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


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
  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.
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