MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2021 Regular Session
To: Corrections; Accountability, Efficiency, Transparency
By: Senator(s) Wiggins
AN ACT RELATING TO THE CORRECTIONAL SYSTEM OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI; TO ESTABLISH A MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF REENTRY AND SUPERVISION AND PRESCRIBE ITS POWERS AND DUTIES; TO ESTABLISH THE POSITION OF DIRECTOR OF REENTRY AND SUPERVISION WHO SHALL BE THE CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER OF THE DEPARTMENT; TO TRANSFER THE FUNCTIONS AND EMPLOYEES OF THE DIVISION OF COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS TO THE MISSISSIPPI DEPARTMENT OF REENTRY AND SUPERVISION; TO PROVIDE FOR A TRANSITION PLAN AND PEER REVIEW; TO AMEND SECTIONS 47-5-8, 47-5-10, 47-5-20, 47-5-24, 47-5-26, 47-5-28, 47-5-110, 47-5-138, 47-5-601, 47-5-603, 47-5-605, 47-5-1001, 47-5-1003, 47-5-1005, 47-5-1007, 47-5-1009, 47-5-1011, 47-5-1013, 47-5-1014, 47-7-2, 47-7-3, 47-7-3.1, 47-7-3.2, 47-7-4, 47-7-5, 47-7-6, 47-7-9, 47-7-13, 47-7-17, 47-7-18, 47-7-19, 47-7-21, 47-7-23, 47-7-25, 47-7-27, 47-7-29, 47-7-33, 47-7-33.1, 47-7-34, 47-7-35, 47-7-36, 47-7-37, 47-7-37.1, 47-7-38, 47-7-38.1, 47-7-39, 47-7-40, 47-7-41, 47-7-43, 47-7-47 AND 41-7-101, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO; TO CODIFY SECTION 47-5-36, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO ESTABLISH THE OFFICE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS OMBUDSMAN AND PRESCRIBE ITS POWERS AND DUTIES; TO PROVIDE FOR A CORRECTIONS OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE; TO PROVIDE INSPECTION AUTHORITY FOR THE OFFICE OF OMBUDSMAN; TO PROVIDE COMPLAINT INVESTIGATION AUTHORITY; TO PROVIDE FOR AN ANNUAL REPORT; TO CODIFY SECTION 47-5-36.1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE FOR AN INMATE AND FAMILY ADVOCACY AND SUPPORT SERVICES ONLINE FORM AS A FUNCTION OF THE OFFICE OF OMBUDSMAN; TO AMEND SECTION 47-7-49, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT CERTAIN OFFENDER SUPERVISION FEES SHALL BE DEPOSITED INTO THE STATE GENERAL FUND; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Department of Reentry and Supervision; creation; director; powers and duties; implementation plan; transfer of programs and services; review of programs. (1) There is hereby created a Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision.
(2) The Chief Administrative Officer of the Department of Reentry and Supervision shall be the Director of Reentry and Supervision who shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. The director shall possess the following qualifications:
(a) A bachelor's degree from an accredited institution of higher learning and ten (10) years' experience in management, public administration, law, or criminal justice; or
(b) A master's or doctoral degree from an accredited institution of higher learning and five (5) years' experience in management, public administration, law or criminal justice.
(3) The Department of Reentry and Supervision shall be a state agency independent of the Department of Corrections. On a temporary basis, but for no longer than March 1, 2022, the Department of Reentry and Supervision may function as a Division of the Department of Corrections.
(4) The Director of Reentry and Supervision and the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections shall develop and implement a plan for the orderly establishment of the Department of Reentry and Supervision and its transition from the Division of Community Corrections of the Department of Corrections. The plan shall:
(a) Describe a mechanism for the transfer of any equipment, supplies, records, furnishings or other materials, resources or funds dedicated to the operation of the Division of Community Corrections of the Department of Corrections, which may be useful to the Department of Reentry and Supervision;
(b) Determine the allocation of resources between the newly created Department of Reentry and Supervision and the Department of Corrections, as practicable;
(c) Determine the allocation of functions where the performance of services may be shared between the Department of Reentry and Supervision and other employees of the Department of Corrections, as practicable;
(d) Determine whether any administrative support services, such as Information Technology Services, bookkeeping and payroll, can continue to be provided by the Department of Corrections; and
(e) Identify other areas deemed relevant by the director and the commissioner and make recommendations thereon to achieve an orderly transition.
(5) The Director of Reentry and Supervision and the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections shall recommend any necessary legislation to the Governor and the Legislature before the 2022 Regular Session.
(6) The new Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision is authorized to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the Division of Community Corrections of the Department Corrections during the transition period from and after passage of this act through July 1, 2022. The Division of Community Corrections of the Department of Corrections is directed to cooperate with the new department in transferring resources and employees in furtherance of this act. From and after July 1, 2021, the programs and services provided by the Division of Community Corrections of the Department of Corrections under the following statutes shall be provided by the Department of Reentry and Supervision: Sections 47-5-8, 47-5-10, 47-5-1001, 47-5-1003, 47-5-1005, 47-5-1007, 47-5-1009, 47-5-1011, 47-5-1013, 47-5-1014, 47-5-110, 47-5-138, 47-5-20, 47-5-24, 47-5-26, 47-5-28, 47-5-601, 47-5-603, 47-5-605, 47-7-2, 47-7-3, 47-7-4, 47-7-3.1, 47-7-3.2, 47-7-5, 47-7-6, 47-7-9, 47-7-13, 47-7-17, 47-7-18, 47-7-19, 47-7-21, 47-7-23, 47-7-25, 47-7-27, 47-7-29, 47-7-33, 47-7-33.1, 47-7-34, 47-7-35, 47-7-36, 47-7-37, 47-7-37.1, 47-7-38, 47-7-38.1, 47-7-39, 47-7-40, 47-7-41, 47-7-43, 47-7-47, 47-7-49 and 47-7-101, Mississippi Code of 1972.
(7) The PEER Committee shall review the programs or program of the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision, beginning with fiscal year 2022 and each year thereafter. PEER shall submit this review to the Chair of the Senate Corrections Committee, the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, the Chair of the House Corrections Committee, the Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, the Lieutenant Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Governor by December 1 of each year. The review shall consist of the following:
(a) A review of the effectiveness of any program of the department for which appropriated outcome measures have been established;
(b) Caseloads for supervision agents for each county or another appropriate geographic area;
(c) Recidivism rates of people supervised by the department;
(d) Sources and uses of department funding; and
(e) Any other matters that the PEER Committee considers to be pertinent to the performance of agency programs.
SECTION 2. Section 47-5-8, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-8. (1) There is created the Mississippi Department of Corrections, which shall be under the policy direction of the Governor. The chief administrative officer of the department shall be the Commissioner of Corrections.
(2) (a) There shall be a Division of Administration and Finance within the department, which shall have as its chief administrative officer a Deputy Commissioner for Administration and Finance who shall be appointed by the commissioner, and shall be directly responsible to the commissioner.
(b) * * *
On July 1, 2022, the powers, functions, employees, real and personal
property, records, equipment, resources and unexpended balances of the Division
of Community Corrections of the department shall be transferred to the
Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision pursuant to the provisions of
Section 1 of this act. The Probation and Parole Board shall continue to
exercise the authority as provided by law, but after July 1, * * * 2022, the * * * Department
of Reentry and Supervision shall serve as the administrative agency for the
Probation and Parole Board.
(3) Subject to the provisions of Section 1 of this act, the department shall succeed to the exclusive control of all records, books, papers, equipment and supplies, and all lands, buildings and other real and personal property now or hereafter belonging to or assigned to the use and benefit or under the control of the Mississippi State Penitentiary and the Mississippi Probation and Parole Board, except the records of parole process and revocation and legal matters related thereto, and shall have the exercise and control of the use, distribution and disbursement of all funds, appropriations and taxes now or hereafter in possession, levied, collected or received or appropriated for the use, benefit, support and maintenance of these two (2) agencies except as otherwise provided by law, and the department shall have general supervision of all the affairs of the two (2) agencies herein named except as otherwise provided by law, and the care and conduct of all buildings and grounds, business methods and arrangements of accounts and records, the organization of the administrative plans of each institution, and all other matters incident to the proper functioning of the two (2) agencies.
(4) The commissioner may lease the lands for oil, gas, mineral exploration and other purposes, and contract with other state agencies for the proper management of lands under such leases or for the provision of other services, and the proceeds thereof shall be paid into the General Fund of the state.
SECTION 3. Section 47-5-10, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-10. Subject to the provisions of Section 1 of this act, the department shall have the following powers and duties:
(a) To accept adult offenders committed to it by the courts of this state for incarceration, care, custody, treatment and rehabilitation;
(b) To provide for the care, custody, study, training, supervision and treatment of adult offenders committed to the department;
(c) To maintain, administer and exercise executive and administrative supervision over all state correctional institutions and facilities used for the custody, training, care, treatment and after-care supervision of adult offenders committed to the department; provided, however, that such supervision shall not extend to any institution or facility for which executive and administrative supervision has been provided by law through another agency;
(d) To plan, develop and coordinate a statewide, comprehensive correctional program designed to train and rehabilitate offenders in order to prevent, control and retard recidivism;
(e) To maintain records of persons committed to it, and to establish programs of research, statistics and planning:
(i) An offender's records shall include a single cover sheet that contains the following information about the offender: name, including any aliases; department inmate number; social security number; photograph; court of conviction; cause number; date of conviction; date of sentence; total number of days in the department's custody or number of days creditable toward time served on each charge; date of actual custody; and date of any revocation of a suspended sentence;
(ii) The department shall maintain an offender's cover sheet in the course of its regularly conducted business activities and shall include an offender's cover sheet in each request from a court, prosecutor or law enforcement agency for a summary of an offender's records with the department, also known as a "pen-pack." The cover sheet shall conform to Rules 803(6) and 803(8) of the Mississippi Rules of Evidence for admission as an exception to the hearsay rule and may be admissible when properly authenticated according to evidentiary rules and when offered for the purpose of enhanced sentencing under Section 41-29-147, 99-19-81 or 99-19-83 or other similar purposes; and
(iii) This subsection is not intended to conflict with an offender's right of confrontation in criminal proceedings under the state or federal constitution;
(f) To investigate the grievances of any person committed to the department, and to inquire into any alleged misconduct by employees; and for this purpose it may issue subpoenas and compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of writings and papers, and may examine under oath any witnesses who may appear before it;
(g) To administer programs of training and development of personnel of the department;
(h) To develop and implement diversified programs and facilities to promote, enhance, provide and assure the opportunities for the successful custody, training and treatment of adult offenders properly committed to the department or confined in any facility under its control. Such programs and facilities may include, but not be limited to, institutions, group homes, halfway houses, diagnostic centers, work and educational release centers, technical violation centers, restitution centers, counseling and supervision of probation, parole, suspension and compact cases, presentence investigating and other state and local community-based programs and facilities;
(i) To receive, hold and use, as a corporate body, any real, personal and mixed property donated to the department, and any other corporate authority as shall be necessary for the operation of any facility at present or hereafter;
(j) To provide those personnel, facilities, programs and services the department shall find necessary in the operation of a modern correctional system for the custody, care, study and treatment of adult offenders placed under its jurisdiction by the courts and other agencies in accordance with law;
(k) To develop the capacity and administrative network necessary to deliver advisory consultation and technical assistance to units of local government for the purpose of assisting them in developing model local correctional programs for adult offenders;
(l) To cooperate with other departments and agencies and with local communities for the development of standards and programs for better correctional services in this state;
(m) To administer all monies and properties of the department;
(n) To report annually to the Legislature and the Governor on the committed persons, institutions and programs of the department;
(o) To cooperate with the courts and with public and private agencies and officials to assist in attaining the purposes of this chapter and Chapter 7 of this title. The department may enter into agreements and contracts with other departments of federal, state or local government and with private agencies concerning the discharge of its responsibilities or theirs. The department shall have the authority to accept and expend or use gifts, grants and subsidies from public and private sources;
(p) To make all rules and regulations and exercise all powers and duties vested by law in the department;
(q) The department may require a search of all persons entering the grounds and facilities at the correctional system;
(r) To submit, in a timely manner, to the Oversight Task Force established in Section 47-5-6 any reports required by law or regulation or requested by the task force.
(s) To discharge any other power or duty imposed or established by law.
From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 4. Section 47-5-20, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-20. The commissioner shall have the following powers and duties:
(a) To establish the general policy of the department;
(b) To approve proposals for the location of new facilities, for major renovation activities, and for the creation of new programs and divisions within the department as well as for the abolition of the same; provided, however, that the commissioner shall approve the location of no new facility unless the board of supervisors of the county or the governing authorities of the municipality in which the new facility is to be located shall have had the opportunity with at least sixty (60) days' prior notice to disapprove the location of the proposed facility. If either the board of supervisors or the governing authorities shall disapprove the facility, it shall not be located in that county or municipality. Said notice shall be made by certified mail, return receipt requested, to the members of the board or governing authorities and to the clerk thereof;
(c) Except as otherwise
provided or required by law, to open bids and approve the sale of any products
or manufactured goods by the department according to applicable provisions of
law regarding bidding and sale of state property, and according to rules and
regulations established by the State Fiscal Management Board; * * *
(d) To adopt
administrative rules and regulations including, but not limited to, offender
transfer procedures, award of administrative earned time, personnel procedures,
employment practices * * *;
and
(e) To make personnel actions for a period of one (1) year beginning July 1, 2016, that are exempt from State Personnel Board rules, regulations and procedures in order to give the commissioner flexibility in making an orderly, effective and timely reorganization and realignment of the department.
From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 5. Section 47-5-24, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-24. (1) The Governor shall appoint a Commissioner of Corrections, with the advice and consent of the Senate. Such commissioner may be removed by the Governor. The commissioner shall be the chief executive, administrative and fiscal officer of the department.
(2) The commissioner shall receive an annual salary fixed by the Governor, not to exceed the maximum authorized by law, in addition to all actual, necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of official duties, including mileage as authorized by law.
(3) The commissioner shall possess the following minimum qualifications:
(a) A master's degree in corrections, criminal justice, guidance, social work, or some related field, and at least six (6) years full-time experience in corrections, including at least three (3) years of correctional management experience; or
(b) A bachelor's degree in a field described in subparagraph (a) of this subsection and at least ten (10) years full-time work in corrections, five (5) years of which shall have been in correctional management; or
(c) Shall possess relevant experience in the private or public sector.
