HB162 By Representative Hill RFD Ways and Means General Fund Rd 1 06-FEB-20

SYNOPSIS: Under existing law, counties or nonprofit entities may establish community punishment and corrections programs.

This bill would require every judicial circuit to establish a community punishment and corrections program in at least one county in the circuit.

This bill would also make nonsubstantive, technical revisions to update the existing code language to current style.

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT

Relating community punishment and corrections programs; to amend Sections 15-18-172 and 15-18-176, Code of Alabama 1975, to require each judicial circuit to establish a community punishment and corrections program in at least one county in the circuit; to add Section 15-18-187 to the Code of Alabama 1975, to provide for the implementation of a community punishment and corrections program in each circuit; and to make nonsubstantive, technical revisions to update the existing code language to current style.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:Section 1. Sections 15-18-172 and 15-18-176, Code of Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows:

§15-18-172.

"(a) A county or group of counties may establish a community punishment and corrections program for state and county inmates or youthful offenders in custody of the county. The program shall be established by a county by resolution adopted by the county commission or by community punishment and corrections authorities or other nonprofit entities as provided herein in this section. The program shall establish the maximum number of offenders who may participate in the program and participation shall be limited to space availability. No offenders may be sentenced or assigned to the program in excess of the maximum number established for the program. No county is obligated to fund any activities of a community corrections program established under this article without an affirmative vote of the affected county commission.

"(b) The department may contract with such the counties, authorities, or other nonprofit entities as provided herein in this section concerning start-up costs and the costs of maintenance, including medical expenses, of state inmates participating in any program authorized under this article or under any county program functioning pursuant to any state or local act.

"(c) The department shall promulgate adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act establishing conditions for state inmates' participation in the community punishment and corrections program, the observance of which may be a condition to such the participation.

"(d) A state inmate incarcerated in a state facility may be approved by the department for participation in a community punishment and corrections program established under this article and. A state inmate may be assigned to a program in the county from which the inmate was sentenced if a community punishment and corrections program under this article has been established in that county and if the sentencing judge of the county authorizes the inmate to participate in the program. If no program exists in the county where the inmate was sentenced, he or she may be assigned to a community punishment and corrections program located in the sentencing circuit, if the sentencing judge authorizes the inmate to participate in the program. An inmate may be assigned to a community punishment and corrections program in another county if the presiding judge of the other county and the sentencing judge agree to the assignment and if the county has agreed in the contract to accept inmates originally sentenced in other counties. In the event the sentencing judge is unavailable due to death, retirement, or any other reason, the presiding judge from the sentencing circuit shall act in the sentencing judge's stead absence. An inmate assigned to a community punishment and corrections program pursuant to this article shall not be eligible for parole consideration.

"(e) The department shall annually identify alternatives to community punishment and corrections programs for those counties which have not established a community punishment and corrections program under this article. The department shall publish a list of such alternatives on its website and shall provide a list of such alternatives to each district and circuit court annually. The department shall include a list of referral services available for veterans and servicemen, and, when available and appropriate, shall include any Veterans Treatment Court in operation in the appropriate county or circuit as an alternative.

§15-18-176.

"(a) A community punishment and corrections plan shall be developed and submitted to the department which sufficiently documents the local need and support for the proposed program. The community punishment and corrections plan shall have the approval of the county commission in the affected counties prior to submission to the department. Any plan shall specifically state the maximum number of inmates eligible to participate in the program.

"(b) The format for any community punishment and corrections plan shall be specified by the division in its application process and procedures as defined in Section 15-18-171. Funding and grant evaluation criteria shall be outlined in the application process and procedures to be developed by the division as defined in Section 15-18-171 in order that each applicant may know the basis upon which funds will be granted. The department shall adopt rules pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act outlining the application process and procedures.

"(c) The application process and procedures should may include a performance-based reimbursement funding plan, developed by the department, for funding community punishment and corrections plans that utilize evidence-based practices as defined in Section 12-25-32 in the treatment and supervision of community punishment and corrections program participants and that meet specified treatment and supervision targets as outlined in the application. The performance-based reimbursement plan outlined in the application process and procedures should also include higher reimbursement rates for community punishment and corrections plans that include behavioral health assessment and treatment referral, to include behavioral and substance abuse treatment, for community punishment and corrections program participants, as well as for local probationers and parolees under the supervision of the Board of Pardons and Paroles. The Department of Corrections, along with the Board of Pardons and Paroles, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Public Health, and the Department of Mental Health, shall collaborate with the Office of the Governor to implement the provisions of this subsection relating to behavioral health treatment and substance abuse treatment services. The Office of the Governor shall ensure that treatment services that receive funding from the state or through court-ordered monies utilize such the funding and monies for programs reasonably expected to reduce recidivism among community corrections offenders.

"(d) The application process and procedures should include a requirement that each community punishment and corrections plan establish guidelines to ensure that the supervision and treatment of offenders participating in a community punishment and corrections program is, to the extent practicable, individualized based on the offender's risk of reoffending, as determined through a validated risk and needs assessment as defined in Section 12-25-32, administered by the community punishment and corrections program, and that treatment and supervision resources, as well as behavioral health assessment and treatment referral services, are, within the resources available, prioritized based on those offenders who have the highest risk of reoffending. The plan shall include a list of services available for veterans and, servicemen, and, when appropriate, shall include any Veterans Treatment Court in operation in the appropriate county or circuit as a possible alternative for mentoring and supervision.

"(e) Participation Provided each judicial circuit has a community punishment and corrections program in operation in the circuit as required in Section 15-18-187, participation in the programs set forth in this article is voluntary. Any participating authority, county commission, or other nonprofit entity may notify the director of the division of its intention to withdraw from participation in the community punishment and corrections program contract. The withdrawal will become effective on the last day of the grant year."

Section 2. Section 15-18-187 is added to the Code of Alabama 1975, to read as follows:

§15-18-187.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision in this article, beginning January 1, 2021, there shall be a community punishment and corrections program in each judicial circuit in this state.

(b) Notwithstanding the requirements in this article regarding adoption of a resolution by the county commissions for the formation of a community punishment and corrections program, if a judicial circuit does not have a community punishment and corrections program on the effective date of the act adding this amendatory language, the presiding judge, in consultation with the county commission or commissions in the circuit, shall select a county for the establishment of a community punishment and corrections program. This subsection does not preclude the establishment of a community punishment and corrections program by a nonprofit entity as provided in Section 15-18-178.

(c) Nothing in this section may be construed to authorize the termination of any community punishment and corrections program in operation pursuant to this article prior to the effective date of the act adding this amendatory language. Any community punishment and corrections program formed prior to the effective date of the act adding this amendatory language may satisfy the requirement for a community punishment and corrections program in each judicial circuit as required in this section.

(d) Except as expressly provided otherwise by this section, community punishment and corrections programs formed pursuant to this section shall comply with all the provisions of this article.

Section 3. This act shall become effective January 1, 2021, following its passage and approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.

Community Corrections Programs

County Commissions

Crimes and Offenses

Criminal Law and Procedure

Sentencing

Prisons and Prisoners

Code Added

Code Amended