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.