(4) The commissioner shall be required, upon assuming the duties of his office, to execute a good and sufficient bond payable to the State of Mississippi in the sum of Two Hundred Fifty Thousand Dollars ($250,000.00), conditioned upon an accurate accounting for all monies and property coming into his hands. The commissioner, upon approval by the Governor, may require of other officers, employees and agents of the department a good and sufficient bond in such sum as he may determine, subject to the minimum requirements set forth herein, payable to the State of Mississippi upon like condition. The bonds shall be approved by the Governor and filed with the Secretary of State, and shall be executed by a surety company authorized to do business under the laws of this state. The premium on any such bond shall be paid by the state out of the support and maintenance fund of the department.
(5) From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 6. Section 47-5-26, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-26. (1) The commissioner shall employ the following personnel:
(a) A Deputy Commissioner for Administration and Finance, who shall supervise and implement all fiscal policies and programs within the department, supervise and implement all hiring and personnel matters within the department, supervise the department's personnel director, supervise and implement all purchasing within the department and supervise and implement all data processing activities within the department, and who shall serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the Division of Administration and Finance. He shall possess either:
(i) A master's degree from an accredited four-year college or university in public or business administration, accounting, economics or a directly related field, and four (4) years of experience in work related to the above-described duties, one (1) year of which must have included line or functional supervision; or
(ii) A bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university in public or business administration, accounting, economics or a directly related field, and six (6) years of experience in work related to the above-described duties, one (1) year of which must have included line or functional supervision. Certification by the State of Mississippi as a certified public accountant may be substituted for one (1) year of the required experience.
(b) A Deputy Commissioner for Community Corrections, who shall initiate and administer programs, including, but not limited to, supervision of probationers, parolees and suspensioners, counseling, community-based treatment, interstate compact administration and enforcement, prevention programs, halfway houses and group homes, technical violation centers, restitution centers, presentence investigations, and work and educational releases, and shall serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the Division of Community Services. The Deputy Commissioner for Community Corrections is charged with full and complete cooperation with the State Parole Board and shall make monthly reports to the Chairman of the Parole Board in the form and type required by the chairman, in his discretion, for the proper performance of the probation and parole functions. After a plea or verdict of guilty to a felony is entered against a person and before he is sentenced, the Deputy Commissioner for Community Corrections shall procure from any available source and shall file in the presentence records any information regarding any criminal history of the person such as fingerprints, dates of arrests, complaints, civil and criminal charges, investigative reports of arresting and prosecuting agencies, reports of the National Crime Information Center, the nature and character of each offense, noting all particular circumstances thereof and any similar data about the person. The Deputy Commissioner for Community Corrections shall keep an accurate and complete duplicate record of this file and shall furnish the duplicate to the department. This file shall be placed in and shall constitute a part of the inmate's master file. The Deputy Commissioner for Community Corrections shall furnish this file to the State Parole Board when the file is needed in the course of its official duties. He shall possess either: (i) a master's degree in counseling, corrections psychology, guidance, social work, criminal justice or some related field and at least four (4) years' full-time experience in such field, including at least one (1) year of supervisory experience; or (ii) a bachelor's degree in a field described in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph and at least six (6) years' full-time work in corrections, one (1) year of which shall have been at the supervisory level. From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act. From and after July 1, 2022, this paragraph (b) shall stand repealed.
(c) A Deputy Commissioner for Institutions, who shall administer institutions, reception and diagnostic centers, prerelease centers and other facilities and programs provided therein, and shall serve as the Chief Executive Officer of the Division of Institutions. He shall possess either: (i) a master's degree in counseling, criminal justice, psychology, guidance, social work, business or some related field, and at least four (4) years' full-time experience in corrections, including at least one (1) year of correctional management experience; or (ii) a bachelor's degree in a field described in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph and at least six (6) years' full-time work in corrections, four (4) years of which shall have been at the correctional management level.
(d) A Deputy Commissioner for Programs, Education, Re-entry, and Vocational Rehabilitation Services who shall initiate and administer programs, including but not limited to, education services, religious services, moral rehabilitation, alcohol and drug rehabilitation, and court re-entry. The Deputy Commissioner for Programs, Education, Re-entry, and Vocational Rehabilitation may coordinate with any educational institution to develop a program for moral rehabilitation with an emphasis on promoting effective programs for release. The Deputy Commissioner for Programs, Education, Re-entry, and Vocational Rehabilitation shall focus on re-entry programs aimed at reducing recidivism and adequately preparing offenders for employment upon their release. The programs shall incorporate a moral component focused on providing offenders with an opportunity to make positive changes while incarcerated that will enable them to be productive members of society upon their release. Such deputy commissioner shall possess either:
(i) A master's degree in counseling, corrections, psychology, guidance, social work, criminal justice or some related field and at least four (4) years' full-time experience in such field, including at least one (1) year of supervisory experience; or
(ii) A bachelor's degree in a field described in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph and at least six (6) years full-time work in corrections, one (1) year of which shall have been at the supervisory level.
(2) The commissioner shall employ an administrative assistant for parole matters who shall be selected by the State Parole Board, who shall be an employee of the department assigned to the State Parole Board and who shall be located at the office of the State Parole Board, and who shall work under the guidance, supervision and direction of the board. From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
(3) The administrative assistant for parole matters shall receive an annual salary to be established by the Legislature. The salaries of department employees not established by the Legislature shall receive an annual salary established by the State Personnel Board. From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
(4) The commissioner shall employ a superintendent for the Parchman facility, Central Mississippi Correctional Facility and South Mississippi Correctional Institution of the Department of Corrections. The Superintendent of the Mississippi State Penitentiary shall reside on the grounds of the Parchman facility. Each superintendent shall appoint an officer in charge when he is absent.
Each superintendent shall develop and implement a plan for the prevention and control of an inmate riot and shall file a report with the Chairman of the Senate Corrections Committee and the Chairman of the House Penitentiary Committee on the first day of each regular session of the Legislature regarding the status of the plan.
In order that the grievances and complaints of inmates, employees and visitors at each facility may be heard in a timely and orderly manner, each superintendent shall appoint or designate an employee at the facility to hear grievances and complaints and to report grievances and complaints to the superintendent. Each superintendent shall institute procedures as are necessary to provide confidentiality to those who file grievances and complaints.
(5) For a one-year period beginning July 1, 2016, any person authorized for employment under this section shall not be subject to the rules, regulations and procedures of the State Personnel Board, except as otherwise provided under Section 25-9-127(5).
SECTION 7. Section 47-5-28, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-28. The commissioner shall have the following powers and duties:
(a) To implement and administer laws and policy relating to corrections and coordinate the efforts of the department with those of the federal government and other state departments and agencies, county governments, municipal governments, and private agencies concerned with providing offender services;
(b) To establish standards, in cooperation with other state agencies having responsibility as provided by law, provide technical assistance, and exercise the requisite supervision as it relates to correctional programs over all state-supported adult correctional facilities and community-based programs;
(c) To promulgate and publish such rules, regulations and policies of the department as are needed for the efficient government and maintenance of all facilities and programs in accord insofar as possible with currently accepted standards of adult offender care and treatment;
(d) To provide the
Parole Board with suitable and sufficient office space and support resources
and staff necessary to * * * conduct Parole Board business under the guidance
of the Chairman of the Parole Board;
(e) To contract for transitional reentry center beds that will be used as noncorrections housing for offenders released from the department on parole, probation or post-release supervision but do not have appropriate housing available upon release. At least one hundred (100) but no more than eight hundred (800) transitional reentry center beds contracted by the department and chosen by the Parole Board shall be available for the Parole Board to place parolees without appropriate housing;
(f) To designate deputy commissioners while performing their officially assigned duties relating to the custody, control, transportation, recapture or arrest of any offender within the jurisdiction of the department or any offender of any jail, penitentiary, public workhouse or overnight lockup of the state or any political subdivision thereof not within the jurisdiction of the department, to the status of peace officers anywhere in the state in any matter relating to the custody, control, transportation or recapture of such offender, and shall have the status of law enforcement officers and peace officers as contemplated by Sections 45-6-3, 97-3-7 and 97-3-19.
For the purpose of administration
and enforcement of this chapter, deputy commissioners of the Mississippi
Department of Corrections, who are certified by the Mississippi Board on Law
Enforcement Officer Standards and Training, have the powers of a law
enforcement officer of this state. Such powers shall include to make arrests
and to serve and execute search warrants and other valid legal process anywhere
within the State of Mississippi while performing their officially assigned
duties relating to the custody, control, transportation, recapture or arrest of
any offender within the jurisdiction of the department or any offender of any
jail, penitentiary, public workhouse or overnight lockup of the state or any
political subdivision thereof not within the jurisdiction of the department in
any matter relating to the custody, control, transportation or recapture of
such offender * * *;
(g) To make an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature reflecting the activities of the department and make recommendations for improvement of the services to be performed by the department;
(h) To cooperate fully with periodic independent internal investigations of the department and to file the report with the Governor and the Legislature;
(i) To make personnel actions for a period of one (1) year beginning July 1, 2016, that are exempt from State Personnel Board rules, regulations and procedures in order to give the commissioner flexibility in making an orderly, effective and timely reorganization and realignment of the department; and
(j) To perform such other duties necessary to effectively and efficiently carry out the purposes of the department as may be directed by the Governor.
From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 8. Section 47-5-110, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-110. (1) Commitment to any institution or facility within the jurisdiction of the department shall be to the department, not to a particular institution or facility. The commissioner shall assign a newly committed offender to an appropriate facility consistent with public safety; provided, however, that any offender who, in the opinion of the sentencing judge, requires confinement in a maximum security unit shall be assigned, upon initial commitment, to the Parchman facility. The commissioner may extend the place of confinement of eligible offenders as provided under subsection (2) of this section. He may transfer an offender from one (1) institution to another, consistent with the commitment and in accordance with treatment, training and security needs. The commissioner shall have the authority to transfer inmates from the various correctional facilities of the department to restitution centers if such inmates meet the qualifications prescribed in Section 99-37-19. The commissioner shall prepare appropriate standards of eligibility for such transfers of offenders from one (1) institution to another institution and transfers of offenders who meet the qualifications for placement in restitution centers. The commissioner shall have the authority to remove the offenders from restitution centers and to transfer them to other facilities of the department. The commissioner shall obtain the approval of the sentencing court before transferring an offender committed to the department to a restitution center. On the request of the chief executive officer of the affected unit of local government, the commissioner may transfer a person detained in a local facility to a state facility. The commissioner shall determine the cost of care for that person to be borne by the unit of local government. The commissioner may assign to a community work center, any offender who is convicted under the Mississippi Implied Consent Law and who is sentenced to the custody of the Department of Corrections, except that if a death or a serious maiming has occurred during the commission of the violation of the Mississippi Implied Consent Law, then the offender so convicted may not be assigned to a community work center.
(2) The department may establish by rule or policy and procedure a community prerelease program which shall be subject to the following requirements:
(a) The commissioner may extend the limits of confinement of offenders serving sentences for violent or nonviolent crimes who have six (6) months or less remaining before release on parole, conditional release or discharge to participate in the program. Parole violators may be allowed to participate in the program.
(b) Any offender who is referred to the program shall remain an offender of the department and shall be subject to rules and regulations of the department pertaining to offenders of the department until discharged or released on parole or conditional release by the State Parole Board.
(c) The department shall require the offender to participate in work or educational or vocational programs and other activities that may be necessary for the supervision and treatment of the offender.
(d) An offender assigned to the program shall be authorized to leave a community prerelease center only for the purpose and time necessary to participate in the program and activities authorized in paragraph (c) of this subsection.
(3) The commissioner shall have absolute immunity from liability for any injury resulting from a determination by the commissioner that an offender shall be allowed to participate in the community prerelease program.
(4) (a) The department may by rule or policy and procedure provide evidence-based programs for the benefit of inmates, with emphasis on those that are targeted at reducing inmate recidivism and prerelease service for offenders at each of its major correctional facilities: Mississippi State Penitentiary, Central Mississippi Correctional Institution and South Mississippi Correctional Institution and other facilities where the department confines state inmates.
(b) The commissioner may establish prerelease programs at the South Mississippi Correctional Institution. The prerelease program may be located on the grounds of this facility or another facility designated by the commissioner.
(c) For purposes of this subsection, the term "evidence-based programs" shall have ascribed to it the meaning in Section 27-103-159.
(5) From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 9. 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.
(c) The department may not restore earned time forfeited under this subsection.
(4) An inmate who meets the good conduct and performance requirements of the earned-time allowance program may be released on his conditional earned-time release date.
(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.
(8) From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 10. Section 47-5-601, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-601. The Mississippi Department of Corrections is authorized to establish a drug identification program and shall have the power and duty to adopt rules not inconsistent with law as it may deem proper and necessary with respect to the establishment, administration and operation of the program.
From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 11. Section 47-5-603, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-603. Any offender on probation or released from a facility of the Department of Corrections on parole or earned probation who remains under the supervision of the Department of Corrections or any offender who is incarcerated in a state correctional facility may be required to participate in the Mississippi Department of Corrections drug identification program. Participation by an offender would consist of submission by the offender, from time to time and upon the request of a parole or probation supervisor, or authorized personnel of the department to any type of breath, saliva or urine chemical analysis test, the purpose of which is to detect the possible presence of alcohol or a substance prohibited or controlled by any law of the State of Mississippi or the United States.
From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 12. Section 47-5-605, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-605. Each time the results of such a chemical analysis test indicate the unauthorized presence of alcohol or a controlled substance in the parolee or probationer, he or she shall be required to pay a fee of Ten Dollars ($10.00) to the Mississippi Department of Corrections drug identification program, which fee shall be used to pay for the cost of administering that particular test. All other costs of the program, including the costs of administering such tests in cases in which the presence of alcohol or a controlled substance is not found, will be paid by expenditures from the Community Service Revolving Fund as described in Section 47-7-49.
From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 13. Section 47-5-1001, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-1001. For purposes of Sections 47-5-1001 through 47-5-1015, the following words shall have the meaning ascribed herein unless the context shall otherwise require:
(a) "Approved electronic monitoring device" means a device approved by the department which is primarily intended to record and transmit information regarding the offender's presence or nonpresence in the home.
(b) "Correctional field officer" means the supervising probation and parole officer in charge of supervising the offender.
(c) "Court" means a circuit court having jurisdiction to place an offender into the intensive supervision program.
(d) "Department" means the Department of Corrections.
(e) "House arrest" means the confinement of a person convicted or charged with a crime to his place of residence under the terms and conditions established by the department or court.
(f) "Operating capacity" means the total number of state offenders which can be safely and reasonably housed in facilities operated by the department and in local or county jails or other facilities authorized to house state offenders as certified by the department, subject to applicable federal and state laws and rules and regulations.
(g) "Participant" means an offender placed into an intensive supervision program.
