House Bill 1373

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 47-5-473, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO AUTHORIZE ANY SHERIFF TO ESTABLISH A WORK RELEASE PROGRAM; TO REMOVE THE LIMIT ON THE NUMBER OF OFFENDERS WHO MAY PARTICIAPTE IN THE PROGRAM AT ANY ONE TIME; TO EXTEND THE DATE OF REPEAL FROM JULY 1, 2024, TO JULY 1, 2027, ON THIS SECTION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

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

SECTION 1. Section 47-5-473, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

47-5-473. (1) The sheriffs of * * * any county are authorized to establish a Pilot Work Release Program. No person sentenced for a crime listed in Section 97-3-2 shall be eligible for participation in the program established under this section. * * *

(2) The sheriff shall collect and maintain data which shall be shared semiannually with the Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) and the Corrections and Criminal Justice Oversight Task Force in sortable electronic format. The first report shall be made before January 15, 2022, and in six-month intervals thereafter. The data shall include:

(a) Total number of participants at the beginning of each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;

(b) Total number of participants at the end of each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;

(d) Total number of participants who successfully completed the program in each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;

(e) Total number of participants who left the program in each month and reason for leaving by race, gender, and offenses charged;

(f) Total number of participants who were arrested for a new criminal offense while in the program in each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;

(g) Total number of participants who were convicted of a new crime while in the program in each month by race, gender, and offenses charged;

(h) Total number of participants who completed the program and were convicted of a new crime within three (3) years of completing the program;

(i) Total amount earned by participants and how the earnings were distributed in each month;

(j) Results of any initial risk and needs assessments conducted on each participant by race, gender, and offenses charged; and

(k) Any other data or information as requested by the task force.

(3) Any person who has been sentenced to confinement in jail or who has been sentenced for a felony conviction but is confined in a jail may request assignment to the work release program established under this section. Admission to the program shall be in the discretion of the sheriff. The sheriff may further authorize the offender to participate in educational or other rehabilitative programs designed to supplement his work release employment or to prepare the person for successful reentry. No offender shall be eligible for this program if he or she has more than one (1) year remaining on his or her sentence.

(4) The sheriff shall adopt and publish rules and regulations prior to accepting inmates. These rules and regulations shall at a minimum include all requirements for work release programs established pursuant to Sections 47-5-451 through 47-5-471. Participating employers shall pay no less than the prevailing wage for the position and shall under no circumstance pay less than the federal minimum wage.

(5) Any offender assigned to such a program by the sheriff who, without proper authority or just cause, leaves the area to which he has been assigned to work or attend educational or other rehabilitative programs, or leaves the vehicle or route of travel involved in his or her going to or returning from such place, will be guilty of escape as provided in Section 97-9-49. An offender who is found guilty under this section shall be ineligible for further participation in a work release program during his or her current term of confinement.

(6) The offender shall maintain an account through a local financial institution and shall provide a copy of a check stub to the sheriff. The offender may be required to pay up to twenty-five percent (25%) of his or her wages after mandatory deductions for the following purposes:

(a) To pay support of dependents or to the Mississippi Department of Human Services on behalf of dependents as may be ordered by a judge of competent jurisdiction; and

(b) To pay any fines, restitution, or costs as ordered by the court to include any fines and fees associated with obtaining a valid driver's license upon release.

(7) The inmate shall have access to his or her account to purchase incidental expenses.

(8) The Joint Legislative Committee on Performance Evaluation and Expenditure Review (PEER) shall conduct a review of the work release program established under this section and produce a report to the Legislature on their effectiveness by December 1, 2022. The PEER Committee shall seek the assistance of the Corrections and Criminal Justice Task Force and may seek assistance from any other criminal justice experts it deems necessary during its review.

(9) This section shall stand repealed on July 1, * * * ~~2024~~ 2027.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2024.