(a) The Presiding Officer (Chair) is designated by the Governor and serves in that capacity at the pleasure of the Governor. The Presiding Officer reports directly to the Governor and serves as the administrative head of the Board. The Presiding Officer acts as spokesperson for the Board.
(b) The Presiding Officer may:
(1) delegate responsibilities and authority to other members of the Board, Parole Commissioners, or to employees of the Board;
(2) appoint advisory committees from the membership of the Board or from Parole Commissioners to further the efficient administration of Board business;
(3) establish policies and procedures to further the efficient administration of the business of the Board; and
(4) provide a written plan for the administrative review of actions taken by a parole panel by a review panel.
(c) 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) develop policies to ensure Board Members and Parole Commissioners implement the updated parole guidelines and 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 updated parole guidelines and previous decisions of the Board and Parole Commissioners in making decisions;
(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;
(5) report annually on all activities of the Board and Parole Commissioners, parole release decisions and the use of parole guidelines by the Board and Parole Commissioners to the Governor and the Legislature; and
(6) designate the composition of each parole panel and designate panels composed of at least one Board Member and any combination of Board Members and Parole Commissioners.
(d) The Presiding Officer is responsible for the employment and supervision of:
(1) Parole Commissioners;
(2) a General Counsel to the Board;
(3) a Board Administrator to manage the day-to-day activities of the Board;
(4) a Public Information Officer;
(5) a Budget Director;
(6) Hearing Officers;
(7) Institutional Parole Officers;
(8) personnel to assist in clemency and hearing matters; and
(9) secretarial or clerical personnel.
Source Note: The provisions of this §141.1 adopted to be effective July 1, 1994, 19 TexReg 4750; amended to be effective June 30, 1998, 23 TexReg 6721; amended to be effective September 26, 2002, 27 TexReg 8963; amended to be effective February 5, 2004, 29 TexReg 1206; amended to be effective November 30, 2011, 36 TexReg 8040; amended to be effective August 10, 2014, 39 TexReg 5962; amended to be effective August 13, 2017, 42 TexReg 3879