SECTION 145.2. Standard Parole Guidelines

(a) Parole panels are vested with complete discretion in making parole decisions to accomplish the mandatory duties found in Chapter 508, Government Code.

(b) Parole guidelines have been adopted by the Board to assist parole panels in the selection of possible candidates for release. Parole guidelines are applied as a basis, but not as the exclusive criteria, upon which parole panels base release decisions.

(1) The parole guidelines consist of a risk assessment instrument and an offense severity scale. Combined, these components serve as an instrument to guide parole release decisions.

(2) The risk assessment instrument includes two sets of components, static and dynamic factors.

(A) Static factors include:

(i) Age at first admission to a juvenile or adult correctional facility;

(ii) History of supervisory release revocations for felony offenses;

(iii) Prior incarcerations;

(iv) Employment history; and

(v) The commitment offense.

(B) Dynamic factors include:

(i) The offender's current age;

(ii) Whether the offender is a confirmed security threat group (gang) member;

(iii) Education, vocational and certified on-the-job training programs completed during the present incarceration;

(iv) Prison disciplinary conduct; and

(v) Current prison custody level.

(3) Scores from the risk assessment instrument are combined with an offense severity rating for the sentenced offense of record to determine a parole candidate's guidelines level.

(c) The adoption and use of the parole guidelines do not imply the creation of any parole release formula, or a right or expectation by an offender to parole based upon the guidelines. The risk assessment instrument and the offense severity scale, while utilized for research and reporting, are not to be construed so as to mandate either a favorable or unfavorable parole decision. The parole guidelines serve as an aid in the parole decision process and the parole decision shall be at the discretion of the Board and the voting parole panel.

(d) The Board is authorized to revise the parole guidelines as warranted.

Source Note: The provisions of this §145.2 adopted to be effective May 1, 1995, 20 TexReg 2861; amended to be effective March 20, 2003, 28 TexReg 2355; amended to be effective August 6, 2015, 40 TexReg 4905; amended to be effective November 18, 2018, 43 TexReg 7466; amended to be effective February 9, 2023, 48 TexReg 522