79R8524 GWK-D

By:  Madden                                                       H.B. No. 2193


A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the operation of a system of community supervision. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Sections 3(b) and (d), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, are amended to read as follows: (b) Except as provided by Subsection (f), in a felony case the minimum period of community supervision is one half of [the same as] the minimum term of imprisonment applicable to the offense and the maximum period of community supervision is five [10] years. (d) A judge may increase the maximum period of community supervision in the manner provided by Section 22(c) or 22A of this article, but, except as provided by Section 22A, the maximum period of community supervision may not exceed 10 years. SECTION 2. Section 5(a), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows: (a) Except as provided by Subsection (d) of this section, when in the judge's opinion the best interest of society and the defendant will be served, the judge may, after receiving a plea of guilty or plea of nolo contendere, hearing the evidence, and finding that it substantiates the defendant's guilt, defer further proceedings without entering an adjudication of guilt, and place the defendant on community supervision. A judge may place on community supervision under this section a defendant charged with an offense under Section 21.11, 22.011, or 22.021, Penal Code, regardless of the age of the victim, or a defendant charged with a felony described by Section 13B(b) of this article, only if the judge makes a finding in open court that placing the defendant on community supervision is in the best interest of the victim. The failure of the judge to find that deferred adjudication is in the best interest of the victim is not grounds for the defendant to set aside the plea, deferred adjudication, or any subsequent conviction or sentence. After placing the defendant on community supervision under this section, the judge shall inform the defendant orally or in writing of the possible consequences under Subsection (b) of this section of a violation of community supervision. If the information is provided orally, the judge must record and maintain the judge's statement to the defendant. The failure of a judge to inform a defendant of possible consequences under Subsection (b) of this section is not a ground for reversal unless the defendant shows that he was harmed by the failure of the judge to provide the information. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, in [In] a felony case, the period of community supervision may not exceed five [10] years. For a defendant charged with a felony under Section 21.11, 22.011, or 22.021, Penal Code, regardless of the age of the victim, and for a defendant charged with a felony described by Section 13B(b) of this article, the period of community supervision may not be less than five years or more than 10 years, except as provided by Section 22A. In a misdemeanor case, the period of community supervision may not exceed two years. A judge may increase the maximum period of community supervision in the manner provided by Section 22(c) or 22A of this article. The judge may impose a fine applicable to the offense and require any reasonable conditions of community supervision, including mental health treatment under Section 11(d) of this article, that a judge could impose on a defendant placed on community supervision for a conviction that was probated and suspended, including confinement. The provisions of Section 15 of this article specifying whether a defendant convicted of a state jail felony is to be confined in a county jail or state jail felony facility and establishing the minimum and maximum terms of confinement as a condition of community supervision apply in the same manner to a defendant placed on community supervision after pleading guilty or nolo contendere to a state jail felony. However, upon written motion of the defendant requesting final adjudication filed within 30 days after entering such plea and the deferment of adjudication, the judge shall proceed to final adjudication as in all other cases. SECTION 3. Section 6(a), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows: (a) For the purposes of this section, the jurisdiction of a court in which a sentence requiring imprisonment in the institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is imposed by the judge of the court shall continue for two years [180 days] from the date the execution of the sentence actually begins. Before the expiration of two years [180 days] from the date the execution of the sentence actually begins, the judge of the court that imposed such sentence may on his own motion, on the motion of the attorney representing the state, or on the written motion of the defendant, suspend further execution of the sentence and place the defendant on community supervision under the terms and conditions of this article, if in the opinion of the judge the defendant would not benefit from further imprisonment and: (1) the defendant is otherwise eligible for community supervision under this article; and (2) the defendant had never before been incarcerated in a penitentiary serving a sentence for a felony. SECTION 4. Section 20(a), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows: (a) At any time before the expiration of the term of community supervision, if in the judge's opinion the best interest of society and the defendant will be served, [after the defendant has satisfactorily completed one-third of the original community supervision period or two years of community supervision, whichever is less,] the period of community supervision may be reduced or terminated by the judge. Upon the satisfactory fulfillment of the conditions of community supervision, and the expiration of the period of community supervision, the judge, by order duly entered, shall amend or modify the original sentence imposed, if necessary, to conform to the community supervision period and shall discharge the defendant. If the judge discharges the defendant under this section, the judge may set aside the verdict or permit the defendant to withdraw his plea, and shall dismiss the accusation, complaint, information or indictment against the defendant, who shall thereafter be released from all penalties and disabilities resulting from the offense or crime of which he has been convicted or to which he has pleaded guilty, except that: (1) proof of the conviction or plea of guilty shall be made known to the judge should the defendant again be convicted of any criminal offense; and (2) if the defendant is an applicant for a license or is a licensee under Chapter 42, Human Resources Code, the Texas Department of Human Services may consider the fact that the defendant previously has received community supervision under this article in issuing, renewing, denying, or revoking a license under that chapter. SECTION 5. Section 23(b), Article 42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, is amended to read as follows: (b) A judge may credit against any term of confinement a defendant is sentenced to serve under this section all or [No] part of the time that the defendant served [is] on community supervision [shall be considered as any part of the time that he shall be sentenced to serve]. The right of the defendant to appeal for a review of the conviction and punishment, as provided by law, shall be accorded the defendant at the time he is placed on community supervision. When he is notified that his community supervision is revoked for violation of the conditions of community supervision and he is called on to serve a sentence in a jail or in the institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, he may appeal the revocation. SECTION 6. Section 76.002(a), Government Code, is amended to read as follows: (a) The district judge or district judges trying criminal cases in each judicial district and the statutory county court judge or judges trying criminal cases in the county or counties served by the judicial district shall: (1) establish a community supervision and corrections department; and (2) approve the department's budget and community justice plan [employ district personnel as necessary to conduct presentence investigations, supervise and rehabilitate defendants placed on community supervision, enforce the conditions of community supervision, and staff community corrections facilities]. SECTION 7. Chapter 509, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 509.016 to read as follows: Sec. 509.016. PRISON DIVERSION PILOT PROGRAM. The division shall establish a pilot program that provides grants to selected departments for the implementation of a system of progressive sanctions designed to reduce the revocation rate of defendants placed on community supervision. The division shall give priority in providing grants to departments serving counties in which the revocation rate for defendants on community supervision significantly exceeds the statewide average. SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.