From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 14. Section 47-5-1003, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-1003. (1) An intensive supervision program may be used as an alternative to incarceration for offenders who are not convicted of a crime of violence pursuant to Section 97-3-2 as selected by the court and for juvenile offenders as provided in Section 43-21-605. Any offender convicted of a sex crime shall not be placed in the program.
(2) The court may place the defendant on intensive supervision, except when a death sentence or life imprisonment is the maximum penalty which may be imposed by a court or judge.
(3) To protect and to ensure the safety of the state's citizens, any offender who violates an order or condition of the intensive supervision program may be arrested by the correctional field officer and placed in the actual custody of the Department of Corrections. Such offender is under the full and complete jurisdiction of the department and subject to removal from the program by the classification hearing officer.
(4) When any circuit or county court places an offender in an intensive supervision program, the court shall give notice to the Mississippi Department of Corrections within fifteen (15) days of the court's decision to place the offender in an intensive supervision program. Notice shall be delivered to the central office of the Mississippi Department of Corrections and to the regional office of the department which will be providing supervision to the offender in an intensive supervision program.
The courts may not require an offender to participate in the intensive supervision program during a term of probation or post-release supervision.
(5) The Department of Corrections shall provide to the Oversight Task Force all relevant data regarding the offenders participating in the intensive supervision program, including the number of offenders admitted to the program annually, the number of offenders who leave the program annually and why they leave, the number of offenders who are arrested or convicted annually and the circumstances of the arrest and any other information requested.
(6) From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 15. Section 47-5-1005, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-1005. (1) The department shall promulgate rules that prescribe reasonable guidelines under which an intensive supervision program shall operate. These rules shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(a) The participant shall remain within the interior premises or within the property boundaries of his or her residence at all times during the hours designated by the correctional field officer.
(b) Approved absences from the home may include, but are not limited to, the following:
(i) Working or employment approved by the court or department and traveling to or from approved employment;
(ii) Unemployed and seeking employment approved for the participant by the court or department;
(iii) Undergoing medical, psychiatric, mental health treatment, counseling or other treatment programs approved for the participant by the court or department;
(iv) Attending an educational institution or a program approved for the participant by the court or department;
(v) Participating in community work release or a community service program approved for the participant by the court or department; or
(vi) For another compelling reason consistent with the public interest, as approved by the court or department.
(c) Except in case of a medical emergency and approval by the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections, or his designee, or by circuit court order for medical purposes, no participant in the intensive supervision program may leave the jurisdiction of the State of Mississippi.
(2) The department shall select and approve all electronic monitoring devices used under Sections 47-5-1001 through 47-5-1015.
(3) The department may lease the equipment necessary to implement the intensive supervision program and to contract for the monitoring of such devices. The department is authorized to select the lowest price and best source in contracting for these services.
(4) From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 16. Section 47-5-1007, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-1007. (1) Any participant in the intensive supervision program who engages in employment shall pay a monthly fee to the department for each month such person is enrolled in the program. The department may waive the monthly fee if the offender is a full-time student or is engaged in vocational training. Juvenile offenders shall pay a monthly fee of not less than Ten Dollars ($10.00) but not more than Fifty Dollars ($50.00) based on a sliding scale using the standard of need for each family that is used to calculate TANF benefits. Money received by the department from participants in the program shall be deposited into a special fund which is hereby created in the State Treasury. It shall be used, upon appropriation by the Legislature, for the purpose of helping to defray the costs involved in administering and supervising such program. Unexpended amounts remaining in such special fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any interest earned on amounts in such special fund shall be deposited to the credit of the special fund.
(2) The participant shall admit any correctional officer into his residence at any time for purposes of verifying the participant's compliance with the conditions of his detention.
(3) The participant shall make the necessary arrangements to allow for correctional officers to visit the participant's place of education or employment at any time, based upon the approval of the educational institution or employer, for the purpose of verifying the participant's compliance with the conditions of his detention.
(4) The participant shall acknowledge and participate with the approved electronic monitoring device as designated by the department at any time for the purpose of verifying the participant's compliance with the conditions of his detention.
(5) The participant shall be responsible for and shall maintain the following:
(a) A working telephone line in the participant's home;
(b) A monitoring device in the participant's home, or on the participant's person, or both; and
(c) A monitoring device in the participant's home and on the participant's person in the absence of a telephone.
(6) The participant shall obtain approval from the correctional field officer before the participant changes residence.
(7) The participant shall not commit another crime during the period of home detention ordered by the court or department.
(8) Notice shall be given to the participant that violation of the order of home detention shall subject the participant to prosecution for the crime of escape as a felony.
(9) The participant shall abide by other conditions as set by the court or the department.
(10) From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 17. Section 47-5-1009, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-1009. (1) The department shall have absolute immunity from liability for any injury resulting from a determination by a judge or correctional officer that an offender shall be allowed to participate in the electronic home detention program.
(2) The Department of Audit shall annually audit the records of the department to ensure compliance with Sections 47-5-1001 through 47-5-1015.
(3) From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 18. Section 47-5-1011, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-1011. (1) Before entering an order for commitment for electronic house arrest, the department shall inform the participant and other persons residing in the home of the nature and extent of the approved electronic monitoring devices by doing the following:
(a) Securing the written consent of the participant in the program to comply with the rules and regulations of the program.
(b) Advising adult persons residing in the home of the participant at the time an order or commitment for electronic house arrest is entered and asking such persons to acknowledge the nature and extent of approved electronic monitoring devices.
(c) Insuring that the approved electronic devices are minimally intrusive upon the privacy of other persons residing in the home while remaining in compliance with Sections 47-5-1001 through 47-5-1015.
(2) The participant shall be responsible for the cost of equipment and any damage to such equipment. Any intentional damage, any attempt to defeat monitoring, any committing of a criminal offense or any associating with felons or known criminals, shall constitute a violation of the program.
(3) Any person whose residence is utilized in the program shall agree to keep the home drug and alcohol free and to exclude known felons and criminals in order to provide a noncriminal environment.
(4) From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 19. Section 47-5-1013, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-1013. Participants enrolled in an intensive supervision program shall be required to:
(a) Maintain employment if physically able, or full-time student status at an approved school or vocational trade, and make progress deemed satisfactory to the correctional field officer, or both, or be involved in supervised job searches.
(b) Pay restitution and program fees as directed by the department. Program fees shall not be less than Eighty-eight Dollars ($88.00) per month. The sentencing judge may charge a program fee of less than Eighty-eight Dollars ($88.00) per month in cases of extreme financial hardship, when such judge determines that the offender's participation in the program would provide a benefit to his community. Juvenile offenders shall not pay a program fee but shall pay a monthly fee as provided in Section 47-5-1007. Program fees shall be deposited in the special fund created in Section 47-5-1007.
(c) Establish a place of residence at a place approved by the correctional field officer, and not change his residence without the officer's approval. The correctional officer shall be allowed to inspect the place of residence for alcoholic beverages, controlled substances and drug paraphernalia.
(d) Remain at his place of residence at all times except to go to work, to attend school, to perform community service and as specifically allowed in each instance by the correctional field officer.
(e) Allow administration of drug and alcohol tests as requested by the field officer.
(f) Perform not less than ten (10) hours of community service each month.
(g) Meet any other conditions imposed by the court to meet the needs of the offender and limit the risks to the community.
From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 20. Section 47-5-1014, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-1014. (1) Participants who have been in the intensive supervision program since July 1, 2004, whether placed into the program before or after July 1, 2004, shall pay a Fifty Dollar ($50.00) monthly supervision fee to the Mississippi Department of Corrections for their supervision from July 1, 2004, or from the date the participant entered the program after July 1, 2004, until completion of the program, or April 6, 2005, or whichever occurs first. From and after April 6, 2005, all participants of the intensive supervision program shall pay the fee as established in Section 47-5-1013.
(2) The Department of Corrections shall use its best effort to collect the monthly supervision fees in arrearage under this section.
(3) A participant's failure to pay the monthly fees in arrearage shall not be deemed a violation of a condition of the program, and the participant shall not be removed from the program for failure to pay the monthly fees in arrearage.
(4) This section shall not apply to any fees incurred after April 6, 2005.
(5) Any arrearage remaining under this section at the end of the offender's participation in the program shall automatically be reduced to a civil judgment and upon notice by the Department of Corrections shall be recorded with the circuit court clerk in the county wherein the participant resides. The Department of Corrections and/or the district attorney shall use best efforts to collect the judgment.
(6) From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 21. Section 47-7-2, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-2. For purposes of this chapter, the following words shall have the meaning ascribed herein unless the context shall otherwise require:
(a) "Adult" means a person who is seventeen (17) years of age or older, or any person convicted of any crime not subject to the provisions of the youth court law, or any person "certified" to be tried as an adult by any youth court in the state.
(b) "Board" means the State Parole Board.
(c) "Parole case plan" means an individualized, written accountability and behavior change strategy developed by the department in collaboration with the parole board to prepare offenders for release on parole at the parole eligibility date. The case plan shall focus on the offender's criminal risk factors that, if addressed, reduce the likelihood of reoffending.
(d) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of
Corrections.
(e) "Correctional system" means the facilities, institutions, programs and personnel of the department utilized for adult offenders who are committed to the custody of the department.
(f) "Criminal risk factors" means characteristics that increase a person's likelihood of reoffending. These characteristics include: antisocial behavior; antisocial personality; criminal thinking; criminal associates; dysfunctional family; low levels of employment or education; poor use of leisure and recreation; and substance abuse.
(g) "Department" means the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
(h) "Detention" means the temporary care of juveniles and adults who require secure custody for their own or the community's protection in a physically restricting facility prior to adjudication, or retention in a physically restricting facility upon being taken into custody after an alleged parole or probation violation.
(i) "Discharge plan" means an individualized written document that provides information to support the offender in meeting the basic needs identified in the pre-release assessment. This information shall include, but is not limited to: contact names, phone numbers, and addresses of referrals and resources.
(j) "Evidence-based practices" means supervision policies, procedures, and practices that scientific research demonstrates reduce recidivism.
(k) "Facility" or "institution" means any facility for the custody, care, treatment and study of offenders which is under the supervision and control of the department.
(l) "Juvenile," "minor" or "youthful" means a person less than seventeen (17) years of age.
(m) "Offender" means any person convicted of a crime or offense under the laws and ordinances of the state and its political subdivisions.
(n) "Pre-release assessment" means a determination of an offender's ability to attend to basic needs, including, but not limited to, transportation, clothing and food, financial resources, personal identification documents, housing, employment, education, and health care, following release.
(o) "Special meetings" means those meetings called by the chairman with at least twenty-four (24) hours' notice or a unanimous waiver of notice.
(p) "Supervision plan" means a plan developed by the community corrections department to manage offenders on probation and parole in a way that reduces the likelihood they will commit a new criminal offense or violate the terms of supervision and that increases the likelihood of obtaining stable housing, employment and skills necessary to sustain positive conduct.
(q) "Technical violation" means an act or omission by the probationer that violates a condition or conditions of probation placed on the probationer by the court or the probation officer.
(r) "Transitional reentry center" means a state-operated or state-contracted facility used to house offenders leaving the physical custody of the Department of Corrections on parole, probation or post-release supervision who are in need of temporary housing and services that reduce their risk to reoffend.
(s) "Unit of local government" means a county, city, town, village or other general purpose political subdivision of the state.
(t) "Risk and needs assessment" means the determination of a person's risk to reoffend using an actuarial assessment tool validated on Mississippi corrections populations and the needs that, when addressed, reduce the risk to reoffend.
From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 22. Section 47-7-3, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-3. (1) Every prisoner who has been convicted of any offense against the State of Mississippi, and is confined in the execution of a judgment of such conviction in the Mississippi Department of Corrections for a definite term or terms of one (1) year or over, or for the term of his or her natural life, whose record of conduct shows that such prisoner has observed the rules of the department, and who has served not less than one-fourth (1/4) of the total of such term or terms for which such prisoner was sentenced, or, if sentenced to serve a term or terms of thirty (30) years or more, or, if sentenced for the term of the natural life of such prisoner, has served not less than ten (10) years of such life sentence, may be released on parole as hereinafter provided, except that:
(a) No prisoner convicted as a confirmed and habitual criminal under the provisions of Sections 99-19-81 through 99-19-87 shall be eligible for parole;
(b) Any person who shall have been convicted of a sex crime shall not be released on parole except for a person under the age of nineteen (19) who has been convicted under Section 97-3-67;
(c) (i) No person shall be eligible for parole who shall, on or after January 1, 1977, be convicted of robbery or attempted robbery through the display of a firearm until he shall have served ten (10) years if sentenced to a term or terms of more than ten (10) years or if sentenced for the term of the natural life of such person. If such person is sentenced to a term or terms of ten (10) years or less, then such person shall not be eligible for parole. The provisions of this paragraph (c)(i) shall also apply to any person who shall commit robbery or attempted robbery on or after July 1, 1982, through the display of a deadly weapon. This paragraph (c)(i) shall not apply to persons convicted after September 30, 1994;
(ii) No person shall be eligible for parole who shall, on or after October 1, 1994, be convicted of robbery, attempted robbery or carjacking as provided in Section 97-3-115 et seq., through the display of a firearm or drive-by shooting as provided in Section 97-3-109. The provisions of this paragraph (c)(ii) shall also apply to any person who shall commit robbery, attempted robbery, carjacking or a drive-by shooting on or after October 1, 1994, through the display of a deadly weapon. This paragraph (c)(ii) shall not apply to persons convicted after July 1, 2014;
(d) No person shall be eligible for parole who, on or after July 1, 1994, is charged, tried, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment without eligibility for parole under the provisions of Section 99-19-101;
(e) No person shall be eligible for parole who is charged, tried, convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment under the provisions of Section 99-19-101;
(f) No person shall be eligible for parole who is convicted or whose suspended sentence is revoked after June 30, 1995, except that an offender convicted of only nonviolent crimes after June 30, 1995, may be eligible for parole if the offender meets the requirements in this subsection (1) and this paragraph. In addition to other requirements, if an offender is convicted of a drug or driving under the influence felony, the offender must complete a drug and alcohol rehabilitation program prior to parole or the offender may be required to complete a post-release drug and alcohol program as a condition of parole. For purposes of this paragraph, "nonviolent crime" means a felony other than homicide, robbery, manslaughter, sex crimes, arson, burglary of an occupied dwelling, aggravated assault, kidnapping, felonious abuse of vulnerable adults, felonies with enhanced penalties, except enhanced penalties for the crime of possession of a controlled substance under Section 41-29-147, the sale or manufacture of a controlled substance under the Uniform Controlled Substances Law, felony child abuse, or exploitation or any crime under Section 97-5-33 or Section 97-5-39(2) or 97-5-39(1)(b), 97-5-39(1)(c) or a violation of Section 63-11-30(5). In addition, an offender incarcerated for committing the crime of possession of a controlled substance under the Uniform Controlled Substances Law after July 1, 1995, including an offender who receives an enhanced penalty under the provisions of Section 41-29-147 for such possession, shall be eligible for parole. An offender incarcerated for committing the crime of sale or manufacture of a controlled substance shall be eligible for parole after serving one-fourth (1/4) of the sentence imposed by the trial court. This paragraph (f) shall not apply to persons convicted on or after July 1, 2014;
(g) (i) No person who, on or after July 1, 2014, is convicted of a crime of violence pursuant to Section 97-3-2, a sex crime or an offense that specifically prohibits parole release shall be eligible for parole. All persons convicted of any other offense on or after July 1, 2014, are eligible for parole after they have served one-fourth (1/4) of the sentence or sentences imposed by the trial court.
