Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles
About Us
Board Member Responsibilities
Board members are vested with the sole responsibility of promulgating policy relative to parole and mandatory supervision considerations; vote cases requiring the full board vote; and, vote clemency matters.
Board members are appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the Senate for six year terms.
Responsibilities
- Vote on matters requiring an extraordinary vote of the full membership.
- Determine which inmates are to be released on parole or mandatory supervision.
- Determine conditions of parole.
- Modify and withdraw conditions of parole and mandatory supervision.
- Determine the continuation, modification, or revocation of parole or mandatory supervision violators.
- Issue subpoenas.
- Conduct inmate interviews.
- Conduct victim interviews.
- Conduct interviews with other interested parties, such as family members or attorneys.
- Make recommendations to the governor on matters of clemency.
- Adopt rules which govern the decision-making processes of the board.
- Prepare information of public interest describing the functions of the board and make the information available to the public and appropriate state agencies.
- Comply with federal and state laws related to program and facility accessibility.
- Develop for board members and parole commissioners a comprehensive training and education program on the criminal justice system, with special emphasis on the parole process.
- Develop and implement a training program for each newly hired employee of the board designated to conduct hearings under §508.281, Texas Government Code.
- Develop and implement a training program to provide an annual update to designees of the board on issues and procedures relating to the revocation process.
- Prepare and biennially update a procedural manual to be used by designees of the board.
- Prepare and update as necessary a handbook to be made available to participants in hearings under §508.281, Texas Government Code.
- Develop and implement a policy that clearly defines circumstances under which a board member or parole commissioner should disqualify himself or herself from voting.
- Adopt a mission statement.
- Adopt rules relating to the submission and presentation of information and arguments to the board, a parole panel and the department for and on behalf of an inmate.
- Adopt rules relating to the time, place and manner of contact between a person representing an offender.
- Develop and review parole guidelines that are the basic criteria on which a parole decision is made.
- Adopt a policy establishing the date on which the board may reconsider for release an inmate who has previously been denied release.
Updated 10/23/2017