Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

LEGISLATIVE GENERAL COUNSEL                                                H.B. 517
Approved for Filing: J. Rogers 6
          6 02-20-23 2:18 PM 6
                             INMATE PROGRAM AMENDMENTS
                                        2023 GENERAL SESSION
                                            STATE OF UTAH
                                Chief Sponsor: Melissa G. Ballard
                                   Senate Sponsor: Luz Escamilla
 6
 LONG TITLE
 General Description:
        This bill concerns programs for inmates.
 Highlighted Provisions:
        This bill:
        < defines terms;
        < requires the Sentencing Commission, the Board of Pardons and Parole, and the
 Department of Corrections (department) to develop a procedure that will provide
 the department with the ability to determine an inmate's earliest estimated release
 date from a correctional facility;
        < requires the department to:
            C     report on the department's inmate program implementation progress;
            C     use an inmate's earliest estimated release date when determining the timing of
 an inmate's programs;
            C     create an incentive program to encourage an inmate to complete the inmate's
 programs by the inmate's earliest estimated release date;
            C     ensure that an inmate may continue participating in programs in certain
 circumstances;
            C     start an inmate in at least two of the inmate's programs as soon as the inmate's
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 case action plan is created;
            C     allow an inmate to participate in more than one program at a time throughout
     *HB0517*
       H.B. 517                                                                  02-20-23 2:18 PM
 the inmate's time within the correctional facility; and
            C   periodically confer with an inmate to determine whether an inmate is on track to
 complete the inmate's programs by the inmate's earliest estimated release date;
 and
        < makes technical and conforming changes.
 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
        None
 Other Special Clauses:
        None
 Utah Code Sections Affected:
 AMENDS:
        63M-7-404, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapters 115, 185 and 328
        64-13-6, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapter 187
 ENACTS:
        64-13-49, Utah Code Annotated 1953
43
 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
        Section 1. Section 63M-7-404 is amended to read:
        63M-7-404. Purpose -- Duties.
        (1) The purpose of the commission is to develop guidelines and propose
 recommendations to the Legislature, the governor, and the Judicial Council regarding:
        (a) the sentencing and release of juvenile and adult offenders in order to:
        (i) respond to public comment;
        (ii) relate sentencing practices and correctional resources;
        (iii) increase equity in criminal sentencing;
        (iv) better define responsibility in criminal sentencing; and
        (v) enhance the discretion of sentencing judges while preserving the role of the Board
 of Pardons and Parole and the Youth Parole Authority;
        (b) the length of supervision of adult offenders on probation or parole in order to:
        (i) increase equity in criminal supervision lengths;
        (ii) respond to public comment;
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       02-20-23 2:18 PM                                                                        H.B. 517
           (iii) relate the length of supervision to an offender's progress;
           (iv) take into account an offender's risk of offending again;
           (v) relate the length of supervision to the amount of time an offender has remained
 under supervision in the community; and
           (vi) enhance the discretion of the sentencing judges while preserving the role of the
 Board of Pardons and Parole; and
           (c) appropriate, evidence-based probation and parole supervision policies and services
 that assist individuals in successfully completing supervision and reduce incarceration rates
 from community supervision programs while ensuring public safety, including:
           (i) treatment and intervention completion determinations based on individualized case
 action plans;
           (ii) measured and consistent processes for addressing violations of conditions of
 supervision;
           (iii) processes that include using positive reinforcement to recognize an individual's
 progress in supervision;
           (iv) engaging with social services agencies and other stakeholders who provide
 services that meet offender needs; and
           (v) identifying community violations that may not warrant revocation of probation or
 parole.
           (2) (a) The commission shall modify the sentencing guidelines and supervision length
 guidelines for adult offenders to implement the recommendations of the Commission on
 Criminal and Juvenile Justice for reducing recidivism.
           (b) The modifications under Subsection (2)(a) shall be for the purposes of protecting
 the public and ensuring efficient use of state funds.
           (3) (a) The commission shall modify the criminal history score in the sentencing
 guidelines for adult offenders to implement the recommendations of the Commission on
 Criminal and Juvenile Justice for reducing recidivism.
           (b) The modifications to the criminal history score under Subsection (3)(a) shall
 include factors in an offender's criminal history that are relevant to the accurate determination
 of an individual's risk of offending again.
           (4) (a) The commission shall establish sentencing guidelines for periods of
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        H.B. 517                                                                    02-20-23 2:18 PM
 incarceration for individuals who are on probation and:
        (i) who have violated one or more conditions of probation; and
        (ii) whose probation has been revoked by the court.
        (b) For a situation described in Subsection (4)(a), the guidelines shall recommend that
 a court consider:
        (i) the seriousness of any violation of the condition of probation;
        (ii) the probationer's conduct while on probation; and
        (iii) the probationer's criminal history.
        (5) (a) The commission shall establish sentencing guidelines for periods of
 incarceration for individuals who are on parole and:
        (i) who have violated a condition of parole; and
        (ii) whose parole has been revoked by the Board of Pardons and Parole.
        (b) For a situation described in Subsection (5)(a), the guidelines shall recommend that
 the Board of Pardons and Parole consider:
        (i) the seriousness of any violation of the condition of parole;
        (ii) the individual's conduct while on parole; and
        (iii) the individual's criminal history.
