·        Examine implementation of the diversion pilot programs, juvenile case management system, and other policy and funding initiatives to determine whether the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission and the Texas Youth Commission have adhered to legislative directive in implementing these programs, and the impact of these programs on commitments at the Texas Youth Commission. Joint Interim Charge with House Committee on Appropriations   

      Committee: Corrections & Appropriations

      Date:    TBD  

      Time:   TBD  

Charge 2  

·         Study and evaluate the availability and efficiency of community-based corrections supervision and treatment programs and their impact on prison capacity and recidivism rates. Determine whether the supervision and treatment programs have been designed in accordance with evidence-based practices and whether adequate evaluation methods have been incorporated. 

      Committee: Corrections

      Date:    TBD  

 Charge 3  

·         Study current re-entry programs and procedures across the juvenile and adult criminal justice continuum. Make recommendations to ensure that offenders who are released or discharged have the necessary supervision and access to employment, housing, treatment, and other support programs to allow successful entry and integration into the community.  Evaluate the working relationship between state agencies facilitating re-entry and make recommendations on how to achieve greater efficiency and cost savings.   

    Committee: Corrections  

      Date:    TBD  

      Time:   TBD  

      Room:  TBD  

      Chair:  Rep. Jim McReynolds  

Charge 4  

·         Examine policies and programs designed to identify, divert, and enhance the supervision and treatment of special needs offenders within local jails and state correctional facilities. Recommend changes to address appropriate alternatives to incarceration or institutionalization. 

     Committee: Corrections  

      Date:   TBD  

      Time:   TBD  

      Room:  TBD  

      Chair:   Rep. Jim McReynolds  

Charge 5  

·        Review the range of services provided to females in the juvenile and adult criminal justice systems and recommend changes to ensure responsiveness to gender-specific issues. Review should include institutional and community supervision programs and utilization of correctional facilities that house no adjudicated populations.  

Committee: Corrections                                                                       
Date: January 28, 2010
Time: 8:00 am
Room: E2. 010
Chair: Rep. Jim McReynolds   

Click here for TCJC’s testimony!

Click here for testimony from The Texas Departmet of Criminal Justice.

Charge 6  

·          Monitor the agencies and programs under the committee's jurisdiction.   

     Committee: Corrections  

      Date:    TBD  

      Time:   TBD  

      Room: TBD 

      Chair:  Rep. Jim McReynolds 

House Committee on County Affairs  

Charge 3 

 ·          Study county oversight related to pretrial release on bond in criminal cases. 

     Committee: County Affairs  

      Date:    TBD  

      Time:   TBD  

      Room:  TBD  

      Chair:  Rep. Garnet Coleman 

House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence  

Charge 1

·          Examine the deferred adjudication system in Texas and recommend legislative changes.  

    Committee: Criminal Jurisprudence  

      Date:    TBD  

      Time:   TBD 

      Room:  TBD  

      Chair:   Rep. Pete Gallego  

Charge 2  

 ·          Study how the state presently supports the establishment and maintenance of public defender offices.   

      Committee: Criminal Jurisprudence 

      Date:    TBD  

      Time:   TBD  

      Room:  TBD  

      Chair:   Rep. Pete Gallego  

House Committee on Defense and Veterans' Affairs  

Charge 4  

·          Monitor the implementation of SB 1940 (81R), which established veterans court programs in Texas, and examine the link between combat stress disorders of war veterans, including post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury, and the onset of criminal behavior. Joint Interim Charge with House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence  

     Committee: Defense and Veterans Affair  

      Date:    TBD  

      Time:   TBD  

      Room: TBD  

      Chair:  Rep. Frank Corte 

Senate Interim Charges  

Senate Committee on Criminal Justice  

Charge 3 

·        Review the performance of the Fair Defense Act and the Task Force on Indigent Defense. Study key outcomes of the law, including: appointment rates in felony and misdemeanor cases; stage and county indigent defense expenditures; attorney caseloads; attorney compensation; access to investigators and experts; and overall quality of counsel for the indigent. Examine the Task Force on Indigent Defense’s effectiveness in monitoring and enforcing standards and design strategies to improve the delivery of services for indigent defense, including timing of the appointment of counsel, the use of the appointment wheel and the monitoring of workloads and performance of attorneys.  

      Committee: Criminal Justice  

      Date:    TBD  

      Time:   TBD  

      Room: TBD  

      Chair:  Sen. John Whitmire  

Charge 4 

·        Study and make recommendations related to municipal jails and other detention facilities that operate without state agency oversight. Identify the number of such facilities and the population detained, as well as best practices for municipal jails. Make recommendations to improve services and consider options for oversight of facilities by the Texas Commission on Jail Standards. 

      Committee: Criminal Justice  

      Date:    TBD  

      Time:   TBD  

      Room:  TBD  

      Chair:   Sen. John Whitmire  

Charge 5  

·          Review the detention of juvenile offenders in local jails, state jails, and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison units by examining conditions of confinement, including quality of education, mental health treatment and medical services, rehabilitative treatment, and equality of access to services for young female inmates. Review access to administrative and inspector general grievances in TDCJ facilities. Make recommendations for improving the system and reduce recidivism of juvenile offenders. 

      Committee: Criminal Justice  

      Date:    TBD 

      Time:   TBD  

      Room:  TBD  

      Chair:  Sen. John Whitmire  

Charge 7 

·         Assess how the Commission on Jail Standards, the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Criminal Justice, and the Department of State Health Services are working together to identify defendants with mental health issues, notify magistrates when defendants have been indentified and, where appropriate, provide crisis stabilization services to defendants. Monitor legislation passed by the 81^st Legislature for mental illness and make recommendation for any needed improvement to improve mental health services and reduce recidivism. 

    Committee: Criminal Justice  

      Date:    TBD  

      Time:   TBD  

      Room:  TBD  

      Chair:  Sen. John Whitmire 

Charge 8  

·          Study and evaluate the success of juvenile probation pilot programs aimed at the community-based diversion of youth form Texas Youth Commission facilities. Make recommendations for needed legislative action and additional programs to increase the number of delinquent youth successfully rehabilitated in their home communities.  

      Committee: Criminal Justice 

      Date:    TBD 

      Time:   TBD 

      Room:  TBD 

      Chair:   Sen. John Whitmire  

Charge 9  

·         Consider the impact that secondary education school disciplinary laws and policies have on the juvenile justice system and the adult prison system. Recommend changes, if needed, to current law. 

      Committee: Criminal Justice 

      Date:    TBD  

      Time:   TBD  

      Room:  TBD  

      Chair:   Sen. John Whitmire