Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Enrolled Copy                                                                        S.B. 139
               UTAH STATE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY OPERATIONAL
                                              AMENDMENTS
                                        2021 GENERAL SESSION
                                             STATE OF UTAH
                                Chief Sponsor: Derrin R. Owens
                                 House Sponsor: V. Lowry Snow
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 LONG TITLE
 General Description:
        This bill addresses Department of Corrections operations, including treatment and
 program opportunities for offenders.
 Highlighted Provisions:
        This bill:
        < defines terms;
        < requires the Department of Corrections to offer offenders program opportunities that
 are evidence-based and evidence-informed;
        < requires the Department of Corrections to implement direct supervision where
 appropriate to reduce violence and enhance offenders' voluntary participation in
 program opportunities;
        < requires the Department of Corrections to develop an individual case action plan for
 each offender that includes program priorities based on assessments of the
 offender's risk, needs, and responsivity;
        < requires the Department of Corrections to share an individual's case action plan,
 including changes to or progress made in the plan, with the sentencing and release
 authority;
        < requires the sentencing and release authority to consider an individual's case action
 plan when making decisions;
        < requires the Department of Corrections to provide training in direct supervision and
 trauma-informed care; and
       S.B. 139                                                                    Enrolled Copy
        < exempts the Department of Corrections shooting ranges from public access.
 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
        None
 Other Special Clauses:
        This bill provides a coordination clause.
 Utah Code Sections Affected:
 AMENDS:
        47-3-305, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapter 155 and further amended by
 Revisor Instructions, Laws of Utah 2013, Chapter 155
        64-13-1, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2016, Chapter 243
        64-13-6, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2018, Chapter 200
        64-13-14, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2007, Chapter 306
        64-13-24, as last amended by Laws of Utah 1987, Chapter 116
        77-18-1, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapters 209, 299, and 354
        77-27-5, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2019, Chapter 148
 Utah Code Sections Affected by Coordination Clause:
        77-18-1, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapters 209, 299, and 354
        77-18-105, Utah Code Annotated 1953
48
 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
        Section 1. Section 47-3-305 is amended to read:
        47-3-305. Exceptions and prohibitions.
        (1) This part does not apply to:
        (a) shooting ranges that are otherwise open to the public;
        (b) shooting ranges that are operated as a public shooting range staffed by and operated
 by Division of Wildlife Resources;
        (c) the Utah National Guard ranges located at Camp Williams and the Salt Lake
 International Airport; [and]
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         (d) Department of Corrections ranges; and
         [(d)] (e) ranges owned, operated, or currently leased as of March 26, 2013, by a state or
 local public safety agency.
         (2) Firearms may not be allowed in a school building, except under the provision of
 Section 76-10-505.5, unless there is an outdoor entrance to the shooting range and the most
 direct access to the range is used. An outdoor entrance to a shooting range may not be blocked
 by fences, structures, or gates for the purpose of blocking the outdoor entrance.
         (3) Only air guns may be used in public ranges where the ventilation systems do not
 meet current OSHA standards as applied to the duration of exposure of the participants. For
 the purposes of this part, an air gun does not include larger caliber pneumatic weapons,
 paintball guns, or air shotguns.
         (4) Group range use is a lawful, approved activity under Subsection 76-10-505.5(4)(a).
         Section 2. Section 64-13-1 is amended to read:
         64-13-1. Definitions.
         As used in this chapter:
         (1) "Case action plan" means a document developed by the Department of Corrections
 that identifies:
         (a) the program priorities for the treatment of the offender, including the criminal risk
 factors as determined by [a risk and needs assessment] risk, needs, and responsivity
 assessments conducted by the department[.]; and
         (b) clearly defined completion requirements.
         (2) "Community correctional center" means a nonsecure correctional facility operated
 by the department.
         (3) "Correctional facility" means any facility operated to house offenders, either in a
 secure or nonsecure setting:
         (a) by the department; or
         (b) under a contract with the department.
         (4) "Criminal risk factors" means a person's characteristics and behaviors that:
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        S.B. 139                                                                        Enrolled Copy
        (a) affect that person's risk of engaging in criminal behavior; and
        (b) are diminished when addressed by effective treatment, supervision, and other
 support resources, resulting in a reduced risk of criminal behavior.
        (5) "Department" means the Department of Corrections.
