House Bill 800

AN ACT TO CREATE A NEW CODE SECTION TO PROVIDE THAT BEFORE AN OFFENDER MAY BE RELEASED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS UNDER THE EARNED-TIME ALLOWANCE PROGRAM, THE STATE PAROLE BOARD MUST REVIEW AND APPROVE THE PROPOSED RELEASE OF THE OFFENDER; TO PROVIDE THE PROCEDURE FOR THE REVIEW PROCESS OF THE PAROLE BOARD FOR THE PROPOSED EARNED-TIME RELEASE SUPERVISION OF AN OFFENDER; TO AUTHORIZE A HEARING BE HELD REGARDING THE PROPOSED RELEASE OF AN OFFENDER AND THAT CERTAIN NOTICE BE PROVIDED TO VICTIMS REGARDING SUCH RELEASE, UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES; TO AMEND SECTIONS 47-5-138 AND 47-7-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY TO THE PRECEDING SECTION AND TO EXTEND THE DATE OF REPEAL OF A CERTAIN SECTION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. (1) Within one (1) year before the conditional earned-time release date of an inmate, if any, the Parole Board shall secure and consider all pertinent information regarding the offender who is eligible for release under the earned-time allowance program as prescribed under Sections 47-5-138 and 47-5-139. Such pertinent information shall include the circumstances of his offense, his previous social history, his previous criminal record, including any records of law enforcement agencies or of a youth court regarding that offender's juvenile criminal history, his conduct, employment and attitude while in the custody of the department and reports of physical and mental examinations that have been made. The board, after being notified by the Department of Corrections of the proposed earned-time release supervision date, shall furnish at least three (3) months written notice to the offender of the date on which he is eligible for earned-time release supervision.

(2) Before ruling on the Department of Corrections' proposed earned-time release supervision of any offender, the board may require an eligible earned-time release supervision offender to have a hearing before the board and to be interviewed. The board shall, by rules and regulations, establish a method of determining a tentative earned-time release supervision hearing; however, the hearing shall be held no later than thirty (30) days prior to the month of eligibility. No proposed earned-time release supervision of a person convicted of a capital offense shall be considered by the board unless and until notice of the filing of the proposed earned-time release supervision date shall have been published at least once a week for two (2) weeks in a newspaper published in or having general circulation in the county in which the crime was committed. The board shall, within thirty (30) days prior to the scheduled hearing, also give notice of the filing of the proposed earned-time release supervision of any offender to the victim of the offense for which the prisoner is incarcerated and being considered for earned-time release supervision or, in case the offense be homicide, a designee of the immediate family of the victim, provided the victim or designated family member has furnished in writing a current address to the board for such purpose. Earned-time release supervision may be ordered by the board only for the best interest of society and not as an award of clemency.

(3) Upon the approval or disapproval of the department's proposed decision to release an offender on earned-time release supervision, the board shall notify the department of its decision in writing within three (3) business days of making its decision.

SECTION 2. Section 47-5-138, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

47-5-138. (1) The department may promulgate rules and regulations to carry out an earned-time allowance program based on the good conduct and performance of an inmate. An inmate is eligible to receive an earned-time allowance of one-half (1/2) of the period of confinement imposed by the court except those inmates excluded by law. When an inmate is committed to the custody of the department, the department shall determine a conditional earned-time release date by subtracting the earned-time allowance from an inmate's term of sentence. This subsection does not apply to any sentence imposed after June 30, 1995.

(2) An inmate may forfeit all or part of his earned-time allowance for a serious violation of rules. No forfeiture of the earned-time allowance shall be effective except upon approval of the commissioner, or his designee, and forfeited earned time may not be restored.

(3) (a) For the purposes of this subsection, "final order" means an order of a state or federal court that dismisses a lawsuit brought by an inmate while the inmate was in the custody of the Department of Corrections as frivolous, malicious or for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.

(b) On receipt of a final order, the department shall forfeit:

(i) Sixty (60) days of an inmate's accrued earned time if the department has received one (1) final order as defined herein;

(ii) One hundred twenty (120) days of an inmate's accrued earned time if the department has received two (2) final orders as defined herein;

(iii) One hundred eighty (180) days of an inmate's accrued earned time if the department has received three (3) or more final orders as defined herein.

(4) If an inmate who meets the good conduct and performance requirements of the earned-time allowance program and such inmate's record is examined and approved by the State Parole Board for earned-time release supervision, as prescribed under Section 1 of this act, then the inmate may be released on his conditional earned-time release date. Before an inmate may be considered for release on his earned-time release date, the department shall provide adequate notice to the Parole Board of such date, as prescribed under Section 1 of this act.