(ii) Notwithstanding the provisions in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph (g), a person serving a sentence who has reached the age of sixty (60) or older and who has served no less than ten (10) years of the sentence or sentences imposed by the trial court shall be eligible for parole. Any person eligible for parole under this subsection shall be required to have a parole hearing before the board prior to parole release. No inmate shall be eligible for parole under this subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph (g) if:
1. The inmate is sentenced as a habitual offender under Sections 99-19-81 through 99-19-87;
2. The inmate is sentenced for a crime of violence under Section 97-3-2;
3. The inmate is sentenced for an offense that specifically prohibits parole release;
4. The inmate is sentenced for trafficking in controlled substances under Section 41-29-139(f);
5. The inmate is sentenced for a sex crime; or
6. The inmate has not served one-fourth (1/4) of the sentence imposed by the court.
(iii) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection, any offender who has not committed a crime of violence under Section 97-3-2 and has served twenty-five percent (25%) or more of his sentence may be paroled by the parole board if, after the sentencing judge or if the sentencing judge is retired, disabled or incapacitated, the senior circuit judge authorizes the offender to be eligible for parole consideration; or if that senior circuit judge must be recused, another circuit judge of the same district or a senior status judge may hear and decide the matter;
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an inmate who has not been convicted as a habitual offender under Sections 99-19-81 through 99-19-87, has not been convicted of committing a crime of violence, as defined under Section 97-3-2, has not been convicted of a sex crime or any other crime that specifically prohibits parole release, and has not been convicted of drug trafficking under Section 41-29-139 is eligible for parole if the inmate has served twenty-five percent (25%) or more of his or her sentence, but is otherwise ineligible for parole.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an inmate shall not be eligible to receive earned time, good time or any other administrative reduction of time which shall reduce the time necessary to be served for parole eligibility as provided in subsection (1) of this section.
(3) The State Parole Board shall, by rules and regulations, establish a method of determining a tentative parole hearing date for each eligible offender taken into the custody of the Department of Corrections. The tentative parole hearing date shall be determined within ninety (90) days after the department has assumed custody of the offender. The parole hearing date shall occur when the offender is within thirty (30) days of the month of his parole eligibility date. The parole eligibility date shall not be earlier than one-fourth (1/4) of the prison sentence or sentences imposed by the court.
(4) Any inmate within twenty-four (24) months of his parole eligibility date and who meets the criteria established by the classification board shall receive priority for placement in any educational development and job-training programs that are part of his or her parole case plan. Any inmate refusing to participate in an educational development or job-training program that is part of the case plan may be in jeopardy of noncompliance with the case plan and may be denied parole.
(5) From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 23. Section 47-7-3.1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-3.1. (1) In consultation with the Parole Board, the department shall develop a case plan for all parole-eligible inmates to guide an inmate's rehabilitation while in the department's custody and to reduce the likelihood of recidivism after release.
(2) Within ninety (90) days of admission, the department shall complete a case plan on all inmates which shall include, but not limited to:
(a) Programming and treatment requirements based on the results of a risk and needs assessment;
(b) Any programming or treatment requirements contained in the sentencing order; and
(c) General behavior requirements in accordance with the rules and policies of the department.
(3) The department shall provide the inmate with a written copy of the case plan and the inmate's caseworker shall explain the conditions set forth in the case plan.
(a) Within ninety (90) days of admission, the caseworker shall notify the inmate of their parole eligibility date as calculated in accordance with Section 47-7-3(3);
(b) At the time a parole-eligible inmate receives the case plan, the department shall send the case plan to the Parole Board for approval.
(4) The department shall ensure that the case plan is achievable prior to inmate's parole eligibility date.
(5) The caseworker shall meet with the inmate every eight (8) weeks from the date the offender received the case plan to review the inmate's case plan progress.
(6) Every four (4) months the department shall electronically submit a progress report on each parole-eligible inmate's case plan to the Parole Board. The board may meet to review an inmate's case plan and may provide written input to the caseworker on the inmate's progress toward completion of the case plan.
(7) The Parole Board shall provide semiannually to the Oversight Task Force the number of parole hearings held, the number of prisoners released to parole without a hearing and the number of parolees released after a hearing.
(8) From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 24. Section 47-7-3.2, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-3.2.
(1) Notwithstanding * * * Section 47-5-138, 47-5-139, 47-5-138.1 or 47-5-142,
no person convicted of a criminal offense on or after July 1, 2014, shall be
released by the department until he or she has served no less than fifty
percent (50%) of a sentence for a crime of violence pursuant to Section 97-3-2
or twenty-five percent (25%) of any other sentence imposed by the court.
(2) This section shall not apply to:
(a) Offenders sentenced to life imprisonment;
(b) Offenders convicted as habitual offenders pursuant to Sections 99-19-81 through 99-19-87;
(c) Offenders serving a sentence for a sex offense; or
(d) Offenders serving a sentence for trafficking pursuant to Section 41-29-139(f).
(3) From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 25. Section 47-7-4, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-4. The commissioner and the medical director of the department may place an offender who has served not less than one (1) year of his or her sentence, except an offender convicted of a sex crime, on conditional medical release. However, a nonviolent offender who is bedridden may be placed on conditional medical release regardless of the time served on his or her sentence. Upon the release of a nonviolent offender who is bedridden, the state shall not be responsible or liable for any medical costs that may be incurred if such costs are acquired after the offender is no longer incarcerated due to his or her placement on conditional medical release. The commissioner shall not place an offender on conditional medical release unless the medical director of the department certifies to the commissioner that (a) the offender is suffering from a significant permanent physical medical condition with no possibility of recovery; (b) that his or her further incarceration will serve no rehabilitative purposes; and (c) that the state would incur unreasonable expenses as a result of his or her continued incarceration. Any offender placed on conditional medical release shall be supervised by the Division of Community Corrections of the department for the remainder of his or her sentence. An offender's conditional medical release may be revoked and the offender returned and placed in actual custody of the department if the offender violates an order or condition of his or her conditional medical release. An offender who is no longer bedridden shall be returned and placed in the actual custody of the department.
From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 26. 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, 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. From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
(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.
(c) The Parole Board shall utilize an internet website or other electronic means to release or publish the information.
(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, 2022.
SECTION 27. Section 47-7-6, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-6. (1) The Parole Board, with the assistance of the Department of Corrections, shall collect the following information:
(a) The number of offenders supervised on parole;
(b) The number of offenders released on parole;
(c) The number of parole hearings held;
(d) The parole grant rate for parolees released with and without a hearing;
(e) The average length of time offenders spend on parole;
(f) The number and percentage of parolees revoked for a technical violation and returned for a term of imprisonment in a technical violation center;
(g)
The number and percentage of parolees revoked for a technical violation and
returned for a term of imprisonment in another type of department of
corrections * * *
facility;
(h) The number and percentage of parolees who are convicted of a new offense and returned for a term of imprisonment on their current crime as well as the new crime;
(i) The number of parolees held on a violation in county jail awaiting a revocation hearing; and
(j) The average length of stay in a county jail for parolees awaiting a revocation hearing.
(2) The Parole Board shall semiannually report information required in subsection (1) of this section to the Oversight Task Force, and upon request, shall report such information to the PEER Committee.
(3) From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 28. Section 47-7-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-9. (1) The circuit judges and county judges in the districts to which Division of Community Corrections personnel have been assigned shall have the power to request of the department transfer or removal of the division personnel from their court. From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
(2) (a) Division personnel shall investigate all cases referred to them for investigation by the board, the division or by any court in which they are authorized to serve. They shall furnish to each person released under their supervision a written statement of the conditions of probation, parole, earned-release supervision, post-release supervision or suspension and shall instruct the person regarding the same. They shall administer a risk and needs assessment on each person under their supervision to measure criminal risk factors and individual needs. They shall use the results of the risk and needs assessment to guide supervision responses consistent with evidence-based practices as to the level of supervision and the practices used to reduce recidivism. They shall develop a supervision plan for each person assessed as moderate to high risk to reoffend. They shall keep informed concerning the conduct and conditions of persons under their supervision and use all suitable methods that are consistent with evidence-based practices to aid and encourage them and to bring about improvements in their conduct and condition and to reduce the risk of recidivism. They shall keep detailed records of their work and shall make such reports in writing as the court or the board may require.
(b) Division personnel shall complete annual training on evidence-based practices and criminal risk factors, as well as instructions on how to target these factors to reduce recidivism.
(c) The division personnel duly assigned to court districts are hereby vested with all the powers of police officers or sheriffs to make arrests or perform any other duties required of policemen or sheriffs which may be incident to the division personnel responsibilities. All probation and parole officers hired on or after July 1, 1994, will be placed in the Law Enforcement Officers Training Program and will be required to meet the standards outlined by that program.
(d) It is the intention of the Legislature that insofar as practicable the case load of each division personnel supervising offenders in the community (hereinafter field supervisor) shall not exceed the number of cases that may be adequately handled.
(3) (a) Division personnel shall be provided to perform investigation for the court as provided in this subsection. Division personnel shall conduct presentence investigations on all persons convicted of a felony in any circuit court of the state, prior to sentencing and at the request of the circuit court judge of the court of conviction. The presentence evaluation report shall consist of a complete record of the offender's criminal history, educational level, employment history, psychological condition and such other information as the department or judge may deem necessary. Division personnel shall also prepare written victim impact statements at the request of the sentencing judge as provided in Section 99-19-157.
(b) In order that offenders in the custody of the department on July 1, 1976, may benefit from the kind of evaluations authorized in this section, an evaluation report to consist of the information required hereinabove, supplemented by an examination of an offender's record while in custody, shall be compiled by the division upon all offenders in the custody of the department on July 1, 1976. After a study of such reports by the State Parole Board those cases which the board believes would merit some type of executive clemency shall be submitted by the board to the Governor with its recommendation for the appropriate executive action.
(c) The department is authorized to accept gifts, grants and subsidies to conduct this activity.
SECTION 29. Section 47-7-13, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-13. A majority of the board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of all business. A decision to parole an offender convicted of murder or a sex-related crime shall require the affirmative vote of three (3) members. The board shall maintain, in minute book form, a copy of each of its official actions with the reasons therefor. Suitable and sufficient office space and support resources and staff necessary to conducting Parole Board business shall be provided by the Department of Corrections. However, the principal place for conducting parole hearings shall be the State Penitentiary at Parchman.
From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 30. Section 47-7-17, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-17. Within one (1) year after his admission and at such intervals thereafter as it may determine, the board shall secure and consider all pertinent information regarding each offender, except any under sentence of death or otherwise ineligible for parole, including 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, the case plan created to prepare the offender for parole, and the reports of such physical and mental examinations as have been made. The board shall furnish at least three (3) months' written notice to each such offender of the date on which he is eligible for parole.
Before ruling on the
application for parole of any offender, the board may require a parole-eligible
offender to have a hearing as required in this chapter before the board and to
be interviewed. The hearing shall be held no later than thirty (30) days prior
to the month of eligibility. No application for parole of a person convicted
of a capital offense shall be considered by the board unless and until notice
of the filing of such application 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 application for parole to the victim of the offense for which the
prisoner is incarcerated and being considered for parole 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. Parole release shall, at the hearing,
be ordered only for the best interest of society, not as an award of clemency;
it shall not be considered to be a reduction of sentence or pardon. An
offender shall be placed on parole only when arrangements have been made for
his proper employment or for his maintenance and care, and when the board
believes that he is able and willing to fulfill the obligations of a law-abiding
citizen. When the board determines that the offender will need transitional
housing upon release in order to improve the likelihood of * * * the offender becoming a law-abiding
citizen, the board may parole the offender with the condition that the inmate
spends no more than six (6) months in a transitional reentry center. At least
fifteen (15) days prior to the release of an offender on parole, the director
of records of the department shall give the written notice which is required
pursuant to Section 47-5-177. Every offender while on parole shall remain in
the legal custody of the department from which he was released and shall be
amenable to the orders of the board. Upon determination by the board that an
offender is eligible for release by parole, notice shall also be given within
at least fifteen (15) days before release, by the board to the victim of the
offense or the victim's family member, as indicated above, regarding the date
when the offender's release shall occur, provided a current address of the
victim or the victim's family member has been furnished in writing to the board
for such purpose.
Failure to provide notice to the victim or the victim's family member of the filing of the application for parole or of any decision made by the board regarding parole shall not
constitute grounds for vacating an otherwise lawful parole determination nor shall it create any right or liability, civilly or criminally, against the board or any member thereof.
A letter of protest against granting an offender parole shall not be treated as the conclusive and only reason for not granting parole.
The board may adopt such other rules not inconsistent with law as it may deem proper or necessary with respect to the eligibility of offenders for parole, the conduct of parole hearings, or conditions to be imposed upon parolees, including a condition that the parolee submit, as provided in Section 47-5-601 to any type of breath, saliva or urine chemical analysis test, the purpose of which is to detect the possible presence of alcohol or a substance prohibited or controlled by any law of the State of Mississippi or the United States. The board shall have the authority to adopt rules related to the placement of certain offenders on unsupervised parole and for the operation of transitional reentry centers. However, in no case shall an offender be placed on unsupervised parole before he has served a minimum of fifty percent (50%) of the period of supervised parole.
From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 31. Section 47-7-18, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-18 (1) Each inmate eligible for parole pursuant to Section 47-7-3, shall be released from incarceration to parole supervision on the inmate's parole eligibility date, without a hearing before the board, if:
(a) The inmate has met the requirements of the parole case plan established pursuant to Section 47-7-3.1;
(b) A victim of the offense has not requested the board conduct a hearing;
(c) The inmate has not received a serious or major violation report within the past six (6) months;
(d) The inmate has agreed to the conditions of supervision; and
(e) The inmate has a discharge plan approved by the board.
