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H0591................................by JUDICIARY, RULES AND ADMINISTRATION
INMATES - Adds to and amends existing law to provide a program where
inmates committed to the custody of the State Board of Correction may earn
a reduction of their sentence if they are eligible and comply with a
personalized program plan while incarcerated; and to provide details of the
plan.
01/30 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/02 Rpt prt - to Jud
]]]] LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ]]]]
Fifty-seventh Legislature Second Regular Session - 2004
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 591
BY JUDICIARY, RULES AND ADMINISTRATION COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO INMATES SENTENCED TO THE CUSTODY OF THE STATE BOARD OF CORRECTION;
3 AMENDING CHAPTER 1, TITLE 20, IDAHO CODE, BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION
4 20-101E, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE A PROGRAM WHERE INMATES MAY EARN A REDUC-
5 TION OF THEIR SENTENCE IF THEY ARE ELIGIBLE AND COMPLY WITH A PERSONALIZED
6 PROGRAM PLAN, TO PROVIDE DETAILS OF THE PLAN, TO PROVIDE PROCEDURES, TO
7 PROVIDE THE AMOUNT OF A TERM A COMMITTED OFFENDER MAY HAVE REDUCED, TO
8 PROVIDE FOR FORFEITURE, WITHHOLDING OR RESTORATION OF EARNED TIME REDUC-
9 TIONS AND TO PROVIDE APPLICATION; AMENDING SECTION 19-2513, IDAHO CODE, TO
10 PROVIDE HOW AN OFFENDER CAN BE ELIGIBLE FOR PAROLE OR DISCHARGE OR CREDIT
11 OR REDUCTION OF SENTENCE; PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE AND PROVIDING APPLI-
12 CATION.
13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
14 SECTION 1. That Chapter 1, Title 20, Idaho Code, be, and the same is
15 hereby amended by the addition thereto of a NEW SECTION, to be known and des-
16 ignated as Section 20-101E, Idaho Code, and to read as follows:
17 20-101E. EARNED CONDUCT REDUCTION OF SENTENCE. (1) The board of correc-
18 tion shall set policy and shall establish categories of inmates who qualify
19 for programs pursuant to this section. Not all inmates committed to the cus-
20 tody of the board shall qualify for the programs enumerated in this section.
21 Within sixty (60) days after initial classification and assignment of an
22 offender committed to the board who qualifies in meeting the board's criteria,
23 available information regarding such committed offender shall be reviewed and
24 a personalized program plan document shall be drawn up and approved by the
25 director or his designee. The document shall describe a personalized program
26 plan and the specific goals the board, through the director or his designee,
27 expects the committed offender to achieve. The document shall also contain a
28 realistic schedule for completion of the board approved personalized program
29 plan. The department approved personalized program plan shall be fully
30 explained to the eligible committed offender. During incarceration, the com-
31 mitted offender is expected to comply with the personalized program plan that
32 has been approved by the director or his designee. The department, in its dis-
33 cretion, may provide programs to allow compliance by the committed offender
34 with the personalized program plan that has been approved by the director or
35 his designee.
36 (a) Programming may include, but is not limited to:
37 (i) Academic and vocational education, including teaching such
38 classes by qualified offenders;
39 (ii) Substance abuse treatment;
40 (iii) Mental health and psychiatric treatment, including criminal
41 personality programming;
42 (iv) Constructive, meaningful work programs; and
43 (v) Any other program deemed necessary and appropriate by the
2
1 department.
2 (b) A modification in the approved personalized program plan may be made
3 by the director or his designee to account for the increased or decreased
4 abilities of the committed offender or the availability of any program.
5 Intentional failure to comply with the personalized program plan by any
6 eligible committed offender as scheduled for any year, or pro rata part
7 thereof, may cause a month or months earned time for the scheduled year to
8 be forfeited. It may also be used by the commission for pardons and parole
9 in its deliberations on whether or not to grant parole to a committed
10 offender. Additionally, earned time credits pursuant to this section may
11 be revoked for a committed offender's disciplinary violations at the
12 director's or the director's designee's option.
13 (2) The director or his designee, with the concurrence of the sentencing
14 court, may reduce the term of a committed offender by two (2) months for each
15 year of the offender's term and pro rata for any part thereof which is less
16 than one (1) year. The total reductions to be credited from the date of sen-
17 tence, include any term of confinement prior to sentence and commitment to the
18 board of correction as provided by statute, shall be deducted from the maximum
19 term to determine the date when discharge from the custody of the board
20 becomes mandatory.
