HBA-TBM H.B. 1429 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1429 By: Danburg Corrections 2/25/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Before the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles (board) considers an inmate for release, the pardons and paroles division is required to attempt to notify the victim of the inmate or the victim's family or guardian. If the board denies parole to the inmate, the board may grant the inmate a set-off. The set-off requires the board to review the inmate for parole again not less than one year and not more than three years from the parole docket date or the date of the board's decision. For victims and their families, this may mean that they continue to receive notification letters of a parole review every year or two, giving them very little time to heal. A number of states with similar sentencing guidelines utilize a five year set-off, which may provide victims and their families more time to heal. House Bill 1429 requires the policy board of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to increase the length of the set-off the board may grant certain inmates to between three to five years after the previous refusal. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 1429 amends the Government Code to require the Board of Pardons and Paroles Policy Board to adopt a policy by January 1, 2002, establishing the date on which the Board of Pardons and Paroles (parole board) is authorized to reconsider for release an inmate who was convicted of a capital felony, indecency with a child, or aggravated sexual assault or who is required to serve 35 calendar years before becoming eligible for release on parole and who has previously been denied release. The policy must permit the parole board to reconsider for release the inmate on or as soon as practicable after the third anniversary of the refusal or, in the parole board's discretion, on or as soon as practicable after the fifth anniversary of the refusal. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001.