S.B. No. 790
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to the procedures applicable to the revocation of a
  person's release on parole or to mandatory supervision.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 508.254, Government Code, is amended by
  amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (d), (e), and (f) to
  read as follows:
         (c)  Except as provided by Subsection (d), pending [Pending]
  a hearing on a charge of parole violation, ineligible release, or
  violation of a condition of mandatory supervision, a person
  returned to custody shall remain confined.
         (d)  A magistrate of the county in which the person is held in
  custody may release the person on bond pending the hearing if:
               (1)  the person is arrested or held in custody only on a
  charge that the person committed an administrative violation of
  release;
               (2)  the division, in accordance with Subsection (e),
  included notice on the warrant for the person's arrest that the
  person is eligible for release on bond; and
               (3)  the magistrate determines that the person is not a
  threat to public safety.
         (e)  The division shall include a notice on the warrant for
  the person's arrest indicating that the person is eligible for
  release on bond under Subsection (d) if the division determines
  that the person:
               (1)  has not been previously convicted of:
                     (A)  an offense under Chapter 29, Penal Code;
                     (B)  an offense under Title 5, Penal Code,
  punishable as a felony; or
                     (C)  an offense involving family violence, as
  defined by Section 71.004, Family Code;
               (2)  is not on intensive supervision or super-intensive
  supervision;
               (3)  is not an absconder; and
               (4)  is not a threat to public safety.
         (f)  The provisions of Chapters 17 and 22, Code of Criminal
  Procedure, apply to a person released under Subsection (d) in the
  same manner as those provisions apply to a person released pending
  an appearance before a court or magistrate, except that the release
  under that subsection is conditioned on the person's appearance at
  a hearing under this subchapter.
         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
  determines that [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. Immediately on conclusion of a hearing in which the
  designated agent determines that a releasee] has violated a
  condition of release, the agent shall notify the board.  After the
  board or a parole panel makes a final determination regarding the
  violation, the division may issue a warrant [may be issued]
  requiring the releasee to be held in a [the] county jail pending[:
               [(1)     the action of a parole panel on any
  recommendations made by the designated agent; 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 508.254, Government Code, applies only to a person who on or
  after the effective date of this Act is charged with a violation of
  the person's release on parole or mandatory supervision. A person
  who before the effective date of this Act was charged with a
  violation of 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
  determination made by a designated agent of the Board of Pardons and
  Paroles on or after the effective date of this Act.  A determination
  made before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
  effect on the date the determination was made, 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 hereby certify that S.B. No. 790 passed the Senate on
  April 9, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 790 passed the House on
  May 22, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 140, Nays 0, two
  present not voting.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
 
  Approved:
 
  ______________________________ 
              Date
 
 
  ______________________________ 
            Governor