HF 928

1st Engrossment - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to corrections; establishing a parole board; 
  1.3             prescribing its membership, duties, and powers; 
  1.4             prescribing when an individual is eligible to be 
  1.5             considered for parole; appropriating money; proposing 
  1.6             coding for new law as Minnesota Statutes, chapter 244A.
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  [244A.01] [CORRECTIONS BOARD.] 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [CREATION.] There is created a Corrections 
  1.10  Board consisting of five full-time members; four members shall 
  1.11  be appointed by the governor, with the advice and consent of the 
  1.12  senate.  No more than two members appointed by the governor 
  1.13  shall belong to the same political party.  An appointment to a 
  1.14  vacancy shall be made in the same manner as other appointments 
  1.15  and shall be for the unexpired term.  The fifth member shall be 
  1.16  chair and shall be an officer of the Department of Corrections 
  1.17  in the unclassified service and shall be appointed by the 
  1.18  commissioner of corrections to serve at the commissioner's 
  1.19  pleasure. 
  1.20     Subd. 2.  [QUALIFICATIONS.] A candidate for appointment to 
  1.21  the Corrections Board is not required to have specific academic 
  1.22  or professional attainment, but shall have knowledge or 
  1.23  experience in corrections or related fields and be selected on 
  1.24  the basis of sound judgment and the ability to consider both the 
  1.25  needs of individuals over whom the board has jurisdiction and 
  1.26  the safety of the public.  Among the members appointed by the 
  2.1   governor, at least one shall be a woman, one a man, and one a 
  2.2   member of a racial minority. 
  2.3      Subd. 3.  [TERMS OF OFFICE; REAPPOINTMENT.] Members of the 
  2.4   board shall serve six year staggered terms.  A member is 
  2.5   eligible for reappointment.  Removal of members is governed by 
  2.6   section 15.0575, subdivision 3.  
  2.7      Subd. 4.  [COMPENSATION; EXPENSES.] Each member of the 
  2.8   board other than the chair shall receive as compensation 85 
  2.9   percent of a district court judge's salary per year, payable in 
  2.10  the same manner as other employees of the state.  The chair of 
  2.11  the board shall receive as compensation the chair's salary as an 
  2.12  officer of the Department of Corrections, which shall not be 
  2.13  less than the salary of the other members of the board.  In 
  2.14  addition to the compensation provided in this subdivision, each 
  2.15  member of the board shall be reimbursed for expenses paid or 
  2.16  incurred in the performance of official duties in the same 
  2.17  manner as other employees of the state.  This compensation and 
  2.18  these expenses shall be paid out of the general fund in the same 
  2.19  manner as the salaries and expenses of other state officers, 
  2.20  except that the salary and expenses of the chair of the board 
  2.21  shall be paid out of funds appropriated to the commissioner of 
  2.22  corrections. 
  2.23     Subd. 5.  [QUORUM.] (a) The board may sit in units of three 
  2.24  as designated by the chair under rules prescribed by the board, 
  2.25  and such a unit constitutes a quorum.  
  2.26     (b) The chair may, with the approval of the commissioner of 
  2.27  corrections, appoint employees of the Department of Corrections 
  2.28  to perform administrative duties as assigned by the chair. 
  2.29     Sec. 2.  [244A.02] [BOARD POWERS; LIMITATIONS.] 
  2.30     Subdivision 1.  [POWERS.] (a) Except as provided in 
  2.31  subdivision 2, the Corrections Board, giving due consideration 
  2.32  to public safety, may parole an individual sentenced to 
  2.33  confinement in an adult correctional facility: 
  2.34     (1) if the individual has served three years or more on the 
  2.35  current sentence and is more than 60 years old; or 
  2.36     (2) if the individual committed the offense when a minor, 
  3.1   as defined in section 260B.007, subdivision 9, and was certified 
  3.2   for prosecution as an adult or designated as an extended 
  3.3   jurisdiction juvenile and has served five years or more of the 
  3.4   sentence; or 
  3.5      (3) if the individual was sentenced: 
  3.6      (i) for an indeterminate term; 
  3.7      (ii) for a drug offense; 
  3.8      (iii) for a crime arising out of chemical dependency; 
  3.9      (iv) for a conspiracy, if another conspirator dominated the 
  3.10  individual or was the individual's domestic partner; 
  3.11     (v) for a crime based on consequences that were not proved 
  3.12  to be intentional; or 
  3.13     (vi) for a commercial crime; or 
  3.14     (4) if there has been a profound change in the individual's 
  3.15  character and conduct since the time of the offense. 
