposed or 30 years, whichever is less. If the
defendant was convicted of a second or third degree felony and is
sentenced to a term of less than four years, the defendant must
serve at least two years before the defendant is eligible for
parole. Eligibility for parole does not guarantee that parole will
be granted.
"It cannot accurately be predicted how the parole law might
be applied to this defendant if sentenced to a term of imprisonment,
because the application of that law will depend on decisions made by
parole authorities.
"You may consider the existence of the parole law. You are
not to consider the manner in which the parole law may be applied to
this particular defendant."
SECTION 3. Article 42A.111(b), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(b) The judge may dismiss the proceedings and discharge a
defendant before the expiration of the period of deferred
adjudication community supervision if, in the judge's opinion, the
best interest of society and the defendant will be served, except
that this subsection does not authorize the judge to [may not]
dismiss the proceedings and discharge a defendant charged with an
offense:
(1) under Section 21.12, 49.04, or 49.06, Penal Code;
(2) requiring the defendant to register as a sex
offender under Chapter 62; or
(3) punishable as a felony and:
(A) listed in Article 42A.054(a); or
(B) for which the judge finds that a deadly
weapon was used or exhibited during the commission of the offense or
during the immediate flight from the commission of the offense.
SECTION 4. Article 42A.503(c), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(c) To the extent that a condition imposed under this
article conflicts with an existing court order granting possession
of or access to a child, the condition imposed under this article
prevails for a period specified by the court granting community
supervision[, not to exceed 90 days].
SECTION 5. Article 42A.701(g), Code of Criminal Procedure,
is amended to read as follows:
(g) This article does not apply to a defendant convicted of:
(1) an offense under Section 21.12 or Sections
49.04-49.08, Penal Code;
(2) an offense the conviction of which requires
registration as a sex offender under Chapter 62; or
(3) a felony described by Article 42A.054.
SECTION 6. (a) Article 17.41, Code of Criminal Procedure,
as amended by this Act, applies only to a person who is arrested on
or after the effective date of this Act. A person arrested before
the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on
the date the person was arrested, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
(b) Articles 42A.111, 42A.503, and 42A.701, Code of
Criminal Procedure, as amended by this Act, apply only to a
defendant placed on community supervision or deferred adjudication
community supervision for an offense committed on or after the
effective date of this Act. A defendant placed on community
supervision or deferred adjudication community supervision for an
offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed
by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes
of this section, an offense was committed before the effective date
of this Act if any element of the offense was committed before that
date.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.