(2) At least thirty (30) days prior to an inmate's parole eligibility date, the department shall notify the board in writing of the inmate's compliance or noncompliance with the case plan. If an inmate fails to meet a requirement of the case plan, prior to the parole eligibility date, he or she shall have a hearing before the board to determine if completion of the case plan can occur while in the community.
(3) Any inmate for whom there is insufficient information for the department to determine compliance with the case plan shall have a hearing with the board.
(4) A hearing shall be held with the board if requested by the victim following notification of the inmate's parole release date pursuant to Section 47-7-17.
(5) A hearing shall be held by the board if a law enforcement official from the community to which the inmate will return contacts the board or the department and requests a hearing to consider information relevant to public safety risks posed by the inmate if paroled at the initial parole eligibility date. The law enforcement official shall submit an explanation documenting these concerns for the board to consider.
(6) If a parole hearing is held, the board may determine the inmate has sufficiently complied with the case plan or that the incomplete case plan is not the fault of the inmate and that granting parole is not incompatible with public safety, the board may then parole the inmate with appropriate conditions. If the board determines that the inmate has sufficiently complied with the case plan but the discharge plan indicates that the inmate does not have appropriate housing immediately upon release, the board may parole the inmate to a transitional reentry center with the condition that the inmate spends no more than six (6) months in the center. If the board determines that the inmate has not substantively complied with the requirement(s) of the case plan it may deny parole. If the board denies parole, the board may schedule a subsequent parole hearing and, if a new date is scheduled, the board shall identify the corrective action the inmate will need to take in order to be granted parole. Any inmate not released at the time of the inmate's initial parole date shall have a parole hearing at least every year.
From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 32. Section 47-7-19, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-19. It shall be the duty of all correctional system officials to grant to the members of the board or its properly accredited representatives, access at all reasonable times to any person over whom the board may have jurisdiction under this chapter; to provide for the board or such representatives facilities for communicating with and observing the offender; and to furnish to the board such reports as the board shall require concerning the conduct and character of any offender in the Department of Corrections custody and any other facts deemed by the board pertinent in determining whether such offender shall be paroled.
It shall be the duty of any judge, district attorney, county attorney, police officer, or other public official of the state, having information with reference to any person eligible for parole, to send such information as may be in his possession or under his control to the board, in writing, upon request of any member or employee thereof.
From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 33. Section 47-7-21, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-21. All information obtained in the discharge of official duty by a field officer as an employee of the Department of Corrections shall be privileged and shall not be disclosed directly or indirectly to anyone other than to (a) the State Parole Board, (b) a judge, or (c) law enforcement agencies when such information is relevant to criminal activity.
From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 34. Section 47-7-23, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-23. Except as otherwise provided by law, the Department of Corrections shall have the power and duty to make rules for the conduct of persons heretofore or hereafter placed on parole under the supervision of the Department of Corrections and for the investigation and supervision of such persons, which supervision may include a condition that such persons submit, as provided in Section 47-5-601, to any type of breath, saliva or urine chemical analysis test, the purpose of which is to detect the possible presence of alcohol or a substance prohibited or controlled by any law of the State of Mississippi or the United States. The department shall not make any rules which shall be inconsistent with the rules imposed by the State Parole Board pursuant to Section 47-7-17 on offenders who are placed on unsupervised parole.
From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 35. Section 47-7-25, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-25. When an offender is placed on parole he shall receive, if needed, from the state, civilian clothing and transportation to the place in which he is to reside. At the discretion of the board the offender may be advanced such sum for his temporary maintenance as the board may allow. The aforesaid gratuities are to be furnished by the Commissioner of Corrections who is authorized to charge the actual cost of same in his account as Commissioner of Corrections.
From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 36. Section 47-7-27, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-27. (1) The board may, at any time and upon a showing of probable violation of parole, issue a warrant for the return of any paroled offender to the custody of the department. The warrant shall authorize all persons named therein to return the paroled offender to actual custody of the department from which he was paroled.
(2) Any field supervisor may arrest an offender without a warrant or may deputize any other person with power of arrest by giving him a written statement setting forth that the offender has, in the judgment of that field supervisor, violated the conditions of his parole or earned-release supervision. The written statement delivered with the offender by the arresting officer to the official in charge of the department facility from which the offender was released or other place of detention designated by the department shall be sufficient warrant for the detention of the offender.
(3) The field supervisor, after making an arrest, shall present to the detaining authorities a similar statement of the circumstances of violation. The field supervisor shall at once notify the board or department of the arrest and detention of the offender and shall submit a written report showing in what manner the offender has violated the conditions of parole or earned-release supervision. An offender for whose return a warrant has been issued by the board shall, after the issuance of the warrant, be deemed a fugitive from justice.
(4) Whenever an offender is arrested on a warrant for an alleged violation of parole as herein provided, the board shall hold an informal preliminary hearing within seventy-two (72) hours to determine whether there is reasonable cause to believe the person has violated a condition of parole. A preliminary hearing shall not be required when the offender is not under arrest on a warrant or the offender signed a waiver of a preliminary hearing. The preliminary hearing may be conducted electronically.
(5) The right of the State of Mississippi to extradite persons and return fugitives from justice, from other states to this state, shall not be impaired by this chapter and shall remain in full force and effect. An offender convicted of a felony committed while on parole, whether in the State of Mississippi or another state, shall immediately have his parole revoked upon presentment of a certified copy of the commitment order to the board. If an offender is on parole and the offender is convicted of a felony for a crime committed prior to the offender being placed on parole, whether in the State of Mississippi or another state, the offender may have his parole revoked upon presentment of a certified copy of the commitment order to the board.
(6) (a) The board shall
hold a hearing for any parolee who is detained as a result of a warrant or a
violation report within twenty-one (21) days of the parolee's admission to
detention. The board may, in its discretion, terminate the parole or modify
the terms and conditions thereof. If the board revokes parole for one or more
technical violations the board shall impose a period of imprisonment to be
served in a technical violation center operated by the department not to exceed
ninety (90) days for the first revocation and not to exceed one hundred twenty
(120) days for the second revocation. For the third revocation, the board may
impose a period of imprisonment to be served in a technical violation center
for up to one hundred * * *
eighty (180) days or the board may impose the remainder of the suspended
portion of the sentence. For the fourth and any subsequent revocation, the
board may impose up to the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence.
The period of imprisonment in a technical violation center imposed under this
section shall not be reduced in any manner.
(b) If the board does not hold a hearing or does not take action on the violation within the twenty-one-day time frame in paragraph (a) of this subsection, the parolee shall be released from detention and shall return to parole status. The board may subsequently hold a hearing and may revoke parole or may continue parole and modify the terms and conditions of parole. If the board revokes parole for one or more technical violations the board shall impose a period of imprisonment to be served in a technical violation center operated by the department not to exceed ninety (90) days for the first revocation and not to exceed one hundred twenty (120) days for the second revocation. For the third revocation, the board may impose a period of imprisonment to be served in a technical violation center for up to one hundred eighty (180) days or the board may impose the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence. For the fourth and any subsequent revocation, the board may impose up to the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence. The period of imprisonment in a technical violation center imposed under this section shall not be reduced in any manner.
(c) For a parolee charged with one or more technical violations who has not been detained awaiting the revocation hearing, the board may hold a hearing within a reasonable time. The board may revoke parole or may continue parole and modify the terms and conditions of parole. If the board revokes parole for one or more technical violations the board shall impose a period of imprisonment to be served in a technical violation center operated by the department not to exceed ninety (90) days for the first revocation and not to exceed one hundred twenty (120) days for the second revocation. For the third revocation, the board may impose a period of imprisonment to be served in a technical violation center for up to one hundred eighty (180) days or the board may impose the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence. For the fourth and any subsequent revocation, the board may impose up to the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence. The period of imprisonment in a technical violation center imposed under this section shall not be reduced in any manner.
(7) Unless good cause for the delay is established in the record of the proceeding, the parole revocation charge shall be dismissed if the revocation hearing is not held within the thirty (30) days of the issuance of the warrant.
(8) The chairman and each member of the board and the designated parole revocation hearing officer may, in the discharge of their duties, administer oaths, summon and examine witnesses, and take other steps as may be necessary to ascertain the truth of any matter about which they have the right to inquire.
(9) The board shall provide semiannually to the Oversight Task Force the number of warrants issued for an alleged violation of parole, the average time between detention on a warrant and preliminary hearing, the average time between detention on a warrant and revocation hearing, the number of ninety-day sentences in a technical violation center issued by the board, the number of one-hundred-twenty-day sentences in a technical violation center issued by the board, the number of one-hundred-eighty-day sentences issued by the board, and the number and average length of the suspended sentences imposed by the board in response to a violation.
(10) From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 37. Section 47-7-29, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-29. Any prisoner who commits a felony while at large upon parole or earned-release supervision and who is convicted and sentenced therefor shall be required to serve such sentence after the original sentence has been completed.
From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 38. Section 47-7-33, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-33. (1) When it appears to the satisfaction of any circuit court or county court in the State of Mississippi having original jurisdiction over criminal actions, or to the judge thereof, that the ends of justice and the best interest of the public, as well as the defendant, will be served thereby, such court, in termtime or in vacation, shall have the power, after conviction or a plea of guilty, except in a case where a death sentence or life imprisonment is the maximum penalty which may be imposed, to suspend the imposition or execution of sentence, and place the defendant on probation as herein provided, except that the court shall not suspend the execution of a sentence of imprisonment after the defendant shall have begun to serve such sentence. In placing any defendant on probation, the court, or judge, shall direct that such defendant be under the supervision of the Department of Corrections.
(2) When any circuit or county court places an offender on probation, the court shall give notice to the Mississippi Department of Corrections within fifteen (15) days of the court's decision to place the offender on probation. Notice shall be delivered to the central office of the Mississippi Department of Corrections and to the regional office of the department which will be providing supervision to the offender on probation.
(3) When any circuit court or county court places a person on probation in accordance with the provisions of this section and that person is ordered to make any payments to his family, if any member of his family whom he is ordered to support is receiving public assistance through the State Department of Human Services, the court shall order him to make such payments to the county welfare officer of the county rendering public assistance to his family, for the sole use and benefit of said family.
(4) From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 39. Section 47-7-33.1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-33.1. (1) The department shall create a discharge plan for any offender returning to the community, regardless of whether the person will discharge from the custody of the department, or is released on parole, pardon, or otherwise. At least ninety (90) days prior to an offender's earliest release date, the commissioner shall conduct a pre-release assessment and complete a written discharge plan based on the assessment results. The discharge plan for parole-eligible offenders shall be sent to the parole board at least thirty (30) days prior to the offender's parole eligibility date for approval. The board may suggest changes to the plan that it deems necessary to ensure a successful transition.
(2) The pre-release assessment shall identify whether an inmate requires assistance obtaining the following basic needs upon release: transportation, clothing and food, financial resources, identification documents, housing, employment, education, health care and support systems. The discharge plan shall include information necessary to address these needs and the steps being taken by the department to assist in this process. Based on the findings of the assessment, the commissioner shall:
(a) Arrange transportation for inmates from the correctional facility to their release destination;
(b) Ensure inmates have clean, seasonally appropriate clothing, and provide inmates with a list of food providers and other basic resources immediately accessible upon release;
(c) Ensure inmates have a driver's license or a state-issued identification card that is not a Department of Corrections identification card;
(d) Assist inmates in identifying safe, affordable housing upon release. If accommodations are not available, determine whether temporary housing is available for at least ten (10) days after release. If temporary housing is not available, the discharge plan shall reflect that satisfactory housing has not been established and the person may be a candidate for transitional reentry center placement;
(e) Refer inmates without secured employment to employment opportunities;
(f) Provide inmates with contact information of a health care facility/provider in the community in which they plan to reside;
(g) Notify family members of the release date and release plan, if the inmate agrees; and
(h) Refer inmates to a community or a faith-based organization that can offer support within the first twenty-four (24) hours of release;
(3) A written discharge plan shall be provided to the offender and supervising probation officer or parole officer, if applicable.
(4) A discharge plan created for a parole-eligible offender shall also include supervision conditions and the intensity of supervision based on the assessed risk to recidivate and whether there is a need for transitional housing. The board shall approve discharge plans before an offender is released on parole pursuant to this chapter.
(5) From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 40. Section 47-7-34, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-34. (1) When a court imposes a sentence upon a conviction for any felony committed after June 30, 1995, the court, in addition to any other punishment imposed if the other punishment includes a term of incarceration in a state or local correctional facility, may impose a term of post-release supervision. However, the total number of years of incarceration plus the total number of years of post-release supervision shall not exceed the maximum sentence authorized to be imposed by law for the felony committed. The defendant shall be placed under post-release supervision upon release from the term of incarceration. The period of supervision shall be established by the court.
(2) The period of post-release supervision shall be conducted in the same manner as a like period of supervised probation, including a requirement that the defendant shall abide by any terms and conditions as the court may establish. Failure to successfully abide by the terms and conditions shall be grounds to terminate the period of post-release supervision and to recommit the defendant to the correctional facility from which he was previously released. Procedures for termination and recommitment shall be conducted in the same manner as procedures for the revocation of probation and imposition of a suspended sentence as required pursuant to Section 47-7-37.
(3) Post-release supervision programs shall be operated through the probation and parole unit of the Division of Community Corrections of the department. The maximum amount of time that the Mississippi Department of Corrections may supervise an offender on the post-release supervision program is five (5) years.
(4) From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 41. Section 47-7-35, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-35. (1) The courts referred to in Section 47-7-33 or 47-7-34 shall determine the terms and conditions of probation or post-release supervision and may alter or modify, at any time during the period of probation or post-release supervision, the conditions and may include among them the following or any other:
That the offender shall:
(a) Commit no offense against the laws of this or any other state of the United States, or of any federal, territorial or tribal jurisdiction of the United States;
(b) Avoid injurious or vicious habits;
(c) Avoid persons or places of disreputable or harmful character;
(d) Report to the probation and parole officer as directed;
(e) Permit the probation and parole officer to visit him at home or elsewhere;
(f) Work faithfully at suitable employment so far as possible;
(g) Remain within a specified area;
(h) Pay his fine in one (1) or several sums;
(i) Support his dependents;
(j) Submit, as provided in Section 47-5-601, to any type of breath, saliva or urine chemical analysis test, the purpose of which is to detect the possible presence of alcohol or a substance prohibited or controlled by any law of the State of Mississippi or the United States;
(k) Register as a sex offender if so required under Title 45, Chapter 33.
(2) When any court places a defendant on misdemeanor probation, the court must cause to be conducted a search of the probationer's name or other identifying information against the registration information regarding sex offenders maintained under Title 45, Chapter 33. The search may be conducted using the Internet site maintained by the Department of Public Safety Sex Offender Registry.
