SB2338 - Relating to the award of work-for-time credits to certain persons released on parole or to mandatory supervision.

  89R8719 MCF-F     By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 2338       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the award of work-for-time credits to certain persons   released on parole or to mandatory supervision.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 508.148(b), Government Code, is amended   to read as follows:          (b)   To complete a [ The time served on ] mandatory supervision   period, a releasee must serve the entire period of mandatory   supervision, less any time credits the releasee has received under   Section 508.1559 [ is computed as calendar time ].          SECTION 2.  Section 508.155(a), Government Code, is amended   to read as follows:          (a)  To complete a parole period, a releasee must serve the   entire period of parole , less any time credits the releasee has   received under Section 508.1559 .          SECTION 3.  Subchapter E, Chapter 508, Government Code, is   amended by adding Section 508.1559 to read as follows:           Sec.   508.1559.     WORK-FOR-TIME CREDIT.   (a)   In this section,   "business day" means a day other than a Saturday, Sunday, or state   or federal holiday.           (b)     This section does not apply to a releasee who is serving   a sentence for an offense:                 (1)     listed in Article 42A.054(a), Code of Criminal   Procedure;                 (2)     described by Article 62.001(5), Code of Criminal   Procedure; or                 (3)  under Section 20.03 or 28.02, Penal Code.           (c)     Except as provided by Subsection (e), a releasee is   entitled to receive time credits toward the completion of the   releasee's period of parole or mandatory supervision in an amount   equal to 30 days for every 140 hours the releasee works for pay,   regardless of whether there is a break in employment, as verified   under Subsection (h).           (d)     Except as provided by Subsection (e), a releasee is   entitled to receive time credits toward the completion of the   releasee's period of parole or mandatory supervision in an amount   equal to 10 days for each 30-day period in which the releasee is   continuously enrolled and participating, as verified under   Subsection (h), in a rehabilitation, faith-based, vocational, or   academic education program, including a high school or high school   equivalency certificate program, an academic degree program at an   institution of higher education, or a vocational, technical, or   career education or training program.           (e)     A releasee may not receive time credits under this   section:                 (1)     for any hours worked or enrollment and   participation in a program described by Subsection (d) that occurs:                       (A)     while the releasee is in violation of a   condition of parole or mandatory supervision, other than a   condition to make a payment on a required cost, fine, or fee; or                       (B)     during the 90-day period following a   violation described by Paragraph (A); or                 (2)     during the 60-day period preceding the expiration   of the releasee's period of parole or mandatory supervision, taking   into account any time credits to which the releasee is entitled   under this section.           (f)     A releasee shall, for any employment described by   Subsection (c), submit to the releasee's parole officer   documentation verifying the releasee's employment.   The   documentation may include any one of the following:                 (1)  an employment record;                 (2)  a letter from an employer;                 (3)  a contract;                 (4)     pay stubs or copies of checks received as payment   for time worked;                 (5)     a statement from a vendor the employer contracts   with for employment verification purposes; or                 (6)     a statement from a bank or credit union   demonstrating a pattern of deposits.           (g)     A releasee shall, for each 30-day period described by   Subsection (d), submit to the releasee's parole officer   documentation verifying the releasee's continued enrollment and   participation in a rehabilitation, faith-based, vocational, or   academic education program.   The documentation may include a   letter, statement, or other form of documentation from the   organization or entity administering the program.           (h)     A parole officer to whom documentation is submitted   under Subsection (f) or (g) shall:                 (1)  verify that the releasee:                       (A)     worked 140 hours of paid employment or was   continuously enrolled and participating in a program described by   Subsection (d), as applicable; and                       (B)     is otherwise entitled to time credits under   this section; and                 (2)     subject to Subsection (i), enter the documentation   and record the time credits received in the system developed under   Subsection (j) not later than the fifth business day after   receiving the documentation.           (i)     If a parole officer is not able to verify the releasee's   employment or enrollment and participation in a program, as   applicable, according to the received documentation, or determines   that the releasee is ineligible for time credits for the applicable   period under Subsection (e), the officer shall:                 (1)  deny the time credits; and                 (2)     record the denial in the system developed under   Subsection (j).           (j)  The division shall:                 (1)     establish a system to record and track time   credits received or denied under this section; and                 (2)  require each parole officer to use the system.           (k)     If a releasee's parole or mandatory supervision is   revoked, all of the time credits to which the releasee is entitled   under this section are forfeited and may not be credited toward the   remaining portion of the releasee's sentence.           (l)     A releasee may not waive the releasee's entitlement to   earn time credits under this section.          SECTION 4.  Section 508.155(b), Government Code, is   repealed.          SECTION 5.  Not later than January 1, 2026, the pardons and   paroles division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shall   establish the system to record and track time credits required   under Section 508.1559, Government Code, as added by this Act.          SECTION 6.  The change in law made by this Act applies only   to a person who is released on parole or to mandatory supervision   for an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act.     A person who is released on parole or to mandatory supervision for   an offense committed before the effective date of this Act is   governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was committed,   and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.  For   purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the   effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurred   before that date.          SECTION 7.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.