        (6) "Direct supervision" means a housing and supervision system that is designed to
 meet the goals described in Subsection 64-13-14(5) and has the elements described in
 Subsection 64-13-14(6).
        [(6)] (7) "Emergency" means any riot, disturbance, homicide, inmate violence
 occurring in any correctional facility, or any situation that presents immediate danger to the
 safety, security, and control of the department.
        (8) "Evidence-based" means a program or practice that has had multiple randomized
 control studies or a meta-analysis demonstrating that the program or practice is effective for a
 specific population or has been rated as effective by a standardized program evaluation tool.
        (9) "Evidence-informed" means a program or practice that is based on research and the
 experience and expertise of the department.
        [(7)] (10) "Executive director" means the executive director of the Department of
 Corrections.
        [(8)] (11) "Inmate" means any person who is committed to the custody of the
 department and who is housed at a correctional facility or at a county jail at the request of the
 department.
        [(9)] (12) "Offender" means any person who has been convicted of a crime for which
 he may be committed to the custody of the department and is at least one of the following:
        (a) committed to the custody of the department;
        (b) on probation; or
        (c) on parole.
        [(10)] (13) "Risk and needs assessment" means an actuarial tool validated on criminal
 offenders that determines:
        (a) an individual's risk of reoffending; and
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        Enrolled Copy                                                                            S.B. 139
        (b) the criminal risk factors that, when addressed, reduce the individual's risk of
 reoffending.
        [(11)] (14) "Secure correctional facility" means any prison, penitentiary, or other
 institution operated by the department or under contract for the confinement of offenders,
 where force may be used to restrain them if they attempt to leave the institution without
 authorization.
        Section 3. Section 64-13-6 is amended to read:
        64-13-6. Department duties.
        (1) The department shall:
        (a) protect the public through institutional care and confinement, and supervision in the
 community of offenders where appropriate;
        (b) implement court-ordered punishment of offenders;
        (c) provide evidence-based and evidence-informed program opportunities for offenders
 designed to reduce offenders' criminogenic and recidivism risks, including behavioral,
 cognitive, educational, and career-readiness program opportunities;
        (d) ensure that offender participation in all program opportunities described in
 Subsection (1)(c) is voluntary;
        (e) where appropriate, utilize offender volunteers as mentors in the program
 opportunities described in Subsection (1)(c);
        [(d)] (f) provide treatment for sex offenders who are found to be treatable based upon
 criteria developed by the department;
        [(e)] (g) provide the results of ongoing clinical assessment of sex offenders and
 objective diagnostic testing to sentencing and release authorities;
        [(f)] (h) manage programs that take into account the needs and interests of victims,
 where reasonable;
        [(g)] (i) supervise probationers and parolees as directed by statute and implemented by
 the courts and the Board of Pardons and Parole;
        [(h)] (j) subject to Subsection (2), investigate criminal conduct involving offenders
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        S.B. 139                                                                          Enrolled Copy
 incarcerated in a state correctional facility;
         [(i)] (k) cooperate and exchange information with other state, local, and federal law
 enforcement agencies to achieve greater success in prevention and detection of crime and
 apprehension of criminals;
         [(j)] (l) implement the provisions of Title 77, Chapter 28c, Interstate Compact for
 Adult Offender Supervision;
         [(k)] (m) establish a case action plan based on appropriate validated risk, needs, and
 responsivity assessments for each offender as follows:
         (i) (A) if an offender is to be supervised in the community, the case action plan shall be
 established for the offender not more than 90 days after supervision by the department begins;
 and
         [(ii)] (B) if the offender is committed to the custody of the department, the case action
 plan shall be established for the offender not more than 120 days after the commitment; [and]
         (ii) each case action plan shall integrate an individualized, evidence-based, and
 evidence-informed treatment and program plan with clearly defined completion requirements;
         (iii) the department shall share each newly established case action plan with the
 sentencing and release authority within 30 days after the day on which the case action plan is
 established; and
         (iv) the department shall share any changes to a case action plan, including any change
 in an offender's risk assessment, with the sentencing and release authority within 30 days after
 the day of the change; and
         [(l)] (n) ensure that any training or certification required of a public official or public
 employee, as those terms are defined in Section 63G-22-102, complies with Title 63G, Chapter
 22, State Training and Certification Requirements, if the training or certification is required:
         (i) under this title;
         (ii) by the department; or
         (iii) by an agency or division within the department.
