HBA-JEK H.B. 1616 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1616 By: Allen Corrections 3/9/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Current law does not prohibit Texas inmates from receiving state benefits while incarcerated, even though the state provides for the immediate needs of imprisoned individuals under the criminal justice system. House Bill 1616 prohibits an incarcerated person from receiving any loan, grant, pension, salary, or other payment from the state. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution. ANALYSIS House Bill 1616 amends the Code of Criminal Procedure to prohibit a person convicted of an offense and sentenced to imprisonment in the institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) from receiving any loan, grant, pension, salary, or other payment from the state until the date on which the person is released after completing the term of imprisonment. This provision does not apply to an inmate in a prison industries program, an inmate who receives a pension that vested before the date the person is finally convicted, or an inmate who receives a payment in satisfaction of wages earned or a contract performed before the date the person is finally convicted. The bill requires a court that sentences a person to imprisonment in the institutional division of TDCJ to inform the person at the time of sentence of the consequence of the sentence as it relates to the person's eligibility to receive state benefits. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001.