(3) From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 42. Section 47-7-36, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-36. Any person who supervises an individual placed on parole by the Parole Board or placed on probation by the court shall set the times and locations for meetings that are required for parole or probation at such times and locations that are reasonably designed to accommodate the work schedule of an individual on parole or probation who is employed by another person or entity. To effectuate the provisions of this section, the parole officer or probation officer may utilize technology portals such as Skype, FaceTime or Google video chat, or any other technology portal that allows communication between the individual on parole or probation and the parole or probation officer, as applicable, to occur simultaneously in real time by voice and video in lieu of requiring a face-to-face in person meeting of such individual and the parole or probation officer, as applicable. For individuals who are self-employed, the provisions of this section shall only apply with the agreement of their supervising parole or probation officer.
From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 43. Section 47-7-37, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-37. (1) The period of probation shall be fixed by the court, and may at any time be extended or terminated by the court, or judge in vacation. Such period with any extension thereof shall not exceed five (5) years, except that in cases of desertion and/or failure to support minor children, the period of probation may be fixed and/or extended by the court for so long as the duty to support such minor children exists. The time served on probation or post-release supervision may be reduced pursuant to Section 47-7-40.
(2) At any time during the period of probation, the court, or judge in vacation, may issue a warrant for violating any of the conditions of probation or suspension of sentence and cause the probationer to be arrested. Any probation and parole officer may arrest a probationer without a warrant, or may deputize any other officer with power of arrest to do so by giving him a written statement setting forth that the probationer has, in the judgment of the probation and parole officer, violated the conditions of probation. Such written statement delivered with the probationer by the arresting officer to the official in charge of a county jail or other place of detention shall be sufficient warrant for the detention of the probationer.
(3) Whenever an offender is arrested on a warrant for an alleged violation of probation as herein provided, the department shall hold an informal preliminary hearing within seventy-two (72) hours of the arrest to determine whether there is reasonable cause to believe the person has violated a condition of probation. A preliminary hearing shall not be required when the offender is not under arrest on a warrant or the offender signed a waiver of a preliminary hearing. The preliminary hearing may be conducted electronically. If reasonable cause is found, the offender may be confined no more than twenty-one (21) days from the admission to detention until a revocation hearing is held. If the revocation hearing is not held within twenty-one (21) days, the probationer shall be released from custody and returned to probation status.
(4) If a probationer or offender is subject to registration as a sex offender, the court must make a finding that the probationer or offender is not a danger to the public prior to release with or without bail. In determining the danger posed by the release of the offender or probationer, the court may consider the nature and circumstances of the violation and any new offenses charged; the offender or probationer's past and present conduct, including convictions of crimes and any record of arrests without conviction for crimes involving violence or sex crimes; any other evidence of allegations of unlawful sexual conduct or the use of violence by the offender or probationer; the offender or probationer's family ties, length of residence in the community, employment history and mental condition; the offender or probationer's history and conduct during the probation or other supervised release and any other previous supervisions, including disciplinary records of previous incarcerations; the likelihood that the offender or probationer will engage again in a criminal course of conduct; the weight of the evidence against the offender or probationer; and any other facts the court considers relevant.
(5) (a) The probation and parole officer after making an arrest shall present to the detaining authorities a similar statement of the circumstances of violation. The probation and parole officer shall at once notify the court of the arrest and detention of the probationer and shall submit a report in writing showing in what manner the probationer has violated the conditions of probation. Within twenty-one (21) days of arrest and detention by warrant as herein provided, the court shall cause the probationer to be brought before it and may continue or revoke all or any part of the probation or the suspension of sentence. If the court revokes probation for one or more technical violations, the court shall impose a period of imprisonment to be served in either a technical violation center or a restitution center not to exceed ninety (90) days for the first revocation and not to exceed one hundred twenty (120) days for the second revocation. For the third revocation, the court may impose a period of imprisonment to be served in either a technical violation center or a restitution center for up to one hundred eighty (180) days or the court may impose the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence. For the fourth and any subsequent revocation, the court may impose up to the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence. The period of imprisonment in a technical violation center imposed under this section shall not be reduced in any manner.
(b) If the offender is not detained as a result of the warrant, the court shall cause the probationer to be brought before it within a reasonable time and may continue or revoke all or any part of the probation or the suspension of sentence, and may cause the sentence imposed to be executed or may impose any part of the sentence which might have been imposed at the time of conviction. If the court revokes probation for one or more technical violations, the court shall impose a period of imprisonment to be served in either a technical violation center or a restitution center not to exceed ninety (90) days for the first revocation and not to exceed one hundred twenty (120) days for the second revocation. For the third revocation, the court may impose a period of imprisonment to be served in either a technical violation center or a restitution center for up to one hundred eighty (180) days or the court may impose the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence. For the fourth and any subsequent revocation, the court may impose up to the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence. The period of imprisonment in a technical violation center imposed under this section shall not be reduced in any manner.
(c) If the court does not hold a hearing or does not take action on the violation within the twenty-one-day period, the offender shall be released from detention and shall return to probation status. The court may subsequently hold a hearing and may revoke probation or may continue probation and modify the terms and conditions of probation. If the court revokes probation for one or more technical violations, the court shall impose a period of imprisonment to be served in either a technical violation center operated by the department or a restitution center not to exceed ninety (90) days for the first revocation and not to exceed one hundred twenty (120) days for the second revocation. For the third revocation, the court may impose a period of imprisonment to be served in either a technical violation center or a restitution center for up to one hundred eighty (180) days or the court may impose the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence. For the fourth and any subsequent revocation, the court may impose up to the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence. The period of imprisonment in a technical violation center imposed under this section shall not be reduced in any manner.
(d) For an offender charged with a technical violation who has not been detained awaiting the revocation hearing, the court may hold a hearing within a reasonable time. The court may revoke probation or may continue probation and modify the terms and conditions of probation. If the court revokes probation for one or more technical violations the court shall impose a period of imprisonment to be served in either a technical violation center operated by the department or a restitution center not to exceed ninety (90) days for the first revocation and not to exceed one hundred twenty (120) days for the second revocation. For the third revocation, the court may impose a period of imprisonment to be served in either a technical violation center or a restitution center for up to one hundred eighty (180) days or the court may impose the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence. For the fourth and any subsequent revocation, the court may impose up to the remainder of the suspended portion of the sentence. The period of imprisonment in a technical violation center imposed under this section shall not be reduced in any manner.
(6) If the probationer is arrested in a circuit court district in the State of Mississippi other than that in which he was convicted, the probation and parole officer, upon the written request of the sentencing judge, shall furnish to the circuit court or the county court of the county in which the arrest is made, or to the judge of such court, a report concerning the probationer, and such court or the judge in vacation shall have authority, after a hearing, to continue or revoke all or any part of probation or all or any part of the suspension of sentence, and may in case of revocation proceed to deal with the case as if there had been no probation. In such case, the clerk of the court in which the order of revocation is issued shall forward a transcript of such order to the clerk of the court of original jurisdiction, and the clerk of that court shall proceed as if the order of revocation had been issued by the court of original jurisdiction. Upon the revocation of probation or suspension of sentence of any offender, such offender shall be placed in the legal custody of the State Department of Corrections and shall be subject to the requirements thereof.
(7) Any probationer who removes himself from the State of Mississippi without permission of the court placing him on probation, or the court to which jurisdiction has been transferred, shall be deemed and considered a fugitive from justice and shall be subject to extradition as now provided by law. No part of the time that one is on probation shall be considered as any part of the time that he shall be sentenced to serve.
(8) The arresting officer, except when a probation and parole officer, shall be allowed the same fees as now provided by law for arrest on warrant, and such fees shall be taxed against the probationer and paid as now provided by law.
(9) The arrest, revocation and recommitment procedures of this section also apply to persons who are serving a period of post-release supervision imposed by the court.
(10) Unless good cause for the delay is established in the record of the proceeding, the probation revocation charge shall be dismissed if the revocation hearing is not held within thirty (30) days of the warrant being issued.
(11) The Department of Corrections shall provide semiannually to the Oversight Task Force the number of warrants issued for an alleged violation of probation or post-release supervision, the average time between detention on a warrant and preliminary hearing, the average time between detention on a warrant and revocation hearing, the number of ninety-day sentences in a technical violation center issued by the court, the number of one-hundred-twenty-day sentences in a technical violation center issued by the court, the number of one-hundred-eighty-day sentences issued by the court, and the number and average length of the suspended sentences imposed by the court in response to a violation.
(12) From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 44. Section 47-7-37.1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-37.1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, if a court finds by a preponderance of the evidence, that a probationer or a person under post-release supervision has committed a felony or absconded, the court may revoke his probation and impose any or all of the sentence. For purposes of this section, "absconding from supervision" means the failure of a probationer to report to his supervising officer for six (6) or more consecutive months.
From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 45. Section 47-7-38, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-38. (1) The department shall have the authority to impose graduated sanctions as an alternative to judicial modification or revocation, as provided in Sections 47-7-27 and 47-7-37, for offenders on probation, parole, or post-release supervision who commit technical violations of the conditions of supervision as defined by Section 47-7-2.
(2) The commissioner shall develop a standardized graduated sanctions system, which shall include a grid to guide field officers in determining the suitable response to a technical violation. The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations for the development and application of the system of sanctions. Field officers shall be required to conform to the sanction grid developed.
(3) The system of sanctions shall include a list of sanctions for the most common types of violations. When determining the sanction to impose, the field officer shall take into account the offender's assessed risk level, previous violations and sanctions, and severity of the current and prior violations.
(4) Field officers shall notify the sentencing court when a probationer has committed a technical violation or the parole board when a parolee has committed a technical violation of the type of violation and the sanction imposed. When the technical violation is an arrest for a new criminal offense, the field officer shall notify the court within forty-eight (48) hours of becoming aware of the arrest.
(5) The graduated sanctions that the department may impose include, but shall not be limited to:
(a) Verbal warnings;
(b) Increased reporting;
(c) Increased drug and alcohol testing;
(d) Mandatory substance abuse treatment;
(e) Loss of earned-discharge credits; and
(f) Incarceration in a county jail for no more than two (2) days. Incarceration as a sanction shall not be used more than two (2) times per month for a total period incarcerated of no more than four (4) days.
(6) The system shall also define positive reinforcements that offenders will receive for compliance with conditions of supervision. These positive reinforcements shall include, but not limited to:
(a) Verbal recognition;
(b) Reduced reporting; and
(c) Credits for earned discharge which shall be awarded pursuant to Section 47-7-40.
(7) The Department of Corrections shall provide semiannually to the Oversight Task Force the number and percentage of offenders who have one or more violations during the year, the average number of violations per offender during the year and the total and average number of incarceration sanctions as defined in subsection (5) of this section imposed during the year.
(8) From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 46. Section 47-7-38.1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-38.1. (1) The Department of Corrections shall establish technical violation centers to detain probation and parole violators revoked by the court or parole board.
(2) The department shall place an offender in a violation center for a technical violation as ordered by the board pursuant to Section 47-7-27 and the sentencing court pursuant to Section 47-7-37.
(3) The violation centers shall be equipped to address the underlying factors that led to the offender's violation as identified based on the results of a risk and needs assessment. At a minimum each violation center shall include substance abuse services shown to reduce recidivism and a reduction in the use of illicit substances or alcohol, education programs, employment preparation and training programs and behavioral programs.
(4) As required by Section 47-5-20(b), the department shall notify, by certified mail, each member of the board of supervisors of the county in which the violation center shall be located of the department's intent to convert an existing department facility to a technical violation center.
(5) The department shall establish rules and regulations for the implementation and operation of the technical violation centers.
(6) The Department of Corrections shall provide to the Oversight Task Force semiannually the average daily population of the technical violation centers, the number of admissions to the technical violation centers, and the average time served in the technical violation centers.
(7) From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 47. Section 47-7-39, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-39. If, for good and sufficient reasons, a probationer desires to change his residence within or without the state, such transfer may be effected by application to his field supervisor which transfer shall be subject to the court's consent and subject to such regulations as the court, or judge, may require.
From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 48. Section 47-7-40, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-40. (1) The commissioner shall establish rules and regulations for implementing the earned-discharge program that allows offenders on probation and parole to reduce the period of supervision for complying with conditions of probation. The department shall have the authority to award earned-discharge credits to all offenders placed on probation, parole, or post-release supervision who are in compliance with the terms and conditions of supervision. An offender serving a Mississippi sentence for an eligible offense in any jurisdiction under the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision shall be eligible for earned-discharge credits under this section. Offenders shall not be denied earned-discharge credits solely based on nonpayment of fees or fines if a hardship waiver has been granted as provided in Section 47-7-49.
(2) For each full calendar month of compliance with the conditions of supervision, earned-discharge credits equal to the number of days in that month shall be deducted from the offender's sentence discharge date. Credits begin to accrue for eligible offenders after the first full calendar month of compliance supervision conditions. For the purposes of this section, an offender is deemed to be in compliance with the conditions of supervision if there was no violation of the conditions of supervision.
(3) No earned-discharge credits may accrue for a calendar month in which a violation report has been submitted, the offender has absconded from supervision, the offender is serving a term of imprisonment in a technical violation center, or for the months between the submission of the violation report and the final action on the violation report by the court or the board.
(4) Earned-discharge credits shall be applied to the sentence within thirty (30) days of the end of the month in which the credits were earned. At least every six (6) months, an offender who is serving a sentence eligible for earned-discharge credits shall be notified of the current sentence discharge date.
(5) Once the combination of time served on probation, parole or post-release supervision, and earned-discharge credits satisfy the term of probation, parole, or post-release supervision, the board or sentencing court shall order final discharge of the offender. No less than sixty (60) days prior to the date of final discharge, the department shall notify the sentencing court and the board of the impending discharge.
(6) The department shall provide semiannually to the Oversight Task Force the number and percentage of offenders who qualify for earned discharge in one or more months of the year and the average amount of credits earned within the year.
(7) From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 49. Section 47-7-41, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-41. When a probationer shall be discharged from probation by the court of original jurisdiction, the field supervisor, upon receiving a written request from the probationer, shall forward a written report of the record of the probationer to the Division of Community Corrections of the department, which shall present a copy of this report to the Governor. The Governor may, in his discretion, at any time thereafter by appropriate executive order restore any civil rights lost by the probationer by virtue of his conviction or plea of guilty in the court of original jurisdiction.
From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 50. Section 47-7-43, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-43. The provisions of this chapter are hereby extended to all persons who, at the effective date thereof, may be on parole, or eligible to be placed on parole under existing laws, with the same force and effect as if this chapter had been in operation at the time such persons were placed on parole or become eligible to be placed thereon, as the case may be.
