Implementing Texas' new diligent-participation credit law

See an "implementation guide" from the Smart on Crime Coalition for a new bill, HB 1546 (Allen/Rodriguez), which "gives judges the option to streamline the process for granting diligent participation credits to individuals confined in state jails who participate in rehabilitative programs. The new law requires the judge to decide at sentencing whether the defendant is eligible to automatically earn credits for participating in these programs."

According to the criminal justice impact statement for the bill:

For offenders who received the presumptive finding, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) would be required to credit up to one-fifth of the sentence against any time a state jail inmate was required to serve for diligent participation in certain programs. For offenders who did not receive the presumptive finding, TDCJ would continue to provide judicial notification of diligent participation credit eligibility and judges would maintain discretion in awarding diligent participation credit.

The House Research Organization analysis of the bill predicted that, "As a result of inmates serving less time in state jails, the state would save money. The bill could have a positive impact of $81.3 million for fiscal 2016-17."

The Smart on Crime Coalition implementation guide provided specific recommendations for judges and defense attorneys.

In particular, "Defense attorneys should ask the judge to make an affirmative finding that the sentenced individual should be presumptively entitled to earn diligent participation credits in state jail."

Meanwhile, the coalition encouraged judges "to make an affirmative finding at sentencing for all defendants so such individuals can earn credits automatically for participating in rehabilitative programs." And TDCJ must create the capacity to track those judges' rulings so offenders who earn sufficient credits can be released sooner.

Saving money by encouraging offenders to participate more diligently in work, education and treatment programs: That's a policy worthy of the moniker, "Smart on Crime." If it works, next session the idea should be expanded to offenders convicted of higher-level felonies, who would equally benefit from incentives for self-improvement while incarcerated.

Press ignores most important TX de-incarceration legislation of 2015 session

Grits remains surprised that MSM coverage of new laws taking effect in Texas September 1st have omitted the state's most important sentencing reform since the Lege altered probation and parole rules in 2007: Raising theft thresholds for property crimes to account for inflation since the levels were set in 1993.

As Grits earlier had summarized, the measure passed as an amendment after a senate bill failed to get a House floor vote. The resulting legislation will reduce incarceration for property crimes at the margins, a move this blog has advocated for years. The most immediate budget impact will come from shifting state-jail felony charges to the misdemeanor courts. (The threshold at which theft becomes a felony increased from $1,500 to $2,500.) The change should also reduce the proportion of theft cases charged as serious felonies based solely on the property valuation, reducing incarceration in the long term.

By keeping the old thresholds for so long, as each year went by, it essentially became a felony in Texas to steal less and less stuff, creating a form of incarceration creep that ratcheted up penalties for lesser offenses without the Legislature doing anything. One may have preferred they index the thresholds to inflation going forward, but this was a needed short-term fix.

Coupled with legislation to allow state jail felons to earn "diligent participation credits" for participation in education, vocational, treatment, or work programs, and the 84th Legislature may have created room for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to close a couple more state jail unit sooner than later.

These were incremental changes, but significant ones. Heaven knows why the press hasn't given them the profile they deserve.

RELATED: Political correctness won't cut Texas' prison population.

Bill to reduce recidivism, increase state-jail felon program participation would save state $227.7 million

The Texas House last week approved a nice little bill by Rep. Alma Allen, HB 1546, which would save the state $227.7 million over the next five years by reducing incarceration for state jail felons by a few months if they participate in programming, according the Legislative Budget Board. The savings in the first biennium would be $81 million. The proposed tweak to the law would have the state corrections agency apply "diligent participation credits" toward reduction of inmates' state jail felony sentences - up to 20 percent of the sentence - which are otherwise served day for day without possibility of parole or early release. (My colleague Sarah Pahl at the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition has been working hard on this bill.)

The bill passed 141-0 (with a couple of members recording opposition in the journal after the fact) and no opposition in committee. Its companion legislation, SB 589 by Rodriguez/Hinojosa, has already passed out of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee and is on the Intent Calendar. So the Senate could finally approve this bill pretty quickly if the votes are there.

Presently, it's possible but unlikely for state jail inmates to receive sentence reductions based on participation in educational or treatment programs. TDCJ sends judges information about program participation months after the case is over when the defendant's sentence is almost complete, creating a cumbersome and time consuming extra process for the courts for this class of low-level, mostly non-violent offenders. "The court then has to receive and process the request, make a decision about awarding credit to the inmate, and return the report to TDCJ," explained the House Research Organization analysis. Presently, judges do not reply to TDCJ in more than half of cases and in others the decision comes too late to result in a meaningful reduction in the sentence. In other words, the process now is basically dysfunctional.

State jail felons have a higher recidivism rate than other inmates leaving TDCJ and also are not under supervision when they leave, having served a day-for-day sentence. So anything which can be done to reduce recidivism for this category of offenders would be welcome; presently the state has few tools to influence their behavior beyond locking them up for a short time. A few months reduction in state jail felony sentences - already measured in months, not years - is a significant incentive for inmates to participate in programming which reduces recidivism.

These folks will soon be released regardless after spending 6-24 months (max) incarcerated in a Texas state jail felony facility. So the question isn't whether we should "keep them locked up." They'll be released soon enough, either way. The question is whether they'll have done anything productive with their time while they're inside, which this bill incentivizes and prioritizes.

The Senate this year has been all about spending caps but we've heard barely a peep from them about budget cuts. Here's a chance to save nearly a quarter billion dollars over the next five years while reducing both incarceration and recidivism among nonviolent offenders. What's not to like?