84R1018 JRR-D
 
  By: West S.B. No. 126
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the release of certain inmates on medically recommended
  intensive supervision.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Sections 508.115(a) and (d), Government Code,
  are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Not later than the 11th day before the date a parole
  panel orders the release of an inmate on parole or medically
  recommended intensive supervision [of an inmate] or not later than
  the 11th day after the date the board recommends that the governor
  grant executive clemency, the division shall notify the sheriffs,
  each chief of police, the prosecuting attorneys, and the district
  judges in the county in which the inmate was convicted and the
  county to which the inmate is released that a parole panel is
  considering release on parole or medically recommended intensive
  supervision or the governor is considering clemency.
         (d)  The notice must include [state]:
               (1)  the inmate's name;
               (2)  the county in which the inmate was convicted;
  [and]
               (3)  the offense for which the inmate was convicted;
  and
               (4)  to the extent permitted by federal law,
  information relating to the inmate's physical or mental health
  condition if the inmate is being considered for release on
  medically recommended intensive supervision under Section 508.146.
         SECTION 2.  Section 508.146, Government Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (a), (e), and (f) and adding Subsection (g) to
  read as follows:
         (a)  An inmate other than an inmate who is serving a sentence
  of death or life without parole may be released on medically
  recommended intensive supervision on a date designated by a parole
  panel described by Subsection (e)[, except that an inmate with an
  instant offense that is an offense described in Section 3g, Article
  42.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, or an inmate who has a reportable
  conviction or adjudication under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal
  Procedure, may only be considered if a medical condition of
  terminal illness or long-term care has been diagnosed by a
  physician,] if:
               (1)  the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with
  Medical or Mental Impairments, in cooperation with the Correctional
  Managed Health Care Committee, identifies the inmate as [being]:
                     (A)  [elderly, physically disabled, mentally ill,
  terminally ill, or mentally retarded or having a condition]
  requiring permanent long-term care, having a terminal illness, or
  being a person with a severe and persistent mental illness or
  intellectual and developmental disability, if the inmate is an
  inmate who does not have a reportable conviction or adjudication
  under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure [with an instant
  offense that is described in Section 3g, Article 42.12, Code of
  Criminal Procedure]; or
                     (B)  being in a persistent vegetative state or
  being a person with an organic brain syndrome with significant to
  total mobility impairment, if the inmate is an inmate who has a
  reportable conviction or adjudication under Chapter 62, Code of
  Criminal Procedure;
               (2)  the parole panel determines that, based on the
  inmate's condition and a medical evaluation, the inmate does not
  constitute a threat to public safety; and
               (3)  the Texas Correctional Office on Offenders with
  Medical or Mental Impairments, in cooperation with the pardons and
  paroles division, has prepared for the inmate a medically
  recommended intensive supervision plan that requires the inmate to
  submit to electronic monitoring, places the inmate on
  super-intensive supervision, or otherwise ensures appropriate
  supervision of the inmate.
         (e)  Only a parole panel [panels] composed of three [the
  presiding officer of the board and two] members appointed to the
  panel by the presiding officer may make determinations regarding
  the release of inmates on medically recommended intensive
  supervision under Subsection (a) or of inmates released pending
  deportation. If the Texas Correctional Office [Council] on
  Offenders with Medical or Mental Impairments identifies an inmate
  as a candidate for release under the guidelines established by
  Subsection (a)(1), the office [council] shall present to a parole
  panel described by this subsection relevant information concerning
  the inmate and the inmate's potential for release under this
  section.
         (f)  An inmate who is not a citizen of the United States, as
  defined by federal law, and who is not under a sentence of death or
  life without parole[, and who does not have a reportable conviction
  or adjudication under Chapter 62, Code of Criminal Procedure, or an
  instant offense described in Section 3g, Article 42.12, Code of
  Criminal Procedure,] may be released to immigration authorities
  pending deportation on a date designated by a parole panel
  described by Subsection (e) if the parole panel determines that on
  release the inmate would be deported to another country and that the
  inmate does not constitute a threat to public safety in the other
  country or this country and is unlikely to reenter this country
  illegally.
         (g)  For purposes of Subsection (a), "terminal illness"
  means an incurable illness or condition that requires skilled
  nursing care, hospice care, or home health care, and is expected to
  result in death in one year or less regardless of life-sustaining
  treatment.
         SECTION 3.  (a) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice,
  the Department of Aging and Disability Services, and the Health and
  Human Services Commission jointly shall conduct a study regarding
  the feasibility of contracting with a private entity to house
  inmates released on medically recommended intensive supervision
  under Section 508.146, Government Code, as amended by this Act, who
  require skilled nursing services or 24-hour care.
         (b)  Not later than December 1, 2016, the Texas Department of
  Criminal Justice shall report the results of the study conducted
  under this section to the governor, the lieutenant governor, the
  speaker of the house of representatives, and the standing
  committees of the house of representatives and the senate with
  primary jurisdiction over criminal justice matters.
         (c)  This section expires January 1, 2017.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.