        (6) The commission shall establish graduated and evidence-based processes to
 facilitate the prompt and effective response to an individual's progress in or violation of the
 terms of probation or parole by the adult probation and parole section of the Department of
 Corrections, or other supervision services provider, to implement the recommendations of the
 Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice for reducing recidivism and incarceration,
 including:
        (a) responses to be used when an individual violates a condition of probation or parole;
        (b) responses to recognize positive behavior and progress related to an individual's case
 action plan;
        (c) when a violation of a condition of probation or parole should be reported to the
 court or the Board of Pardons and Parole; and
        (d) a range of sanctions that may not exceed a period of incarceration of more than:
        (i) three consecutive days; and
        (ii) a total of five days in a period of 30 days.
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        02-20-23 2:18 PM                                                                      H.B. 517
        (7) The commission shall establish graduated incentives to facilitate a prompt and
 effective response by the adult probation and parole section of the Department of Corrections
 to an offender's:
        (a) compliance with the terms of probation or parole; and
        (b) positive conduct that exceeds those terms.
        (8) (a) The commission shall establish guidelines, including sanctions and incentives,
 to appropriately respond to negative and positive behavior of juveniles who are:
        (i) nonjudicially adjusted;
        (ii) placed on diversion;
        (iii) placed on probation;
        (iv) placed on community supervision;
        (v) placed in an out-of-home placement; or
        (vi) placed in a secure care facility.
        (b) In establishing guidelines under this Subsection (8), the commission shall consider:
        (i) the seriousness of the negative and positive behavior;
        (ii) the juvenile's conduct post-adjudication; and
        (iii) the delinquency history of the juvenile.
        (c) The guidelines shall include:
        (i) responses that are swift and certain;
        (ii) a continuum of community-based options for juveniles living at home;
        (iii) responses that target the individual's criminogenic risk and needs; and
        (iv) incentives for compliance, including earned discharge credits.
        (9) The commission shall establish and maintain supervision length guidelines in
 accordance with this section.
        (10) (a) The commission shall create sentencing guidelines and supervision length
 guidelines for the following financial and property offenses for which a pecuniary loss to a
 victim may exceed $50,000:
        (i) securities fraud, Sections 61-1-1 and 61-1-21;
        (ii) sale by an unlicensed broker-dealer, agent, investment adviser, or investment
 adviser representative, Sections 61-1-3 and 61-1-21;
        (iii) offer or sale of unregistered security, Sections 61-1-7 and 61-1-21;
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        H.B. 517                                                                   02-20-23 2:18 PM
        (iv) abuse or exploitation of a vulnerable adult under Title 76, Chapter 5, Part 1,
 Assault and Related Offenses;
        (v) arson, Section 76-6-102;
        (vi) burglary, Section 76-6-202;
        (vii) theft, Section 76-6-412;
        (viii) forgery, Section 76-6-501;
        (ix) unlawful dealing of property by a fiduciary, Section 76-6-513;
        (x) fraudulent insurance act, Section 76-6-521;
        (xi) computer crimes, Section 76-6-703;
        (xii) mortgage fraud, Sections 76-6-1203 and 76-6-1204;
        (xiii) pattern of unlawful activity, Sections 76-10-1603 and 76-10-1603.5;
        (xiv) communications fraud, Section 76-10-1801;
        (xv) money laundering, Section 76-10-1904; and
        (xvi) other offenses in the discretion of the commission.
        (b) The guidelines described in Subsection (10)(a) shall include a sentencing matrix
 with proportionate escalating sanctions based on the amount of a victim's loss.
        (c) On or before August 1, 2022, the commission shall publish for public comment the
 guidelines described in Subsection (10)(a).
        (11) (a) Before January 1, 2023, the commission shall study the offenses of sexual
 exploitation of a minor and aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor under Sections
 76-5b-201 and 76-5b-201.1.
        (b) The commission shall update sentencing and release guidelines and juvenile
 disposition guidelines to reflect appropriate sanctions for an offense listed in Subsection
 (11)(a), including the application of aggravating and mitigating factors specific to the offense.
        (12) (a) On or before January 1, 2025, the commission shall coordinate with the Board
 of Pardons and Parole and the Department of Corrections to develop a procedure that will
 provide the Department of Corrections with the ability to determine an inmate's earliest
 estimated release date as described in Section 64-13-49.
        (b) The procedure described in Subsection (12)(a) shall include factors that may be
 relevant to the determination of an estimated earliest release date for an inmate, including:
        (i) the type and severity of offenses;
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        02-20-23 2:18 PM                                                                         H.B. 517
         (ii) prior criminal history;
         (iii) criminogenic risk factors; and
         (iv) evidence-based assessments.
         Section 2. 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);
         (f) provide treatment for sex offenders who are found to be treatable based upon
 criteria developed by the department;
         (g) provide the results of ongoing clinical assessment of sex offenders and objective
 diagnostic testing to sentencing and release authorities;
         (h) manage programs that take into account the needs and interests of victims, where
 reasonable;
         (i) supervise probationers and parolees as directed by statute and implemented by the
 courts and the Board of Pardons and Parole;
         (j) subject to Subsection (2), investigate criminal conduct involving offenders
 incarcerated in a state correctional facility;
         (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;
         (l) implement the provisions of Title 77, Chapter 28c, Interstate Compact for Adult
 Offender Supervision;
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        H.B. 517                                                                    02-20-23 2:18 PM
        (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 department shall
 establish a case action plan for the offender no later than 60 days after the day on which the
 department's community supervision of the offender begins; and
        (B) if the offender is committed to the custody of the department, the department shall
 establish a case action plan for the offender no later than 90 days after the day on which the
 offender is committed to the custody of the department;
        (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
        (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:
        (a) respond in accordance with the graduated and evidence-based processes established
 by the Utah Sentencing Commission under Subsection 63M-7-404(6), to 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
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