From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 51. Section 47-7-47, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-47. (1) The judge of any circuit court may place an offender on a program of earned probation after a period of confinement as set out herein and the judge may seek the advice of the commissioner and shall direct that the defendant be under the supervision of the department.
(2) (a) Any circuit court or county court may, upon its own motion, acting upon the advice and consent of the commissioner not earlier than thirty (30) days nor later than one (1) year after the defendant has been delivered to the custody of the department, to which he has been sentenced, suspend the further execution of the sentence and place the defendant on earned probation, except when a death sentence or life imprisonment is the maximum penalty which may be imposed or if the defendant has been confined two (2) or more times for the conviction of a felony on a previous occasion in any court or courts of the United States and of any state or territories thereof or has been convicted of a felony involving the use of a deadly weapon.
(b) The authority granted in this subsection shall be exercised by the judge who imposed sentence on the defendant, or his successor.
(c) The time limit imposed by paragraph (a) of this subsection is not applicable to those defendants sentenced to the custody of the department prior to April 14, 1977. Persons who are convicted of crimes that carry mandatory sentences shall not be eligible for earned probation.
(3) When any circuit or county court places an offender on earned probation, the court shall give notice to the Mississippi Department of Corrections within fifteen (15) days of the court's decision to place the offender on earned probation. Notice shall be delivered to the central office of the Mississippi Department of Corrections and to the regional office of the department which will be providing supervision to the offender on earned probation.
(4) If the court places any person on probation or earned probation, the court may order the person, as a condition of probation, to a period of confinement and treatment at a private or public agency or institution, either within or without the state, which treats emotional, mental or drug-related problems. Any person who, as a condition of probation, is confined for treatment at an out-of-state facility shall be supervised pursuant to Section 47-7-71, and any person confined at a private agency shall not be confined at public expense. Time served in any such agency or institution may be counted as time required to meet the criteria of subsection (2)(a).
(5) If the court places any person on probation or earned probation, the court may order the person to make appropriate restitution to any victim of his crime or to society through the performance of reasonable work for the benefit of the community.
(6) If the court places any person on probation or earned probation, the court may order the person, as a condition of probation, to submit, as provided in Section 47-5-601, to any type of breath, saliva or urine chemical analysis test, the purpose of which is to detect the possible presence of alcohol or a substance prohibited or controlled by any law of the State of Mississippi or the United States.
(7) From and after July 1, 2022, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 52. Section 47-7-101, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-101. (1) There is created the Mississippi Re-Entry Council. The purpose of the council is to create effective strategies to assist former inmates in their return to the general population, to reduce the recidivism rates of inmates, to increase public safety, and to reduce budgetary constraints presently created by prison-related costs. The Re-Entry Council shall be led by a steering committee.
(2) The Re-Entry Council Steering Committee shall be composed of the following twelve (12) members, who shall serve for two-year terms:
(a) A Mississippi United States Attorney, or a designee appointed by the Governor;
(b) The Commissioner of the Mississippi Department of Corrections, or a designee;
(c) The Attorney General of the State of Mississippi, or a designee;
(d) The director of a faith-based organization involved in re-entry programs, or a designee appointed by the Lieutenant Governor;
(e) The Chief Probation Officer of the United States District Courts of Mississippi, or a designee;
(f) A Mississippi United States District Judge, or a designee appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
(g) The Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court, or a designee;
(h) The Executive Director for the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, or a designee;
(i) The Executive Director for the Mississippi Division of Medicaid, or a designee;
(j) The Chairman of the Parole Board, or a designee;
(k) A person who is a
former offender appointed by the Chairman of the Parole Board; * * *
(l) The Director of
the Mississippi Department of Employment Security, or a designee * * *; and
(m) The Director of the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision.
(3) The Re-Entry Council Steering Committee shall have the following duties:
(a) To consider development of a statewide approach to assist re-entry of former inmates into the general population of this state;
(b) To provide recommendations regarding evidence-based approaches that equip inmates with the requisite, individualized resources to promote their successful return to the general population of this state;
(c) To review reports, studies, and materials as it deems appropriate;
(d) To appoint such subcommittees as it finds proper;
(e) To study proposed legislation that seeks to resolve recidivism;
(f) To submit recommendations from its findings to the Legislature, the Governor and the Mississippi Supreme Court. In making such recommendations, the Re-Entry Council Steering Committee will seek input from all branches of state and local government, governmental agencies, businesses and nonprofit organizations throughout this state;
(g) To seek and receive grants;
(h) To hire contract personnel and/or staff using any grants received; and
(i) To collaborate
with the coordinator of the transitional re-entry center, under the supervision
of the Mississippi Department of * * * Reentry and Supervision,
which shall provide administrative support to the council.
(4) The Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court shall call the first meeting of the steering committee. At its first meeting, the steering committee shall elect a chairman and vice chairman from its membership and adopt rules for transacting its business and keeping records. Officers shall serve one-year terms or until such time as a successor is elected.
SECTION 53. The following shall be codified as Section 47-5-36, Mississippi Code of 1972:
47-5-36. Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman. (1) Creation of Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman:
(a) Within two hundred seventy (270) days of the enactment date, there shall be established an Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman (referred to in this section as the "Office").
(b) The office shall consist of two (2) sections: Inspections Section and Complaints Investigation Section.
(c) The office shall:
(i) Provide information, as appropriate, to inmates, family members, representatives of inmates, Department of Corrections employees and contractors, and others regarding the rights of inmates;
(ii) Monitor conditions of confinement and assess Department of Corrections compliance with applicable federal, state, and local rules, regulations, policies, and best practices as related to the health, safety, welfare, and rehabilitation of inmates;
(iii) Provide technical assistance to support inmate participation in self-advocacy;
(iv) Provide technical assistance to local governments in the creation of jail oversight bodies, as requested;
(v) Establish a statewide uniform reporting system to collect and analyze data related to complaints received by the Department of Corrections, and data related to the following:
a. Deaths, suicides, and suicide attempts in custody;
b. Physical and sexual assaults in custody;
c. Number of people placed in administrative segregation or solitary confinement, and duration of stay in such confinement;
d. Number of facility lockdowns lasting longer than twenty-four (24) hours;
e. Number of staff vacancies at each facility;
f. Inmate to staff ratios at each facility;
g. Staff tenure and turnover;
h. Numbers of in-person visits to inmates that were made and denied at each facility;
i. Establish procedures to gather stakeholder input into the office's activities and priorities, which must include, at a minimum, an annual thirty-day period for receipt of and office response to public comment;
j. Inspect each Department of Corrections' facility at least once every three (3) years, and at least once each year for each maximum security facility and each facility where the office has found cause for more frequent inspection or monitoring;
k. Publicly issue periodic facility inspection reports and an annual report with recommendations on the state of Department of Corrections' facilities and a summary of data and recommendations arising from any complaints investigated and resolved pursuant to this section and Section 47-5-36.1, Mississippi Code of 1972, as added by this act, and any other thematic reports covering any topic the office finds relevant to running a safe, secure and humane corrections department.
(d) The office shall be directed by an ombudsman, who shall be selected by the Department of Corrections Oversight Committee established in paragraph (b) of this subsection, and shall serve a term of six (6) years, during which term the ombudsman may be removed only by the Governor and only for good cause. The ombudsman shall not be a current or former employee or contractor of the Department of Corrections, and the ombudsman's spouse or domestic partner, parents, grandparents, children or siblings shall not be a current employees or contractors of the Department of Corrections.
(e) The ombudsman shall have authority:
(i) To hire staff, contractors, and unpaid volunteers and secure office space, equipment and other services necessary to carry out the duties of the office pursuant to this section and Section 47-5-36.1, Mississippi Code of 1972, as added by this act. Any employee, contractor or unpaid volunteer hired or retained by the office shall have the same authority and powers of the office as described in this section and Section 47-5-36.1, Mississippi Code of 1972, as added by this act; and
(ii) To contract with experts as needed to assist in the monitoring and inspection of facilities, the assessment of data, and the review, investigation, or resolution of complaints.
(2) Corrections Oversight Committee. Within one hundred eighty (180) days of the enactment date, there shall be established a Corrections Oversight Committee that shall consist of the following members:
(a) Two (2) members of the Senate who are appointed by the President of the Senate and who are not members of the same political party. The President shall select one (1) of these members to serve as a co-chairperson.
(b) Two (2) members of the House of Representatives who are appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives and who are not members of the same political party. The Speaker shall select one (1) of these members to serve as co-chairperson.
(c) The following members, who are appointed by the Governor:
(i) One (1) representative of a prisoner advocacy organization.
(ii) One (1) representative of an organization that provides training or rehabilitation programs for incarcerated inmates.
(iii) One (1) man who was formerly incarcerated in the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
(iv) One (1) woman who was formerly incarcerated in the Mississippi Department of Corrections.
(v) One (1) physician who is licensed pursuant to Title 73, Chapter 25, and who specializes in family medicine or internal medicine.
(vi) One (1) mental or behavioral health professional who is licensed pursuant to Title 73, Chapters 30 or 31, and who has a history of providing mental health services or counseling to adults.
(vii) One (1) person who is a grandparent, parent, child, sibling, or spouse or domestic partner of a person currently incarcerated in a Department of Corrections' facility.
(d) Members appointed pursuant to this subsection shall serve three-year terms.
(e) Members appointed pursuant to this subsection shall not be current employees or contractors of the Department of Corrections, shall not have parents, children, or spouses or domestic partners who are current employees or contractors of the Department of Corrections, and shall not have been an employee or contractor of the Department of Corrections at any time during the 10 years prior to their appointment to the committee.
(f) The committee shall meet whenever there is a vacancy in the ombudsman position, or as the co-chairpersons deem necessary, or on the call of the majority of the members.
(g) Committee members are not eligible to receive compensation but are eligible for reimbursement of expenses.
(h) The committee shall announce the ombudsman nominee publicly and shall vote to appoint the nominee after holding a public hearing, during which the committee shall hear and consider oral or written testimony from the ombudsman nominee, any witnesses the ombudsman nominee presents on his or her behalf, and any members of the public. The ombudsman shall take office upon a majority vote of the committee in his or her favor.
(i) Initial terms of committee members:
(i) Notwithstanding Section 47-5-36, Mississippi Code of 1972, as added by this act, the initial terms of committee members who are appointed pursuant to this subsection (2), as added by this act, are:
a. One (1) term ending January 1, 2022.
b. Two (2) terms ending January 1, 2023.
c. Two (2) terms ending January 1, 2024.
(ii) The Governor shall make all subsequent appointments as prescribed by statute.
(j) The committee shall hold at least one (1) public hearing each year to present, review, and discuss the office's inspections, findings, reports and recommendations set forth in the office's annual report, as described in this section and Section 47-5-36.1, Mississippi Code of 1972, as added by this act, and shall hold quarterly public hearings to present, review, and discuss any other data, reports, or findings of the office that the committee feels are relevant.
(3) Access to facilities and records.
(a) The office shall have reasonable access, upon demand in person or in writing and with or without prior notice, to all Department of Corrections' facilities, including all areas which are used by inmates, all areas which are accessible to inmates, and to programs for inmates at reasonable times, which at a minimum must include normal working hours and visiting hours. This authority includes the opportunity to conduct an interview with any inmate, Department of Corrections' employee or contractor, or other person. This access is for the purposes of:
(i) Providing information about individual rights and the services available from the office, including the name, address and telephone number of the office facilities or staff;
(ii) Conducting official inspections as defined in subsection (5) of this section;
(iii) Conducting an official investigation as defined in subsection (6) of this section and as described in Section 47-5-36.1, Mississippi Code of 1972, as added by this act;
(iv) Inspecting, viewing, photographing, and video recording all areas of the facility that are used by inmates or are accessible to inmates.
(b) Access to inmates includes the opportunity to meet and communicate privately and confidentially with individuals regularly, with or without prior notice, both formally and informally, by telephone, mail, electronic communication, and in person. In the case of communications with inmates, these communications shall not be monitored by, recorded, or conducted in the presence of Department of Corrections employees or contractors.
(c) The office has the right to access, inspect and copy all relevant information, records or documents in the possession or control of the Department of Corrections that the office considers necessary in an investigation of a complaint filed under this section, and the department must assist the office in obtaining the necessary releases for those documents which are specifically restricted or privileged for use by the office.
(d) Following notification from the office with a written demand for access to department records, the designated department staff must provide the office with access to the requested documentation not later than twenty (20) business days after the office's written request for the records. Where the records requested by the office pertain to an inmate death, threats of bodily harm, including, but not limited to, sexual or physical assaults, or the denial of necessary medical treatment, the records shall be provided within five (5) days unless the office consents to an extension of that time frame.
(e) The office must work with the department to minimize disruption to the operations of the department due to office activities and must comply with the department's security clearance processes, provided these processes do not impede the activities outlined in this section.
(4) Confidential communications.
(a) Correspondence and communication with the office, including that made pursuant to Section 47-5-36.1, Mississippi Code of 1972, as created by this act, is confidential and must be protected as privileged correspondence in the same manner as legal correspondence or communication.
(b) The office shall establish confidentiality rules and procedures for all information maintained by the office to ensure that:
(i) Department of Corrections staff are not aware of the identity of a complainant before, during, and after an investigation to the greatest extent practicable. The office may disclose identifying information for the sole purpose of carrying out an investigation.
(ii) Other Department of Corrections' inmates are not aware of the identity of a complainant before, during, and after an investigation to the greatest extent practicable. The office may disclose identifying information for the sole purpose of carrying out an investigation.
(5) (a) Inspection authority. The office shall conduct periodic inspections of each Department of Corrections facility.
(b) Initial inspection. The office shall conduct an inspection of each Department of Corrections prison facility and release a public report within three (3) years of the date of enactment of this section.
(c) Subsequent inspection. Subsequent inspections of each facility shall be conducted on a staggered schedule dependent on the facility's safety and compliance classification.
(d) Inspection assessment. An inspection of a Department of Corrections facility shall include an assessment of all of the following:
(i) All policies and procedures in place by the facility related to care of inmates;
(ii) Conditions of confinement;
(iii) Availability of educational and rehabilitative programming, drug and mental health treatment, and inmate jobs and vocational training;
(iv) All policies and procedures related to visitation;
(v) All medical facilities and medical procedures and policies;
(vi) Review of lockdowns at the facility in the time since the last audit. In the instance of an initial assessment the office shall review lockdowns from the last three (3) years;
(vii) Review of staffing at the facility, including the number and job assignments of correctional staff, the ratio of staff to inmates at the facility, and the staff position vacancy rate at the facility;
(viii) Review of physical and sexual assaults at the facility in the time since the last inspection. In the instance of an initial assessment, the office shall review assaults from the last three (3) years;
(ix) Review of any inmate or staff deaths that occurred at the facility in the time since the last inspection. In the instance of an initial assessment the office shall review inmate and staff deaths from the last three (3) years;
(x) Review of department staff recruitment, training, supervision and discipline;
(xi) Any other aspect of the operation of the facility that the office deems necessary over the course of an inspection.