         (2) The department may in the course of supervising probationers and parolees:
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        Enrolled Copy                                                                             S.B. 139
          (a) impose graduated sanctions, as established by the Utah Sentencing Commission
 under Subsection 63M-7-404(6), for an individual's violation of one or more terms of the
 probation or parole; and
          (b) upon approval by the court or the Board of Pardons and Parole, impose as a
 sanction for an individual's violation of the terms of probation or parole a period of
 incarceration of not more than three consecutive days and not more than a total of five days
 within a period of 30 days.
          (3) (a) By following the procedures in Subsection (3)(b), the department may
 investigate the following occurrences at state correctional facilities:
          (i) criminal conduct of departmental employees;
          (ii) felony crimes resulting in serious bodily injury;
          (iii) death of any person; or
          (iv) aggravated kidnaping.
          (b) Prior to investigating any occurrence specified in Subsection (3)(a), the department
 shall:
          (i) notify the sheriff or other appropriate law enforcement agency promptly after
 ascertaining facts sufficient to believe an occurrence specified in Subsection (3)(a) has
 occurred; and
          (ii) obtain consent of the sheriff or other appropriate law enforcement agency to
 conduct an investigation involving an occurrence specified in Subsection (3)(a).
          (4) Upon request, the department shall provide copies of investigative reports of
 criminal conduct to the sheriff or other appropriate law enforcement agencies.
          (5) (a) The executive director of the department, or the executive director's designee if
 the designee possesses expertise in correctional programming, shall consult at least annually
 with cognitive and career-readiness staff experts from the Utah system of higher education and
 the State Board of Education to review the department's evidence-based and evidence-informed
 treatment and program opportunities.
          (b) Beginning in the 2022 interim, the department shall provide an annual report to the
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        S.B. 139                                                                        Enrolled Copy
 Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee regarding the department's
 implementation of and offender participation in evidence-based and evidence-informed
 treatment and program opportunities designed to reduce the criminogenic and recidivism risks
 of offenders over time.
         [(5)] (6) The Department of Corrections shall collect accounts receivable ordered by
 the district court as a result of prosecution for a criminal offense according to the requirements
 and during the time periods established in Subsection 77-18-1(9).
         Section 4. Section 64-13-14 is amended to read:
         64-13-14. Secure correctional facilities.
         (1) The department shall maintain and operate secure correctional facilities for the
 incarceration of offenders.
         (2) For each compound of secure correctional facilities, as established by the executive
 director, wardens shall be appointed as the chief administrative officers by the executive
 director.
         (3) The department may transfer offenders from one correctional facility to another and
 may, with the consent of the sheriff, transfer any offender to a county jail.
         (4) Where new or modified facilities are designed appropriately, the department shall
 implement an evidence-based direct supervision system in accordance with Subsections (5) and
 (6).
         (5) A direct supervision system shall be designed to meet the goals of:
         (a) reducing offender violence;
         (b) enhancing offenders' participation in treatment, program, and work opportunities;
         (c) managing and reducing offender risk;
         (d) promoting pro-social offender behaviors;
         (e) providing a tiered-housing structure that:
         (i) rewards an offender's pro-social behaviors and progress toward the completion
 requirements of the offender's individual case action plan with less restrictive housing and
 increased privileges; and
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        Enrolled Copy                                                                           S.B. 139
        (ii) houses similarly behaving offenders together; and
        (f) reducing departmental costs.
        (6) A direct supervision system shall include the following elements:
        (a) department staff will interact continuously with offenders to actively manage
 offenders' behavior and to identify problems at early stages;
        (b) department staff will use management techniques designed to prevent and
 discourage negative offender behavior and encourage positive offender behavior;
        (c) department staff will establish and maintain a professional supervisory relationship
 with offenders; and
        (d) barriers separating department staff and offenders shall be removed.
        (7) Beginning in the 2022 interim, the department shall provide an annual report to the
 Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee regarding the status of the
 implementation of direct supervision.
        Section 5. Section 64-13-24 is amended to read:
        64-13-24. Standards for staff training.
        To assure the safe and professional operation of correctional programs, the department
 shall establish policies setting minimum standards for the basic training of all staff upon