Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
 State of Arkansas
 94th General Assembly                        A Bill
 Regular Session, 2023                                                             SENATE BILL 439
 4
 By: Senators C. Tucker, Gilmore
 By: Representative Gazaway
 7
                                   For An Act To Be Entitled
                 AN ACT TO CREATE THE LEGISLATIVE RECIDIVISM REDUCTION
                 TASK FORCE; AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.
11
12
                                               Subtitle
                         TO CREATE THE LEGISLATIVE RECIDIVISM
                         REDUCTION TASK FORCE.
16
17
 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
19
        SECTION 1.        TEMPORARY LANGUAGE.        DO NOT CODIFY.       Legislative Recidivism
 Reduction Task Force – Creation – Membership – Duties.
        (a)(1)       The General Assembly finds that:
                         (A)   Approximately forty-six percent (46%) of people
 released from an Arkansas prison eventually return to incarceration within
 three (3) years;
                         (B)(i)     Failure to disrupt this revolving door contributes
 to crime and a significant number of prison admissions.
                                  (ii)   Recidivism among people on probation and parole
 in Arkansas accounts for an estimated sixteen percent (16%) of arrests for
 violent crime and sixty-two percent (62%) of prison admissions.
                         (C)   A fifty percent (50%) decrease in recidivism could
 mean an eight percent (8%) decrease in violent crime and a thirty-one percent
 (31%) decrease in prison admissions; and
                 (2)     It is the intent of the General Assembly to:
                         (A)   Implement safe and effective policy changes that will
 reduce recidivism and lower crime across the state; and
     *JET023*                                                                  3/16/2023 12:51:35 PM JET023
                                                                                   SB439
                      (B)   Establish the Legislative Recidivism Reduction Task
 Force as a mechanism to promote improvement in criminal justice system
 outcomes in the State of Arkansas.
          (b)   There is created the Legislative Recidivism Reduction Task Force.
          (c)   The task force shall consist of the following seventeen (17)
 members:
                (1)   One (1) member appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme
 Court;
                (2)   Eight (8) members appointed by the Governor, as follows:
                      (A)   One (1) member who is a county sheriff;
                      (B)   One (1) member who is a representative of the Arkansas
 Public Defender Commission;
                      (C)   One (1) member who is a prosecuting attorney;
                      (D)   One (1) member who is a member of the executive board
 of the Arkansas Association of Chiefs of Police;
                      (E)   One (1) member who is a victim of crime or an advocate
 for victims of crime;
                      (F)   One (1) member who is a member of a community affected
 by crime and who may be a person with personal experience in the criminal
 justice system; and
                      (G)   Two (2) at-large members who are representative of the
 racial, ethnic, gender, and geographical diversity of the state;
                (3)   Two (2) members of the Senate appointed by the President Pro
 Tempore of the Senate;
                (4)   Two (2) members of the House of Representatives appointed by
 the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
                (5)   The Chair of the Board of Corrections, or his or her
 designee;
                (6)   The Chair of the Arkansas Parole Board, or his or her
 designee;
                (7)   The Secretary of the Department of Corrections, or his or
 her designee; and
                (8)   The Director of the Division of Community Correction, or his
 or her designee.
          (d)   If a vacancy occurs on the task force, the vacancy shall be filled
 by the same process as the original appointment.
                                            2             3/16/2023 12:51:35 PM JET023
                                                                                  SB439
      (e)    Legislative members of the task force shall be paid per diem and
 mileage as authorized by law for attendance at interim meetings of committees
 of the General Assembly.
      (f)(1)     The Senate members appointed by the President Pro Tempore of
 the Senate shall call the first meeting of the task force no later than
 August 31, 2023.
               (2)   At the first meeting of the task force, the members of the
 task force shall elect from the membership a chair and other officers as
 needed for the transaction of its business.
               (3)   The task force shall meet at least quarterly at the call of
 the chair or a majority of the members of the task force.
               (4)   The task force shall meet at the State Capitol Building or
 in the legislative committee rooms in the Multi-Agency Complex on the State
 Capitol grounds.
      (g)(1) The task force shall adopt rules and procedures for conducting
 its business.
               (2)   Eight (8) members of the task force shall constitute a
 quorum for transacting business.
      (h)    The Bureau of Legislative Research shall provide staff for the
 task force.
      (i)    The purpose of the task force is to study and recommend
 improvements to the criminal justice system outcomes in the State of
 Arkansas.
      (j)    To achieve this purpose, the task force, working with the support
 of the Council of State Governments Justice Center, shall:
               (1)   Conduct a comprehensive data analysis to identify the
 drivers of Arkansas’s high recidivism rates;
               (2)   Examine the effectiveness of current supervision practices
 and responses to technical violations of supervision;
               (3)   Identify unnecessary barriers to successful reentry into
 society;
               (4)   Determine gaps in behavioral health treatment, workforce
 training, and other services for people on supervision and reentering society
 from incarceration;
               (5)   Use data to identify how recidivism contributes to overall
 crime and incarceration rates; and
                                           3             3/16/2023 12:51:35 PM JET023
                                                                                SB439
               (6)   Develop data-driven recommendations for reducing recidivism
 and improving outcomes for people on supervision and reentering society from
 incarceration.
      (k)(1)      On or before December 31, 2023, the task force shall submit a
 preliminary report to the Legislative Council, the Governor, and the Chief
 Justice of the Supreme Court.
               (2)   On or before December 1, 2024, the task force shall submit
 its final report to the Legislative Council, the Governor, and the Chief
 Justice of the Supreme Court.
               (3)   The preliminary report and the final report shall include
 the task force’s activities, findings, and recommendations, including without
 limitation:
                     (A)   Recommendations for improvements to criminal justice
 system outcomes;
                     (B)   A summary of projected savings to the State of
 Arkansas to be generated from adoption of the recommendations of the task
 force; and
                     (C)   The projected impact on public safety in the state
 with adoption of the recommendations of the task force.
      (l)     The task force shall expire on December 31, 2024.
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
                                           4             3/16/2023 12:51:35 PM JET023