(e) Report. Upon completion of an inspection, the office shall produce a report to be made available to the public on the internet, and to be delivered to the Governor, the Attorney General, the Senate Corrections Committee, the House Corrections Committee, the Criminal Justice and Corrections Oversight Task Force, and the Director of the Department of Corrections. The report shall include:
(i) A summary of the facility's policies and procedures related to care of the inmates;
(ii) A characterization of the conditions of confinement;
(iii) A catalogue of available educational and rehabilitative programming, drug and mental health treatment, and inmate jobs and vocational training;
(iv) A summary of visitation policies and procedures;
(v) A summary of medical facilities and medical procedures and policies;
(vi) A summary of the lockdowns reviewed by the office;
(vii) A summary of the staffing at the facility, including policies relating to staff recruitment, training, supervision, and discipline;
(viii) A summary of physical and sexual assaults reviewed by the office;
(ix) A summary of any inmate or staff deaths that occurred at the facility;
(x) Recommendations made to the facility to improve conditions to improve safety and conditions within the facility;
(xi) Safety and compliance classification with recommended timeline for the next inspection.
(f) Safety and compliance classification. Upon completion of an inspection, the office shall assign the facility a safety and compliance classification. This classification system will be divided into three (3) tiers and will be determined based on the factors described in paragraph (d) of this subsection. The tiers are as follows:
(i) Tier 1 requires subsequent inspection within twelve (12) months. Used for maximum security facilities and facilities that present clear violations of rights, risks to the safety of prisoners, or severe lack of quality programming for the successful rehabilitation of individuals;
(ii) Tier 2 requires subsequent inspection between eighteen (18) months and thirty-six (36) months. Used for facilities that may have violations of rights, substandard conditions of confinement, or substandard programming options;
(iii) Tier 3 requires subsequent inspection within thirty-six (36) months. Used for facilities with adequate conditions of confinement and programming options.
(g) The Department of Corrections shall respond in writing to each inspection report issued by the office within twenty (20) business days of the issuance of the report, and its response shall include a corrective action plan. The office shall monitor the department's compliance with the corrective action plan and may conduct further inspections or investigations as necessary to ensure such compliance.
(6) Complaint investigation authority.
(a) The office may initiate and attempt to resolve an investigation upon its own initiative, or upon receipt of a complaint from an inmate, a family member, a representative of an inmate, a Department of Corrections' employee or contractor, or others, regarding any of the following that may adversely affect the health, safety, welfare and rights of inmates:
(i) Abuse or neglect;
(ii) Conditions of confinement;
(iii) Department of Corrections' decisions or administrative actions;
(iv) Department of Corrections' inactions or omissions;
(v) Department of Corrections' policies, rules, or procedures; or
(vi) Alleged violations of law by the Department of Corrections' staff that may adversely affect the health, safety, welfare and rights of inmates.
(b) The office may decline to investigate any complaint, and shall decline to investigate a complaint if the inmate has failed to first utilize the Department of Corrections' policies and procedures regarding resolution of inmate grievances. If the office does not investigate a complaint, the office shall notify the complainant in writing of the decision not to investigate and the reasons for the decision.
(c) Any action or lack of action on a complaint by the office shall not be deemed an administrative procedure required for exhaustion of remedies prior to bringing an action pursuant to the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 42 USC Section 1997e et seq.
(d) The office may not investigate any complaints relating to an inmate's underlying criminal conviction.
(e) The office may not investigate a complaint from a Department of Corrections' employee or contractor that relates to the employee or contractor's employment relationship with the department unless the complaint is related to the health, safety, welfare and rehabilitation of inmates.
(f) The office may refer the complainant and others to appropriate resources or state, Tribal or federal agencies.
(g) The office may not levy any fees for the submission or investigation of complaints.
(h) At the conclusion of an investigation of a complaint, the office must render a public decision on the merits of each complaint, except that the documents supporting the decision are subject to the confidentiality provision of this section. The office must communicate the decision to the inmate, if any, and to the Department of Corrections. The office must state its recommendations and reasoning if, in the office's opinion, the department or any employee or contractor thereof should:
(i) Consider the matter further;
(ii) Modify or cancel any action;
(iii) Alter a rule, practice, or ruling;
(iv) Explain in detail the administrative action in question; or
(v) Rectify an omission.
(i) If the office so requests, the department must, within the time specified, inform the office in writing about any action taken on the recommendations or the reasons for not complying with the recommendations.
(j) If the office believes, based on the investigation, that there has been or continues to be a significant inmate health, safety, welfare, or rehabilitation issue, the office must report the finding to the Governor, the Attorney General, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and the House Committee on the Judiciary, and the Director of the Department of Corrections.
(k) In the event that the department conducts an internal disciplinary investigation and review of one or more of its staff members as a result of an office investigation, the department's disciplinary review may be subject to additional review and investigation by the office to ensure a fair and objective process.
(l) Before announcing a conclusion or recommendation that expressly, or by implication, criticizes a person or the department, the office shall consult with that person or the department. The office may request to be notified by the department, within a specified time, of any action taken on any recommendation presented.
(m) The department and its employees and contractors shall not discharge, discipline, retaliate against, or in any manner discriminate against or threaten any person because such person has filed any complaint or instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or related to this section. Any alleged discharge, discipline, retaliation against, or discrimination or threats against a complainant may be considered by the office as an appropriate subject of an investigation.
(7) Annual report.
(a) By December 31 of each calendar year, the office shall produce an annual report to be made available to the public on the internet, and to be delivered to the Governor, the Attorney General, the Senate Judiciary Committee, the House Judiciary Committee, and the Director of the Department of Corrections. The report shall include:
(i) A summary of the office's inspections and complaint investigations conducted that calendar year, including the office's findings and recommendations and the Department of Corrections' responses and corrective actions;
(ii) A characterization of the conditions of confinement;
(iii) A summary of available educational and rehabilitative programming, drug and mental health treatment, and inmate jobs and vocational training;
(iv) A summary of visitation policies and procedures;
(v) A summary of medical facilities and medical procedures and policies;
(vi) A summary of the lockdowns reviewed by the office;
(vii) A summary of the staffing at each facility and in the department overall;
(viii) A summary of physical and sexual assaults reviewed by the office;
(ix) A summary of any inmate or staff deaths that occurred at a facility;
(x) A summary of the office's investigations, findings, and resolutions of any complaints submitted pursuant to this section or Section 47-5-36.1, Mississippi Code of 1972, as added by this act;
(xi) Recommendations to the Legislature and the department regarding, but not limited to, the following:
1. How the office and the department are funded and staffed;
2. Improving staff retention, training, working conditions, compensation, benefits, morale and safety;
3. Improving inmate health, safety, conditions of confinement, and medical care;
4. Improving visitation and limiting use of lockdowns and administrative segregation or solitary confinement;
5. Improving complaint investigation and resolution;
6. Improving access to and quality and availability of educational and rehabilitative programming, drug and mental health treatment, and inmate jobs and vocational training;
7. Improving transparency about conditions in the facilities and the department overall;
8. Improving the disciplinary process to hold staff accountable for mistreatment of inmates;
9. Preventing future violations of inmate rights as protected under state and federal law.
(b) If the office so requests, the department must, within the time specified, inform the office in writing about any action taken on the recommendations or the reasons for not complying with the recommendations.
(c) Definition of "family member." As used in this section, "family member" includes a grandparent, parent, sibling, spouse or domestic partner, child, aunt, uncle, cousin, niece, nephew, grandchild, or any other person related to an individual by blood, adoption, marriage, or a fostering relationship.
SECTION 54. The following shall be codified as Section 47-5-36.1, Mississippi Code of 1972:
47-5-36.1. Inmate and Family Support Services; function of Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman. (1) Family Advocacy and Support Services Online Form. The Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman (referred to in this section as the "office") shall create a secure online form (referred to in this section as the "Family Form") to be made available on the office's website wherein family members, friends, and advocates can submit complaints and inquiries regarding covered issues on behalf of an individual incarcerated within the Department of Corrections. Upon receipt of a Family Form, the office shall:
(a) Confirm receipt of the complaint or inquiry within five (5) business days;
(b) Make a determination as to whether an investigation is warranted within seven (7) business days of the confirmation of receipt of complaint and notify the complainant;
(c) If the office has determined an investigation is unwarranted, the office must provide a written statement regarding its decision to the complainant.
(2) Inmate Advocacy and Support Services Online Form. The office shall create a secure online form (referred to in this subsection as the "Inmate Form") to be made available on the Department of Corrections' secure internet website wherein inmates may submit complaints and inquiries regarding covered issues on their behalf.
(a) Availability. The Director of the Department of Corrections shall ensure that the Inmate Form is available and operating on at least twelve (12) computers within each facility and accessible to all inmates from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. each day. For inmates in administrative segregation or solitary confinement, the Department of Corrections shall ensure that employees and contractors provide inmates with access to the Inmate Form on a computer or computer tablet upon the inmate's request. The department shall also make paper copies of the Inmate Form available, at no cost to inmates, in each facility's library, law library, and recreational and medical facilities.
(b) Confidentiality. The office shall create the Inmate Form in a secure format that excludes any electronic monitoring or reproduction by the Department of Corrections and its employees and contractors. Any inmate submissions of paper copies of the Inmate Form shall be treated as confidential and privileged by Department of Corrections' employees and contractors in the same manner as legal correspondence or communication.
(c) Requirements. The office shall:
(i) Confirm receipt of the complaint or inquiry within five (5) business days;
(ii) Make a determination as to whether an investigation is warranted within seven (7) business days of the confirmation of receipt of complaint and notify the complainant;
(iii) If the office has determined an investigation is unwarranted, the office must provide a written statement regarding its decision to the complainant.
(3) Family Advocacy and Support Services Hotline. The office shall create a telephone hotline through which family members, friends and advocates of inmates can call to file complaints and inquiries regarding covered issues on behalf of an individual incarcerated within the Department of Corrections. The office shall:
(i) Confirm receipt of the complaint or inquiry within five (5) business days;
(ii) Make a determination as to whether an investigation is warranted within seven (7) business days of the confirmation of receipt of complaint and notify the complainant;
(iii) If the office has determined an investigation is unwarranted, the office must provide a written statement regarding its decision to the complainant.
(4) Inmate Advocacy and Support Service Hotline. The office shall create a secure telephone hotline to be made available to all Department of Corrections' employees and contractors and inmates to file complaints and inquiries regarding covered issues on their behalf.
(a) Prohibition on phone call fees. The director of the department shall ensure that the hotline and its use are made available to all inmates free of charge.
(b) Confidentiality. The office and the director of the department shall ensure that calls to the hotline are not monitored or recorded by department employees or contractors.
(c) Requirements. The office shall:
(i) Confirm receipt of the complaint or inquiry within five (5) business days;
(ii) Make a determination as to whether an investigation is warranted within seven (7) business days of the confirmation of receipt of complaint and notify the complainant;
(iii) If the office has determined an investigation is unwarranted, the office must provide a written statement regarding their decision to the complainant.
(5) The department and its employees and contractors shall not discharge, discipline, retaliate against, or in any manner discriminate against or threaten any person because such person has filed any complaint or instituted or caused to be instituted any proceeding under or related to this section. Any alleged discharge, discipline, retaliation against, or discrimination or threats against a complainant may be considered by the office as an appropriate subject of an investigation.
(6) Any action or lack of action by the office on a complaint made pursuant to this section shall not be deemed an administrative procedure required for exhaustion of remedies prior to bringing an action pursuant to the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 42 USC Section 1997e et seq.
(7) Definitions. In this section the following definitions apply:
(a) "Covered issues" may include, but are not limited to:
(i) Sanitation in prison facilities;
(ii) Access to proper nutrition;
(iii) Livable temperatures in prison facilities;
(iv) Physical or sexual abuse from fellow inmates;
(v) Physical or sexual abuse from department staff or contractors;
(vi) Credible threats against self from other inmates, staff or contractors;
(vii) Neglect of prison staff or contractors that results in physical or sexual trauma;
(viii) Denial of rights afforded to inmates under federal or state law;
(ix) Access to visitation and communication with family;
(x) Any instance in which the office determines an action or behavior to be such that it constitutes abuse or neglect against an inmate;
(xi) Access to medical or mental health care or substance abuse treatment;
(xii) Access to educational and rehabilitative programming, drug and mental health treatment, and inmate jobs and vocational training.
(b) "Family member" includes a grandparent, parent, sibling, spouse or domestic partner, child, aunt, uncle, cousin, niece, nephew, grandchild, or any other person related to an individual by blood, adoption, marriage, or a fostering relationship.
(8) From and after July 1, 2021, the Mississippi Department of Reentry and Supervision shall perform the functions of the Division of Community Corrections pursuant to Section 1 of this act.
SECTION 55. Section 47-7-49, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-7-49. (1) Any offender
on probation, parole, earned-release supervision, post-release supervision,
earned probation or any other offender under the field supervision of the
Community Services Division of the department shall pay to the department the
sum of Fifty-five Dollars ($55.00) per month by certified check or money order
unless a hardship waiver is granted. An offender shall make the initial
payment within sixty (60) days after being released from imprisonment unless a
hardship waiver is granted. A hardship waiver may be granted by the sentencing
court or the Department of Corrections. A hardship waiver may not be granted
for a period of time exceeding ninety (90) days. The commissioner or his
designee shall deposit * * * each payment received into * * * the State General Fund.
* * *
When a person is convicted of a felony in this state, in addition to any other
sentence it may impose, the court may, in its discretion, order the offender to
pay a state assessment not to exceed the greater of One Thousand Dollars
($1,000.00) or the maximum fine that may be imposed for the offense, into the
Crime Victims' Compensation Fund created pursuant to Section 99-41-29.
Any federal funds made available to the department for training or for training facilities, equipment or services shall be deposited into the Correctional Training Revolving Fund created in Section 47-7-51. The funds deposited in this account shall be used to support an expansion of the department's training program to include the renovation of facilities for training purposes, purchase of equipment and contracting of training services with community colleges in the state.
No offender shall be required to make this payment for a period of time longer than ten (10) years.
(2) The offender may be imprisoned until the payments are made if the offender is financially able to make the payments and the court in the county where the offender resides so finds, subject to the limitations hereinafter set out. The offender shall not be imprisoned if the offender is financially unable to make the payments and so states to the court in writing, under oath, and the court so finds.
(3) This section shall
stand repealed from and after June 30, * * * 2023.
SECTION 56. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2021.