Bill Text: TX HB353 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Comm Sub

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Bill Title: Relating to parole determinations and individual treatment plans for inmates.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-05-02 - Statement(s) of vote recorded in Journal [HB353 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-HB353-Comm_Sub.html

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88R1935 JRR-F
By: J. Johnson of Harris, et al. H.B. No. 353

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to parole determinations and individual treatment plans
for inmates.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 508.1411(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) For each decision of a parole panel granting or denying
the release of an inmate on parole, or denying the release of an
inmate on mandatory supervision, the parole panel shall:
(1) produce a written statement, in clear and
understandable language, that explains:
(A) the decision; [and]
(B) the reasons for the decision only to the
extent those reasons relate specifically to the inmate; and
(C) if the decision is denying the release of an
inmate on parole, the specific actions the inmate must take to
address factors that contributed to the denial of parole;
(2) provide a copy of the statement to the inmate and
the rehabilitation programs division of the department; and
(3) place a copy of the statement in the inmate's file.
SECTION 2. Section 508.144(c), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) Based on the board's review under Subsection (b), the
board may:
(1) update the guidelines by:
(A) including new risk factors; [or]
(B) changing the values of offense severity or
risk factor scores; [or]
(C) adjusting the way that the guidelines account
for an inmate's progress on the inmate's individual treatment plan;
or
(D) adjusting the risk level of an inmate based
on the inmate's progress on the inmate's individual treatment plan;
or
(2) modify the range of recommended parole approval
rates under the guidelines, if parole approval rates differ
significantly from the range of recommended parole approval rates.
SECTION 3. Section 508.1445(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The report must include:
(1) a brief explanation of the parole guidelines,
including how the board:
(A) defines the risk factors and offense severity
levels; [and]
(B) determines the range of recommended parole
approval rates for each guideline score;
(C) accounts for an inmate's progress on the
inmate's individual treatment plan; and
(D) uses the guidelines to make an individualized
determination to approve or deny release on parole;
(2) a comparison of the range of recommended parole
approval rates under the parole guidelines to the actual approval
rates for individual parole panel members, regional offices, and
the state as a whole; [and]
(3) a description of instances in which the actual
parole approval rates do not meet the range of recommended parole
approval rates under the parole guidelines, an explanation of the
variations, and a list of actions that the board has taken or will
take to meet the guidelines; and
(4) an analysis of parole denials, including the
reasons for parole denial and information regarding additional
rehabilitative programming recommended for inmates denied release
on parole.
SECTION 4. Section 508.152, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (b), (b-2), (c), and (e) and adding
Subsections (b-3), (b-4), and (g) to read as follows:
(a) Not later than the 45th [120th] day after the date an
inmate is admitted to the institutional division, the department
shall obtain all pertinent information relating to the inmate,
including:
(1) the court judgment;
(2) any sentencing report;
(3) the circumstances of the inmate's offense;
(4) the inmate's previous social history and criminal
record;
(5) the inmate's physical and mental health record;
(6) a record of the inmate's conduct, employment
history, and attitude in the institutional division; [and]
(7) any written comments or information provided by
local trial officials or victims of the offense;
(8) an evaluation of the educational, rehabilitative,
and vocational needs of the inmate; and
(9) the results of an assessment made using:
(A) the risk and needs assessment instrument
adopted under Section 501.0921; or
(B) another validated risk and needs assessment
adopted by the department.
(b) The department shall:
(1) not later than the 60th day after the date the
department obtains the information required by Subsection (a),
establish for the inmate an individual treatment plan and provide
the plan to the inmate; and
(2) submit the plan to the board at the time of the
board's consideration of the inmate's case for release.
(b-2) At least once in every 12-month period, the department
shall review each inmate's individual treatment plan to assess the
inmate's institutional progress and revise or update the plan as
necessary and shall revise the inmate's risk and needs assessment
score as necessary to reflect the inmate's completion of
programming as required by the inmate's individual treatment plan.
If the department revises or updates an inmate's individual
treatment plan, the department shall provide the inmate with the
revised or updated plan as soon as practicable after the
department's review of the plan under this subsection. The
department shall make reasonable efforts to provide an inmate the
opportunity to complete any classes or programs included in the
inmate's individual treatment plan[, other than classes or programs
that are to be completed immediately] before the inmate's [release
on] parole eligibility date[, in a timely manner] so that the
inmate's release on parole is not delayed due to any uncompleted
classes or programs.
(b-3) Approximately one year before an inmate's parole
eligibility date, the department shall:
(1) assess the inmate using:
(A) the risk and needs assessment instrument
adopted under Section 501.0921; or
(B) another validated risk and needs assessment
adopted by the department; and
(2) revise the inmate's risk and needs assessment
score as necessary to reflect the inmate's completion of
programming as required by the inmate's individual treatment plan.
(b-4) Subsection (b-3) does not apply to an inmate for whom
an individual treatment plan is established under Subsection (b) in
the 12-month period preceding the inmate's parole eligibility date.
(c) The board shall conduct an initial review of an eligible
inmate not later than the 90th [180th] day after the date of the
inmate's admission to the institutional division. The board shall
identify any classes or programs that the board intends to require
the inmate to complete before the inmate's parole eligibility date
[releasing the inmate on parole]. The department shall provide the
inmate with a list of those classes or programs and make those
classes available to the inmate before the inmate's parole
eligibility date.
(e) The institutional division shall:
(1) work closely with the board to monitor the
progress of the inmate in the institutional division; [and]
(2) report the progress to the board before the
inmate's release; and
(3) revise the inmate's risk level to reflect the
inmate's completion of programming as required by the inmate's
individual treatment plan.
(g) The department shall provide to the board a record of
the inmate's progress toward completion of the inmate's individual
treatment plan and any other pertinent information related to the
inmate's progress toward rehabilitation.
SECTION 5. Section 508.1411, Government Code, as amended by
this Act, applies only to a decision of a parole panel made on or
after the effective date of this Act. A decision of a parole panel
made before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
effect on the date the decision was made, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.