Texas Government Code 508.036 – General Administrative Duties
(a) The presiding officer shall:
(1) develop and implement policies that clearly separate the policy-making responsibilities of the board and the management responsibilities of the board administrator, parole commissioners, and the staff of the board;
(2) establish caseloads and required work hours for members of the board and parole commissioners;
(3) update parole guidelines, assign precedential value to previous decisions of the board relating to the granting of parole and the revocation of parole or mandatory supervision, and develop policies to ensure that members of the board and parole commissioners use guidelines and previous decisions of the board and parole commissioners in making decisions under this chapter;
(4) require members of the board and parole commissioners to file activity reports that provide information on release decisions made by members of the board and parole commissioners, the workload and hours worked of the members of the board and parole commissioners, and the use of parole guidelines by members of the board and parole commissioners; and
(5) report at least annually to the governor and the legislature on the activities of the board and parole commissioners, parole release decisions, and the use of parole guidelines by the board and parole commissioners.
(b) The board shall:
(1) adopt rules relating to the decision-making processes used by the board and parole panels;
(2) prepare information of public interest describing the functions of the board and make the information available to the public and appropriate state agencies;
(3) comply with federal and state laws related to program and facility accessibility; and
(4) develop and implement policies that provide the public with a reasonable opportunity to appear before the board and to speak on any issue under the jurisdiction of the board, with the exception of an individual parole determination or clemency recommendation.
Terms Used In Texas Government Code 508.036
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Person: includes corporation, organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association, and any other legal entity. See Texas Government Code 311.005
- Presiding officer: A majority-party Senator who presides over the Senate and is charged with maintaining order and decorum, recognizing Members to speak, and interpreting the Senate's rules, practices and precedents.
- Written: includes any representation of words, letters, symbols, or figures. See Texas Government Code 311.005
(c) The board administrator shall prepare and maintain a written plan that describes how a person who does not speak English can be provided reasonable access to the board’s programs and services.
(d) The board, in performing its duties, is subject to the open meetings law, Chapter 551, and the administrative procedure law, Chapter 2001. This subsection does not affect the provisions of § 2001.223 exempting hearings and interviews conducted by the board or the division from § 2001.038 and Subchapters C-H, Chapter 2001.
(e) The board, in accordance with the rules and procedures of the Legislative Budget Board, shall prepare, approve, and submit a legislative appropriations request that is separate from the legislative appropriations request for the department and is used to develop the board’s budget structure. The board shall maintain the board’s legislative appropriations request and budget structure separately from those of the department.