(5) For any sentence imposed after June 30, 1995, an inmate may receive an earned-time allowance of four and one-half (4-1/2) days for each thirty (30) days served if the department determines that the inmate has complied with the good conduct and performance requirements of the earned-time allowance program. The earned-time allowance under this subsection shall not exceed fifteen percent (15%) of an inmate's term of sentence; however, beginning July 1, 2006, no person under the age of twenty-one (21) who has committed a nonviolent offense, and who is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections, shall be subject to the fifteen percent (15%) limitation for earned-time allowances as described in this subsection (5).

(6) Any inmate, who is released before the expiration of his term of sentence under this section, shall be placed under earned-release supervision until the expiration of the term of sentence. The inmate shall retain inmate status and remain under the jurisdiction of the department. The period of earned-release supervision shall be conducted in the same manner as a period of supervised parole. The department shall develop rules, terms and conditions for the earned-release supervision program. The commissioner shall designate the appropriate hearing officer within the department to conduct revocation hearings for inmates violating the conditions of earned-release supervision.

(7) If the earned-release supervision is revoked, the inmate shall serve the remainder of the sentence, but the time the inmate served on earned-release supervision before revocation * * *, shall be applied to reduce his sentence.

SECTION 3. Section 47-7-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

47-7-5. (1) The State Parole Board, created under former Section 47-7-5, is hereby created, continued and reconstituted and shall be composed of five (5) members. The Governor shall appoint the members with the advice and consent of the Senate. All terms shall be at the will and pleasure of the Governor. Any vacancy shall be filled by the Governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Governor shall appoint a chairman of the board.

(2) Any person who is appointed to serve on the board shall possess at least a bachelor's degree or a high school diploma and four (4) years' work experience. Each member shall devote his full time to the duties of his office and shall not engage in any other business or profession or hold any other public office. A member shall not receive compensation or per diem in addition to his salary as prohibited under Section 25-3-38. Each member shall keep such hours and workdays as required of full-time state employees under Section 25-1-98. Individuals shall be appointed to serve on the board without reference to their political affiliations. Each board member, including the chairman, may be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses as authorized by Section 25-3-41. Each member of the board shall complete annual training developed based on guidance from the National Institute of Corrections, the Association of Paroling Authorities International, or the American Probation and Parole Association. Each first-time appointee of the board shall, within sixty (60) days of appointment, or as soon as practical, complete training for first-time Parole Board members developed in consideration of information from the National Institute of Corrections, the Association of Paroling Authorities International, or the American Probation and Parole Association.

(3) The board shall have exclusive responsibility for the granting of parole as provided by Sections 47-7-3 and 47-7-17 and shall have exclusive authority for revocation of the same. The board shall have exclusive responsibility for investigating clemency recommendations upon request of the Governor.

(4) The board, its members and staff, shall be immune from civil liability for any official acts taken in good faith and in exercise of the board's legitimate governmental authority.

(5) The budget of the board shall be funded through a separate line item within the general appropriation bill for the support and maintenance of the department. Employees of the department which are employed by or assigned to the board shall work under the guidance and supervision of the board. There shall be an executive secretary to the board who shall be responsible for all administrative and general accounting duties related to the board. The executive secretary shall keep and preserve all records and papers pertaining to the board.

(6) The board shall have no authority or responsibility for supervision of offenders granted a release for any reason, including, but not limited to, earned-time release supervision, probation, parole or executive clemency or other offenders requiring the same through interstate compact agreements. The supervision shall be provided exclusively by the staff of the Division of Community Corrections of the department.

(7) (a) The Parole Board is authorized to select and place offenders in an electronic monitoring program under the conditions and criteria imposed by the Parole Board. The conditions, restrictions and requirements of Section 47-7-17 and Sections 47-5-1001 through 47-5-1015 shall apply to the Parole Board and any offender placed in an electronic monitoring program by the Parole Board.

(b) Any offender placed in an electronic monitoring program under this subsection shall pay the program fee provided in Section 47-5-1013. The program fees shall be deposited in the special fund created in Section 47-5-1007.

(c) The department shall have absolute immunity from liability for any injury resulting from a determination by the Parole Board that an offender be placed in an electronic monitoring program.

(8) (a) The Parole Board shall maintain a central registry of paroled inmates. The Parole Board shall place the following information on the registry: name, address, photograph, crime for which paroled, the date of the end of parole or flat-time date and other information deemed necessary. The Parole Board shall immediately remove information on a parolee at the end of his parole or flat-time date.

(b) When a person is placed on parole, the Parole Board shall inform the parolee of the duty to report to the parole officer any change in address ten (10) days before changing address.

(d) Records maintained on the registry shall be open to law enforcement agencies and the public and shall be available no later than July 1, 2003.

(9) An affirmative vote of at least four (4) members of the Parole Board shall be required to grant parole to an inmate convicted of capital murder or a sex crime.

(10) This section shall stand repealed on July 1, * * *~~2018~~ 2021.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2018.