Bill Text: TX HB4044 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Comm Sub


Bill Title: Relating to the funding of community supervision and corrections departments.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-05-06 - Committee report sent to Calendars [HB4044 Detail]

Download: Texas-2019-HB4044-Comm_Sub.html
  86R28407 MAW-F
 
  By: Dominguez H.B. No. 4044
 
  Substitute the following for H.B. No. 4044:
 
  By:  White C.S.H.B. No. 4044
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the funding of community supervision and corrections
  departments.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 509.011, Government Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a), (e), and (f) and adding Subsections
  (e-1), (f-1), and (i) to read as follows:
         (a)  If the division determines that a department complies
  with division standards and if the department has submitted a
  strategic plan under Section 509.007 and the supporting information
  required by the division and the division determines the plan and
  supporting information are acceptable, the division shall prepare
  and submit to the comptroller vouchers for payment to the
  department as follows:
               (1)  for per capita funding, a per diem amount based on
  the formula established under Subsection (e) for each felony
  defendant who is [directly] supervised by the department pursuant
  to lawful authority and:
                     (A)  placed on community supervision; or
                     (B)  participating in a pretrial diversion or
  intervention program;
               (2)  for per capita funding, a per diem amount based on
  the formula established under Subsection (e) for a period not to
  exceed 182 days for each misdemeanor defendant who is supervised by
  the department pursuant to lawful authority and placed on community
  supervision [, other than a felony defendant]; and
               (3)  for formula funding, an annual amount as computed
  by multiplying a percentage determined by the allocation formula
  established under Subsection (f) times the total amount provided in
  the General Appropriations Act for payments under this subdivision.
         (e)  The division annually shall establish a per capita
  funding formula to determine the percentage of the total amount
  provided in the General Appropriations Act for payments under
  Subsections (a)(1) and (2) that each department is entitled to
  receive. For purposes of funding distributed for a defendant
  described by Subsection (a)(1)(A), the formula must include:
               (1)  a higher per capita funding rate for the
  supervision of a defendant during the earliest period of the
  defendant's community supervision term than the rate for the
  supervision of a defendant during a later period of the defendant's
  community supervision term;
               (2)  provisions to decrease per capita funding for each
  defendant supervised by a department who has the defendant's
  community supervision revoked due to a technical violation of a
  condition of community supervision; and
               (3)  provisions to award additional per capita funding
  based on each defendant supervised by a department who receives a
  discharge following an early termination of community supervision
  under Article 42A.111 or 42A.701, Code of Criminal Procedure, as
  applicable.
         (e-1)  In establishing the per capita funding formula under
  Subsection (e) [per diem payments authorized by Subsections (a)(1)
  and (a)(2)], the division shall consider the amounts appropriated
  in the General Appropriations Act for basic supervision as
  sufficient to provide basic supervision in each year of the fiscal
  biennium.
         (f)  The division annually shall compute for each department
  for community corrections program formula funding a percentage
  determined by assigning equal weights to the percentage of the
  state's population residing in the counties served by the
  department and the department's percentage of all felony defendants
  in the state under direct community supervision. The division
  shall use the most recent information available in making
  computations under this subsection.
         (f-1)  The board by rule may adopt a policy limiting for all
  departments the percentage of benefit or loss that may be realized
  as a result of the operation of a [the] formula established under
  Subsection (e) or (f).
         (i)  In this section, "technical violation" means any
  violation of a condition of community supervision committed by a
  defendant other than a violation that involves:
               (1)  being arrested for, charged with, or convicted of
  an offense:
                     (A)  punishable as a felony; or
                     (B)  under Title 5, Penal Code, that is punishable
  as a misdemeanor;
               (2)  the operation of a motor vehicle in a public place
  while intoxicated, regardless of whether the defendant was arrested
  for, charged with, or convicted of an offense based on that conduct;
               (3)  a failure to report to a supervision officer as
  directed for 90 days or more if the supervision officer or a peace
  officer or other officer attempted to contact the defendant in
  person at the defendant's last known residential or employment
  address; or
               (4)  leaving the state without permission.
         SECTION 2.  Chapter 509, Government Code, is amended by
  adding Section 509.0111 to read as follows:
         Sec. 509.0111.  GOALS REGARDING COMMITMENT REDUCTION. (a)
  In implementing Sections 509.011(a)(1)(B), (b), and (e), the
  division shall seek to:
               (1)  reduce the number of persons committed to the
  Texas Department of Criminal Justice relative to crime and arrest
  rates;
               (2)  reduce the number of defendants supervised by
  departments;
               (3)  increase the rate of defendants' successful
  completion of pretrial diversion programs or community supervision
  relative to defendants' risk level;
               (4)  reduce the revocation rate of defendants placed on
  community supervision; and
               (5)  reduce the recidivism rate of defendants
  participating in pretrial diversion programs or placed on community
  supervision.
         (b)  The division annually shall submit a report to the
  governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house of
  representatives, and each member of the legislature on the
  division's efforts under Subsection (a), including the extent to
  which progress has been made toward meeting the goals described by
  that subsection.
         (c)  The division shall establish standards related to the
  use of state aid for pretrial diversion programs in accordance with
  the goals described by Subsection (a) and may discontinue the
  payment of state aid to a recipient under those programs on the
  basis of a repeated failure to achieve those goals.
         (d)  This section expires September 1, 2023.
         SECTION 3.  Section 509.014(a), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  The division shall:
               (1)  review the funding formulas specified under
  Section 509.011 and study the feasibility of adopting additional
  performance-based components [funding formulas], including whether
  the formulas should take into consideration an offender's risk
  level or other appropriate factors in allocating funding; and
               (2)  make recommendations for modifying the current
  funding formulas.
         SECTION 4.  (a) Not later than January 1, 2020, the
  community justice assistance division of the Texas Department of
  Criminal Justice shall establish the per capita funding formula
  required by Section 509.011(e), Government Code, as amended by this
  Act, that is to be used for the state fiscal year beginning
  September 1, 2020.
         (b)  Section 509.011, Government Code, as amended by this
  Act, applies only to a payment based on an appropriation made for
  any state fiscal year beginning on or after September 1, 2020.
         SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.
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