HBA-KDB, TBM H.B. 962 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 962 By: Dutton Criminal Jurisprudence 3/15/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Under current law, an inmate serving a life sentence for a capital offense is not eligible for release on parole until the actual calendar time the inmate has served equals 40 calendar years, excluding any good conduct time. This parole restriction may not provide any incentive for an inmate to refrain from behavior that causes harm to fellow inmates or the Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison staff and administration. House Bill 962 provides that an inmate serving a life sentence for a capital offense is eligible for parole if the inmate, after serving 25 consecutive years, remains on good behavior the entire 25 years. 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 962 amends the Government Code to provide that an inmate serving a life sentence for a capital felony is not eligible for release on parole until the actual calendar time the inmate has served, without consideration of good conduct time, equals 25 calendar years, but only if the inmate since imprisonment has been classified in the highest good conduct time earning classification available. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.