H.B. No. 710

	AN ACT
	relating to procedures for certain persons charged with a violation
	of a condition of release from the Texas Department of Criminal
	Justice on parole or to mandatory supervision.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Section 508.251(c), Government Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	(c)  Instead of the issuance of a warrant under this section,
	the division:
	(1)  may issue to the person a summons requiring the
	person to appear for a hearing under Section 508.281 if the person:
	(A)  is not a releasee who is:
	(i) [(A)]  on intensive supervision or
	superintensive supervision;
	(ii) [(B)]  an absconder; or
	(iii) [(C)]  determined by the division to
	be a threat to public safety; or
	(B)  is charged only with committing a new offense
	that is alleged to have been committed after the first anniversary
	of the date the person was released on parole or to mandatory
	supervision if:
	(i)  the new offense is a Class C misdemeanor
	under the Penal Code, other than an offense committed against a
	child younger than 17 years of age or an offense involving family
	violence, as defined by Section 71.004, Family Code;
	(ii)  the person has maintained steady
	employment for at least one year;
	(iii)  the person has maintained a stable
	residence for at least one year; and
	(iv)  the person has not previously been
	charged with an offense after the person was released on parole or
	to mandatory supervision; and
	(2)  shall issue to the person a summons requiring the
	person to appear for a hearing under Section 508.281 if the person:
	(A)  is charged only with committing an
	administrative violation of release that is alleged to have been
	committed after the first [third] anniversary of the date the
	person was released on parole or to mandatory supervision;
	(B)  is not serving a sentence for, and has not
	been previously convicted of, an offense listed in or described by
	Article 62.001(5), Code of Criminal Procedure; and
	(C)  is not a releasee with respect to whom a
	summons may not be issued under Subdivision (1).
	SECTION 2.  Section 508.281(c), Government Code, is amended
	to read as follows:
	(c)  If a hearing before a designated agent of the board is
	held under this section for a releasee who appears in compliance
	with a summons, the sheriff of the county in which the releasee is
	required to appear shall provide the designated agent with a place
	at the county jail to hold the hearing. After the board or a parole
	panel makes a final determination [Immediately on conclusion of a
	hearing in which the designated agent determines] that a releasee
	has violated a condition of release, a warrant may be issued
	requiring the releasee to be held in the county jail pending:
	(1)  transfer to an intermediate sanction facility [the
	action of a parole panel on any recommendations made by the
	designated agent]; or [and]
	(2)  [if subsequently ordered by the parole panel,] the
	return of the releasee to the institution from which the releasee
	was released.
	SECTION 3.  The change in law made by this Act in amending
	Section 508.251(c), Government Code, applies only to a person who
	on or after the effective date of this Act is charged with a
	violation of the terms of the person's release on parole or to
	mandatory supervision. A person who before the effective date of
	this Act was charged with a violation of the terms of the person's
	release is governed by the law in effect when the violation was
	charged, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 4.  The change in law made by this Act in amending
	Section 508.281(c), Government Code, applies only to a hearing held
	on or after the effective date of this Act.  A hearing held before
	the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on
	the date the hearing was held, and the former law is continued in
	effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
	______________________________	______________________________
	President of the Senate	Speaker of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 710 was passed by the House on May 7,
	2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 139, Nays 4, 2 present, not
	voting.
	______________________________
	Chief Clerk of the House
	I certify that H.B. No. 710 was passed by the Senate on May
	26, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
	______________________________
	Secretary of the Senate
	APPROVED:  _____________________
	Date
	_____________________
	Governor