| Vote Recommendation | Economic Freedom | Property Rights | Personal Responsibility | Limited Government | Individual Liberty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral | Neutral |
Relating to changing the eligibility for release on parole of certain inmates serving sentences for trafficking offenses involving one or more child victims.
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
HB 465 would make a defendant convicted of the continuous trafficking of persons involving children ineligible for parole. A defendant convicted of various other child trafficking offenses would only be eligible for parole if the state attorney, defendant, and defendant's attorney make a written agreement that they ought to be eligible and the defendant serves the lesser of one-half of their sentence or 30 years in prison.
Texas Action is neutral on HB 465 as it does not touch directly upon any of our Liberty Principles. In our view the changes proposed by this legislation would not make the punishment disproportionate to the crime and are well within the legislature's proper scope to consider.