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3 Document(s) [ Subject: ]

Committee:	House Corrections
Title:	Interim Report
Subjects:	Administrative segregation | Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Texas Commission on | Bail | Court costs and fees | Criminal justice | Criminal Justice, Texas Department of | Drug enforcement | Drug rehabilitation programs | Expunged criminal records | Fees | Illegal drugs | Inmate rehabilitation | Inmates | Pardons and Paroles, Texas Board of | Parole | Probation | Recidivism | State jail system | Substance abuse | Substance Abuse Felony Punishment Facilities | Technical parole violations | Windham School District |
Library Call Number:	L1836.84 C817
Session:	84th R.S. (2015)
Online version:	View report [73 pages]
Charges:	This report should address the charges below.
1.	Examine fees and revocations for those on probation and parole; examine effectiveness of fees imposed as a condition of probation and parole; study technical revocations in adult probation to identify drivers of revocations, disparities across the state, and strategies for reducing technical revocations while ensuring program effectiveness and public safety. (Joint charge with the House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence)
2.	Study recidivism, its major causes, and existing programs designed to reduce recidivism, including a review of current programs utilized by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) and the Windham School District for incarcerated persons. Examine re-entry programs and opportunities for offenders upon release. Identify successful programs in other jurisdictions and consider how they might be implemented in Texas.
3.	Study incarceration rates for non-violent drug offenses and the cost to the state associated with those offenses. Identify alternatives to incarceration, including community supervision, that could be used to reduce incarceration rates of non-violent drug offenders.
4.	Study inmate release policies of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, including the release of inmates directly from administrative segregation. Identify best practices and policies for both the transitioning of these various inmate populations from the prison to appropriate supervision in the community. Identify any needed legislative changes necessary to accomplish these goals.
5.	Conduct legislative oversight and monitoring of the agencies and programs under the committee’s jurisdiction and the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 84th Legislature. In conducting this oversight, the committee should: a. consider any reforms to state agencies to make them more responsive to Texas taxpayers and citizens; b. identify issues regarding the agency or its governance that may be appropriate to investigate, improve, remedy, or eliminate; c. determine whether an agency is operating in a transparent and efficient manner; and d. identify opportunities to streamline programs and services while maintaining the mission of the agency and its programs.
Committee:	House Criminal Jurisprudence
Title:	Interim Report
Subjects:	Asset forfeiture | Bail | County jails | Family violence | Fees | Indigent criminal defense | Innocence projects | Parole | Probation | Protective orders | Technical parole violations |
Library Call Number:	L1836.84 C868
Session:	84th R.S. (2015)
Online version:	View report [55 pages]
Charges:	This report should address the charges below.
1.	Examine the feasibility of utilizing GPS monitoring in protective orders as a tool to help reduce family violence; study programs and identify best practices focused on the intervention and prevention of family violence and consider statutory changes needed to further deter the offense of family violence and domestic abuse.
2.	Review pretrial service and bonding practices throughout the state. Examine factors considered in bail and pre-trial confinement decisions, including the use of risk assessments; assess the effectiveness and efficiency of different systems in terms of cost to local governments and taxpayers, community safety, pretrial absconding rates and rights of the accused. (Joint charge with the House Committee on County Affairs)
3.	Examine the use of asset forfeiture in this state, including data reporting on forfeiture actions and procedures from seizure through forfeiture in both contested and uncontested cases. Make recommendations for improving these systems that balance law enforcement needs, private property rights, and government transparency.
4.	Study the constitutional requirements and local practices for the appointment of counsel to indigent defendants and the operation of innocence projects at the state’s six public law schools. Compare different indigent defense plans and the innocence projects across the state and identify best practices for system management, including appointment methods and timing, cost effectiveness, timeliness of case disposition, compensation of counsel, quality of representation, and protection of procedural rights. Consider the effectiveness of each of the programs currently funded and the funding strategy as a whole.
5.	Examine fees and revocations for those on probation and parole; examine effectiveness of fees imposed as a condition of probation and parole; study technical revocations in adult probation to identify drivers of revocations, disparities across the state, and strategies for reducing technical revocations while ensuring program effectiveness and public safety. (Joint charge with the House Committee on Corrections)
6.	Conduct legislative oversight and monitoring of the agencies and programs under the committee’s jurisdiction and the implementation of relevant legislation passed by the 84th Legislature. In conducting this oversight, the committee should: a. consider any reforms to state agencies to make them more responsive to Texas taxpayers and citizens; b. identify issues regarding the agency or its governance that may be appropriate to investigate, improve, remedy, or eliminate; c. determine whether an agency is operating in a transparent and efficient manner; and d. identify opportunities to streamline programs and services while maintaining the mission of the agency and its programs.
Committee:	Senate Criminal Justice
Title:	Interim Report
Library Catalog Title:	Senate Criminal Justice Committee interim report to the 79th Legislature.
Subjects:	Alternatives to incarceration | Crime Victims' Compensation Fund | Criminal Justice, Texas Department of | Drug courts | Identity theft | Law Enforcement, Texas Commission on | Parole | Police departments | Police officers | Prison population | Privately-operated prisons | Probation | Technical parole violations | Underage drinking |
Library Call Number:	L1836.78 C868
Session:	78th R.S. (2003)
Online version:	View report [95 pages  File size: 643 kb]
Charges:	This report should address the charges below.
1.	Study identity theft and its effects, and the impact of recent legislation addressing the issue (HB 2138, 78th R.S., SB 473, 78th R.S., and SB 566, 78th R.S.). Make recommendations for enhancing the Texas' ability to implement effective programs to prevent identity theft. Monitor federal legislation regarding identity theft to ensure that state and federal laws are complementary and make recommendations for improvements.
2.	Study and identify best practices for probation and community supervision programs including: the Community Justice Assistance Division; local probation management structure; the use of Drug Courts and the courts' impact on recidivism; programs to reduce underage drinking; mental health issues and continuity of care; use of the Community Supervision Tracking System (CSTS) and other data issues related to Criminal Justice information system components; and the implementation of HB 2668, 78th R.S.. Make recommendations for legislative changes to achieve best practices.
3.	Study the management efficiency and organizational structure of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, including implementation of recent restructuring by the TDCJ Board, and make recommendations on additional improvements, including possible consolidation of agency functions and other cost saving measures.
4.	Study the use and effectiveness of current parole guideline policies and make recommendations for changes to improve the policies. Develop innovative options that improve efficiency and enhance safe and effective correctional policy.
5.	Study and make recommendations relating to improving the use of specialized police agencies and officers, specifically, the necessity, accountability, qualifications, and jurisdictions of such police agencies.
6.	Review the Crime Victims Compensation Fund (Fund), including state and local competition, use in state agency methods of finance, evaluation of grant programs, possible diversion of funds from crime victims as a result of prior legislation, and whether the Fund meets the objectives of its authorizing legislation.
7.	Study the number of foreign citizens serving sentences in Texas prisons, including information relating to prison terms, recidivism, and types of offenses. Make recommendations for reducing the costs of providing prison services for this population, including leveraging of federal immigration funds and possible international agreements to pay home countries to transfer the prisoners to their respective countries to serve the remainder of their terms.
8.	Study and make recommendations concerning the cost effectiveness and efficiency of private prisons, including private services performed at state-owned prisons.

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