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Relating to certain technical violations of conditions of community supervision.
The probable fiscal impact of implementing the bill is indeterminate due to the lack of
statewide data related to the specific circumstances involved in the technical violation of
community supervision specified in the bill under which supervision is revoked.
HB 3831 would prohibit a judge from revoking a defendant's community supervision if, after a hearing, the judge determines that the defendant violated not more than three conditions of community supervision other than a violation: (1) committed by a defendant who in the five years prior was convicted of certain felony offenses or sexually violent offenses, or who has previous had community supervision revoked; or (2) involving family violence, a felony offense, an offense against the person punishable as a misdemeanor, an offense involving the possession of a firearm, contact of a victim, failure to register as a sex offender, failure to report to a supervision officer, or leaving the state without permission.
If a judge makes such a determination, then the judge would be able to continue, extend, or modify the defendant's community supervision. This bill would also expressly prohibit a judge from revoking the defendant's community supervision for failure to timely pay a fee or for arriving late to a scheduled meeting with a supervision officer.
Texas Action supports HB 3831 because it promotes limited government principles. This bill would help reform community supervision to remove technical violations that lead to costly and ineffective results. This benefits both the taxpayer, the defendant, and the community by saving money that would have been spent on incarceration, reducing recidivism, and strengthening community supervision.