  3.16     (b) If the Corrections Board determines an individual is in 
  3.17  need of drug treatment to become eligible for parole, the board 
  3.18  may send the individual to the challenge incarceration program 
  3.19  provided for in section 244.17 or a secure drug treatment 
  3.20  facility.  If the individual successfully completes drug 
  3.21  treatment, the board shall reconsider the individual's petition 
  3.22  for parole. 
  3.23     Subd. 2.  [LIMITATIONS.] An individual sentenced under the 
  3.24  sentencing guidelines is not eligible for parole until the 
  3.25  individual has served one-half of his or her sentence-to-serve.  
  3.26  "Sentence-to-serve" as applied to individuals whose crimes were 
  3.27  committed before August 1, 1993, is the period of time for which 
  3.28  the individual was committed to the custody of the commissioner 
  3.29  of corrections minus good time allowed.  Sentence-to-serve as 
  3.30  applied to individuals whose crimes were committed on or after 
  3.31  August 1, 1993, is the period of time equal to two-thirds of the 
  3.32  individual's executed sentence.  Parole is not authorized if 
  3.33  proscribed by United States Code, title 42, section 13704.  The 
  3.34  limitations specified in this subdivision shall not affect 
  3.35  parole eligibility for individuals 60 years or older as 
  3.36  specified in section 244A.02, subdivision 1, clause (1), and 
  4.1   minors as specified in section 244A.02, subdivision 1, clause 
  4.2   (2).  
  4.3      Subd. 3.  [LEGAL CUSTODY OF PAROLEES.] Upon being paroled 
  4.4   and released, an individual remains in the legal custody and 
  4.5   under the control of the Corrections Board, subject to be 
  4.6   returned at any time to a facility of the Department of 
  4.7   Corrections.  If the individual is returned, the legal custody 
  4.8   of the individual reverts to the commissioner of corrections.  A 
  4.9   written order of the Corrections Board, certified by the chair 
  4.10  of the board, is sufficient to authorize a peace officer or 
  4.11  state parole or probation agent to retake and place in the 
  4.12  custody of the Corrections Board any parolee, but a state parole 
  4.13  or probation agent may, without order of warrant, when it 
  4.14  appears necessary to prevent escape or enforce discipline, take 
  4.15  and detain a parolee to the custody of the Corrections Board for 
  4.16  its action.  A written order of the commissioner of corrections 
  4.17  is sufficient for a peace officer or state parole or probation 
  4.18  agent to retake and place in actual custody an individual on 
  4.19  probation under the supervision of the commissioner pursuant to 
  4.20  section 609.135, but any state parole or probation agent may, 
  4.21  when it appears necessary to prevent escape or enforce 
  4.22  discipline, retake and detain such probationer without such an 
  4.23  order and bring a paroled individual before the court for 
  4.24  further proceedings under section 609.14.  Paroled individuals, 
  4.25  and those on probation under the supervision of the commissioner 
  4.26  of corrections pursuant to section 609.135 may be placed within 
  4.27  or without the boundaries of the state at the discretion of the 
  4.28  board or of the commissioner of corrections, and the limits 
  4.29  fixed for such individuals may be enlarged or reduced according 
  4.30  to their conduct. 
