HBA-TBM C.S.H.B. 1429 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 1429 By: Danburg Corrections 4/16/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) 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. C.S.H.B. 1429 modifies notification requirements to crime victims about the release of certain inmates on parole. 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 C.S.H.B. 1429 amends the Government Code to require the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) to notify crime victims about the release of certain inmates on parole. Before a parole panel considers for release on parole an inmate who is serving a sentence for an offense in which a person was a victim (inmate), the pardons and paroles division (division) of TDCJ, using the name and address provided on a written request for notification rather than a victim impact statement, is required to make a reasonable effort to notify the inmate's victim, the guardian of the victim, or close relative of a deceased victim (victim). The bill authorizes a victim who wishes to receive notification of an inmate's consideration for parole to file with the division a written request for notification regardless of whether the victim provided a victim impact statement. Not later than the 30th day before the date on which a parole panel orders the release on parole of an inmate, the division, using the name and address provided on the victim impact statement, is required to make a reasonable effort to notify the victim. A victim is entitled to notification of the imminent release of an inmate, directed to the address provided on the victim impact statement, or if no name or address was provided on the statement, directed to the address stated in a written request for notification filed with the division. The bill provides that the notice must state that the inmate is being considered for release or that a parole panel is giving favorable consideration to releasing the inmate on parole, as appropriate. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act takes effect September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 1429 differs from the original by removing provisions relating to the time during which certain inmates may be considered for release on parole and adding provisions requiring the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to notify crime victims about the release of certain inmates on parole.