Hb 310 - Penal Institutions: Community Supervision and Transition

• Jurisdiction: Georgia,United States
• Publication year: 2015
• Citation: Vol. 32 No. 1

HB 310 - Penal Institutions: Community Supervision and Transition

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PENAL INSTITUTIONS

Community Supervision and Transition: Amend Title 42 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Relating to Penal Institutions, so as to Create the Board of Community Supervision, the Department of Community Supervision, and the Governor's Office of Transition, Support, and Reentry; Provide for the Responsibilities of DCS with Respect to Supervision of Adult and Certain Juvenile Probationers and Adult Parolees; Enact Reforms Recommended by the Georgia Council on Criminal Justice Reform; Reassign Responsibilities of the Advisory Council for Probation and the County and Municipal Probation Advisory Council to the Board of Community Supervision and Repeal Provisions Relating to Such Councils; Transfer Responsibility of Certain Functions of Probation and Parole Supervision to DCS and Make Corresponding Changes with Respect to the Jurisdiction and Authority of the Department of Corrections, Department of Juvenile Justice, and the State Board of Pardons and Paroles; Provide for the Selection, Service, and Powers and Duties of the Commissioner and Employees of DCS; Provide for Rules and Regulations and Forms; Provide for Administration; Provide for Transfer of Prior Appropriations; Provide for Transfer of Personnel, Equipment, and Facilities; Provide for Defined Terms; Provide for the Revocation, Modification, and Tolling of Sentences under Certain Circumstances; Provide for the Conditions of Probation; Provide for the Assessment and Collection of Costs of Probation; Revise Certain Standards for Private Corporations, Private Enterprises, and Private Agencies That Enter into Written Contracts for Probation Services; Change Provisions Relating to Confidentiality of Records; Revise Certain Standards for Counties, Municipalities, or Consolidated Governments Who Enter into Written Agreements to Provide Probation Services; Provide for Management of Probated Sentences When a Defendant Wants to Enter an Accountability Court as a Condition of a Probation Revocation; Change Provisions Relating to Informing a Defendant Regarding the First Offender Laws; Provide for Retroactive First Offender Treatment under Certain Circumstances; Provide for the

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Filing of a Petition for Retroactive First Offender Treatment; Amend Titles 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 34, 35, 37, 40, 42, 43, 45, 48, and 49 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, Relating to Courts, Crimes and Offenses, Criminal Procedure, Domestic Relations, Education, Elections, Labor and Industrial Relations, Law Enforcement Officers and Agencies, Mental Health, Motor Vehicles and Traffic, Penal Institutions, Professions and Businesses, Public Officers and Employees, Revenue and Taxation, and Social Services, Respectively, so as to Conform Provisions to the New Chapter 3 of Title 42; Provide for Certain Changes in the Administrative Organization of the Department of Corrections, Department of Juvenile Justice, and the State Board of Pardons and Paroles and Provide for Conforming Amendments; Correct Cross-References and Remove Obsolete or Improper References; Provide for Legislative Findings and Intent; Provide for Related Matters; Provide for an Effective Date and Applicability; Repeal Conflicting Laws; and for Other Purposes

Code Sections: O.C.G.A. §§15-1-4, -15, -16, -17 (amended); 15-5-81 (amended); 15- 6-30, -77 (amended); 15-11-2, -58, -67, -471, -473, -506, -562, -601, -705 -710, (amended); 15-12-40.1 (amended); 16-5-21 (amended); 16- 6-5.1, -25 (amended); 16-10-24, -33, -34, -97 (amended); 16-11-37, -130 (amended); 17-6-1.1 (amended); 17- 10-1, -1.4, -3, -9.1 (amended); 17-12-51 (amended); 17-14-2, -8, -14, -16 (amended); 17-15-13 (amended); 17-17-3, -8, -14 (amended); 19-7-52 (amended); 19-11-21, -67 (amended); 19-13-10, -31, -32, -34, -51, (amended); 20-2-699 (amended); 21-2-231 (amended); 34-9-1 (amended); 35-3-36 (amended); 35-6A-3 (amended); 35-8-2, -3 (amended); 37-2-4 (amended);