  4.31     Subd. 4.  [PAROLE HEARINGS.] (a) In considering 
  4.32  applications for parole or final release, the board is not 
  4.33  required to hear oral argument from any attorney or other person 
  4.34  not connected with a facility of the Department of Corrections, 
  4.35  but it may institute inquiries by correspondence, taking 
  4.36  testimony or otherwise, as to the previous history, physical or 
  5.1   mental condition, and character of an applicant, and to that end 
  5.2   it has authority to require the attendance of the chief 
  5.3   executive officer of the relevant Minnesota correctional 
  5.4   facility and the production of the records of the facility, and 
  5.5   to compel the attendance of witnesses.  Each member of the board 
  5.6   is authorized to administer oaths to witnesses. 
  5.7      (b) A victim, or if the victim is deceased, the victim's 
  5.8   next of kin, of a crime for which the parole applicant was 
  5.9   convicted has the right to testify in person or in writing 
  5.10  before the board.  Testimony may include the victim's reaction 
  5.11  to the applicant's release and a summary of reasons supporting 
  5.12  the victim's statement.  The board must consider the victim's 
  5.13  statement in its decision. 
  5.14     Sec. 3.  [244A.03] [CREDITS FOR PRISONERS.] 
  5.15     Each inmate shall be credited for good prison demeanor, 
  5.16  diligence in labor and study and results accomplished, and be 
  5.17  charged for derelictions, negligences, and offenses under a 
  5.18  uniform system of marks or other methods prescribed by the 
  5.19  commissioner of corrections.  The commissioner of corrections 
  5.20  shall inform the Corrections Board of the work progress, 
  5.21  derelictions, negligences, demeanor, and future program of each 
  5.22  inmate a month before the inmate's appearance before the 
  5.23  Corrections Board. 
  5.24     Sec. 4.  [244A.04] [DUTY OF BOARD; FINAL DISCHARGE.] 
  5.25     The Corrections Board shall keep in communication with all 
  5.26  those on parole and also with their employers, and when any 
  5.27  parolee has kept the conditions of parole in a manner and for a 
  5.28  period of time that satisfies the board that the parolee is 
  5.29  rehabilitated, trustworthy, will remain at liberty without 
  5.30  violating the law, and that final release is not incompatible 
  5.31  with the welfare of society, then the board has power in its 
  5.32  discretion to grant to such individual a final discharge from 
  5.33  confinement.  If final discharge is granted, the board shall 
  5.34  issue to the individual a certificate of final discharge, and 
  5.35  shall also cause a record of the acts of the individual to be 
  5.36  made showing the date of commitment, record while in prison, the 
  6.1   date of parole, record while on parole, and its reasons for 
  6.2   determining final discharge, together with any other facts that 
  6.3   the board deems relevant.  Nothing in sections 244A.01 to 
  6.4   244A.08 impairs the power of the Board of Pardons to grant a 
  6.5   pardon or commutation in any case. 
  6.6      Sec. 5.  [244A.05] [SUPERVISION BY COMMISSIONER OF 
  6.7   CORRECTIONS; AGENTS.] 
  6.8      Subdivision 1.  [PAROLE SUPERVISION.] Other than in 
  6.9   Community Corrections Act counties, the commissioner of 
  6.10  corrections shall exercise supervision over individuals released 
  6.11  on parole or probation pursuant to sections 244A.01 to 244A.08.  
  6.12  The responsibilities and powers granted to the commissioner of 
  6.13  corrections under sections 241.26, 242.10, 242.19, 242.46, 
  6.14  243.05, and 244.05, shall be exercised with regard to an 
  6.15  individual paroled by the board under sections 244A.01 to 
  6.16  244A.08. 