21 (3) While the offender is in the custody of the board, reductions of
22 terms granted pursuant to subsection (2) of this section may be forfeited,
23 withheld or restored by the chief executive officer of the facility with the
24 approval of the director after the offender has been consulted regarding the
25 charges of misconduct.
26 (4) Earned time or other reductions of sentence granted under the provi-
27 sions of any law prior to July 1, 1996, may be forfeited, withheld or restored
28 in accordance with the terms of this chapter. The provisions of this section
29 shall not apply to any person serving a fixed life imprisonment sentence or a
30 mandatory minimum life imprisonment sentence.
31 (5) The provisions of this section shall not be deemed to be an entitle-
32 ment to any committed offender who is eligible to participate, but deemed an
33 option at the discretion of the board and department.
34 SECTION 2. That Section 19-2513, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
35 amended to read as follows:
36 19-2513. UNIFIED SENTENCE. Whenever any person is convicted of having
37 committed a felony, the court shall, unless it shall commute the sentence,
38 suspend or withhold judgment and sentence or grant probation, as provided in
39 chapter 26, title 19, Idaho Code, or unless it shall impose the death sentence
40 as provided by law, sentence such offender to the custody of the state board
41 of correction. The court shall specify a minimum period of confinement and may
42 specify a subsequent indeterminate period of custody. The court shall set
43 forth in its judgment and sentence the minimum period of confinement and the
44 subsequent indeterminate period, if any, provided, that the aggregate sentence
45 shall not exceed the maximum provided by law. During a minimum term of con-
46 finement, the offender shall not be eligible for parole or discharge or credit
47 or reduction of sentence for good conduct except for meritorious service
48 except as provided in section 20-223(f), Idaho Code, or as provided in section
49 20-101E, Idaho Code. The offender may be considered for parole or discharge at
50 any time during the indeterminate period of the sentence and as provided in
51 section 20-223(f), Idaho Code.
52 If the offense carries a mandatory minimum penalty as provided by statute,
53 the court shall specify a minimum period of confinement consistent with such
3
1 statute. If the offense is subject to an enhanced penalty as provided by stat-
2 ute, or if consecutive sentences are imposed for multiple offenses, the court
3 shall, if required by statute, direct that the enhancement or each consecutive
4 sentence contain a minimum period of confinement; in such event, all minimum
5 terms of confinement shall be served before any indeterminate periods commence
6 to run.
7 Enactment of this amended section shall not affect the prosecution, adju-
8 dication or punishment of any felony committed before the effective date of
9 enactment.
10 SECTION 3. This act shall be in full force and effect on and after July
11 1, 2004. The provisions of Section 20-101E, Idaho Code, shall apply to all
12 persons sentenced to the custody of the State Board of Correction and residing
13 in a facility operated or contracted with by the State Board of Correction and
14 shall start accruing on July 1, 2004, unless the person was convicted of an
15 offense against the state which was committed prior to July 1, 1986, in which
16 case the provisions of section 20-101A, Idaho Code, shall apply to the sen-
17 tence imposed for the offense committed prior to July 1, 1986.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 13787
This bill, based on a Nebraska statute, establishes a policy of
earned conduct reduction of sentence. Within 60 days of initial
classification, an inmate will receive a personalized program plan
for the inmate to achieve. The program could include education,
mental health treatment, work, or any other program deemed
necessary by the board or its designee. The Board of Corrections
will set up criteria of which inmates will qualify and which will
not. If the inmate successfully completes the program the board,
with concurrence of the sentencing court, may reduce the inmate s
term by two (2) months for each year (1/6). The bill gives the
Board of Corrections the authority to modify the plan or revoke it.
A statement of intent is included to indicate that the bill is not
an entitlement but an option to the department. A reference to this
bill is also added to Title 19-2513, Idaho Code.
FISCAL IMPACT
Over $2,000,000 in savings by FY 2006. Exact fiscal impact is
difficult to determine, but the bill will result in savings to the
general fund, either directly or as avoided costs. If applied only
to newly incarcerated non-violent offenders, an average term of 2
years could be reduced by 4 months. The average cost of
incarceration is about $52 a day per inmate or about $6240 for 4
months. If 340 of the projected 715 new inmates were to qualify
(based on current department projections and statistics), the
savings would be $2,121,600.
Contact
Name: Rep. Smylie
Phone: 332-1000
Rep. Moyle
Rep. Boe, Rep. Robison
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 591