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40-5-64, -81, -83 (amended); 42-1-1, -10, -11, -12, -14, -19 (amended); 42-2-11, -15 (amended); 42-3-1, -2, -3, -4, -5, -6, -7, -8, -9, -30, -31, -32, -33, -34, -35, -50, -51, -52, -53, -54, -70, -71, -72, -73, -74, -90, -110, -111, -112, -113, -114, -115, -116, -117, -118, -119 (new); 42-4-50 (amended); 42-5-50 (amended); 42-8-20, -21 (new), -22, -23, -24, -25, -26, -27, -28, -29, -29.1, -30, -30.1, 31, -32, -33, -34, -34.1, -34.2, -35, -35.1, -35.2, -35.3, -35.4, -35.5, -35.6, -35.7, -36, -37, -38, -39, -40, -41, -42, -43, -43.1, -43.2, -43.3, -44, -61, -66, -70, -71, -72, -73, -74, -80, -81, -82, -83, -84, -100, -101, -102, -103, -104, -105 (amended), -106, -107, -108, -109, -109.1, -109.2, -109.3, -109.4, -109.5 (new), -112, -114, -116, -130, -150, -151, -152, -153, -154, -155, -156, -157, -158, -159 (amended); 42-9-3, -9, -20, -21, -41, -42, -44, -48, -53, -57, -90 (amended); 43-12A-5 (amended); 45-7-9, -21 (amended); 45-9-81, -83, -101 (amended); 45-18-7 (amended); 48-7-161 (amended); 49-3-6 (amended); 49-4A-8, -11 (amended)

Bill Number: HB 310

Act Number: 73

Georgia Laws: 2015 Ga. Laws 422

Summary: The Act transfers the supervisory powers and duties of the Department of Corrections, the State Board of Paroles and Pardons, and the Board and Department of Juvenile Justice to the newly established Department of

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Community Supervision. The Act creates the Board of Community Supervision, which has three main roles: 1) it is the rule-making body for the Governor's Office of Transition, Support, and Reentry; 2) it is the rule-making body for the Department of Community Supervision; and 3) it is its own agency, replacing the County and Municipal Probation Advisory Council of Georgia and overseeing the supervisory functions which were taken over by the Department of Community Supervision. The Act also implements Governor Nathan Deal's (R) "probation overhaul" and addresses many concerns about the current probation system. The Act limits fees in pay-only probation and gives judges the authority to waive fines and fees and order community service if the costs are beyond what an offender can afford. Under the Act, before a judge can jail an offender for failing to pay, the judge must find that the failure was willful and not the result of poverty. It also gives judges the authority to put a misdemeanor probation case on hold if an offender stops reporting.

Effective Date: July 1, 2015

History

House Bill (HB) 310 is one of a series of Governor Nathan Deal's (R) criminal justice reform bills, aimed at "creating the finest and most efficient justice system in the nation."¹ The Governor's initial

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push began in 2011 with the creation of the Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform, which has since recommended a myriad of substantial policy changes focused on reforming prisons, strengthening probation, revamping drug courts, and considering alternative sentencing.² These reforms were embodied in HB 1176, which was signed into law in 2012 and that instigated a new "smart on crime" approach for Georgia.³ The following two years saw more substantial criminal justice reform with the addition of alternative programs for nonviolent young offenders in 2013 and changes to the juvenile court system in 2014.⁴ HB 310 adds to the list of reforms with a misdemeanor probation overhaul and the creation of a new administrative agency, the Department of Community Supervision.

Community-Based Supervision

HB 1176 largely focused on curbing Georgia's excessive prison population, but also sought to enhance community-based supervision.⁵ Community-based supervision is not a concept unique to Georgia but is a new approach to criminal corrections and has been advanced by the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which created a model policy called "The Recidivism Reduction Act."⁶ Part of this push was to decrease the number of individuals serving prison sentences for nonviolent crimes.⁷ Governor Deal, in his 2011 Inaugural Address, envisioned giving such individuals expanded probation options, particularly those who struggle with drug addiction.⁸ HB 310 turns towards administrative reform in

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advancing "community-based supervision" while tackling Georgia's expansive and problematic misdemeanor probation system.⁹

Creating the Department of Community Supervision

HB 310 forms the Department of Community Supervision under which the Board of Pardons and Parole, the Department of Corrections, and the Department of Juvenile Justice are organized.¹⁰ Originally, these three groups dealt with different classes of people but conducted similar duties, so for years officers were similarly trained for their duties, but were not cross-trained to deal with different classes of people.¹¹ The Department of Pardons and Parole handled pardons and clemency of adult offenders who were already in prison and had not been released into society.¹² The Department of Corrections conducted probation supervision and services, essentially the same type of supervision as the Department of Pardons and Paroles, but the offenders had not yet been to prison. ¹³ The Department of Juvenile Justice monitored probation of juvenile offenders.¹⁴

The new ability for comprehensive cross-training employees leads to cost-effectiveness and efficiency.¹⁵ Governor Deal stated that this consolidation will help the State coordinate its supervision work and reduce recidivism.¹⁶ The Department of Community Supervision addresses concerns with efficiency, where, for example, the prior administrative scheme had different agencies dealing with adult and juvenile offenders but conducting essentially the same duties.¹⁷

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Georgia is saving money and promoting efficiency by merging these separate agencies into one.¹⁸

Privatized Probation

In 1991, various new laws gave Georgia's municipal and county governments responsibility for managing misdemeanor probation.¹⁹ About ten years later, Georgia realized that it could...