  6.17     Subd. 2.  [AGENTS.] For the purposes of subdivisions 1 and 
  6.18  2, and sections 609.115 and 609.135, subdivision 1, the 
  6.19  commissioner shall appoint state agents who shall be in the 
  6.20  classified service of the state civil service.  The commissioner 
  6.21  may also appoint suitable persons in any part of the state or 
  6.22  enter into agreements with individuals and public or private 
  6.23  agencies, for the same purposes, and pay the costs incurred 
  6.24  under the agreements.  Every agent shall perform the duties the 
  6.25  commissioner prescribes on behalf of or in the supervision of 
  6.26  individuals released on parole or probation.  In addition, every 
  6.27  agent or person shall act under the orders of the Corrections 
  6.28  Board or the commissioner in the supervision of individuals 
  6.29  conditionally released.  Agents shall provide assistance to 
  6.30  conditionally released individuals in obtaining employment, and 
  6.31  shall conduct relevant investigations and studies of individuals 
  6.32  under supervision upon the request of the commissioner or the 
  6.33  board.  Regional supervisors may also supervise state parole or 
  6.34  probation agents as directed by the commissioner of 
  6.35  corrections.  This duty shall not interfere with the 
  6.36  supervisor's responsibility under the County Probation Act, Laws 
  7.1   1959, chapter 698. 
  7.2      Subd. 3.  [ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES.] The commissioner of 
  7.3   corrections shall provide the board with all other personnel, 
  7.4   supplies, equipment, office space, and other administrative 
  7.5   services necessary and incident to the discharge of the 
  7.6   functions of the board. 
  7.7      Sec. 6.  [244A.06] [DEPUTIZATION OF OUT-OF-STATE AGENTS.] 
  7.8      Subdivision 1.  [OUT-OF-STATE DEPUTIES.] The Corrections 
  7.9   Board may deputize a person regularly employed by another state 
  7.10  to act as an agent of this state in effecting the return of an 
  7.11  individual who has violated the terms and conditions of parole 
  7.12  or probation granted by this state.  In any matter relating to 
  7.13  the return of an individual, an agent so deputized has the 
  7.14  powers of a police officer of this state. 
  7.15     Subd. 2.  [IN WRITING.] A deputization pursuant to 
  7.16  subdivision 1 shall be in writing and a person so authorized to 
  7.17  act as an agent of this state shall carry formal evidence of the 
  7.18  deputization and shall produce the same upon demand. 
  7.19     Subd. 3.  [SHARING COSTS.] Subject to the approval of the 
  7.20  commissioner of finance, the Corrections Board may enter into 
  7.21  contracts with similar officials of another state for the 
  7.22  purpose of sharing an equitable portion of the cost of effecting 
  7.23  the return of an individual who has violated the terms and 
  7.24  conditions of parole or probation granted by this state. 
  7.25     Sec. 7.  [244A.08] [RULES GOVERNING PAROLES.] 
  7.26     Subdivision 1.  [RULES.] The Corrections Board has power to 
  7.27  make, amend, and publish rules governing the granting of paroles 
  7.28  and final discharges and the procedure relating thereto, and the 
  7.29  conditions of parole and the conduct and employment of 
  7.30  individuals on parole, and other matters touching the exercise 
  7.31  of the powers and duties conferred upon the board by sections 
  7.32  244A.01 to 244A.08. 
  7.33     Subd. 2.  [PROSPECTIVE EFFECT.] Any new rule or policy 
  7.34  adopted by the board that has the effect of postponing 
  7.35  eligibility for parole has prospective effect only and applies 
  7.36  only with respect to individuals committing offenses after the 
  8.1   effective date of the new rule or policy. 
  8.2      Sec. 8.  [INITIAL TERMS FOR BOARD MEMBERS.] 
  8.3      Two of the four members appointed by the governor to the 
  8.4   Board of Corrections shall serve initial terms of six years.  
  8.5   The other two members appointed by the governor shall serve 
  8.6   terms of four years. 
  8.7      Sec. 9.  [APPROPRIATION.] 
  8.8      $....... is appropriated from the general fund to the 
  8.9   commissioner of corrections to be used to implement sections 1 
  8.10  to 8.  This appropriation is available until June 30, 2007. 
  8.11     Sec. 10.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  8.12     (a) Sections 1 to 8 are effective the day following final 
  8.13  enactment. 
  8.14     (b) Section 9 is effective July 1, 2005.