SENATE BILL 437
49th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2009
INTRODUCED BY
Linda M. Lopez
AN ACT
RELATING TO COUNTY DETENTION FACILITIES; PROVIDING FOR THE CREATION OF A COUNTY DETENTION FACILITY POPULATION CONTROL COMMISSION; AUTHORIZING MEASURES TO RELIEVE OVERCROWDING; ENACTING THE COUNTY DETENTION FACILITY POPULATION CONTROL ACT.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "County Detention Facility Population Control Act".
Section 2. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the County Detention Facility Population Control Act:
A. "commission" means the county detention facility population control commission;
B. "jail administrator" means the person hired by a county who supervises the operation of the jail and reports directly to the county manager or to the board of county commissioners and may include the sheriff of the county;
C. "nonviolent offender" means:
(1) a person charged or convicted for the commission of a nonviolent offense, as that term is defined in Section 33-2-34 NMSA 1978; or
(2) a person incarcerated for violating the conditions of probation or parole due to the use or possession of a controlled substance and whose original conviction was for the commission of a nonviolent offense; and
D. "operational capacity" means the number of inmates that can be accommodated in a detention facility based on bed space, individual cells, areas designed for the housing of inmates, the facility's staffing level and existing programs and services.
Section 3. OPERATIONAL CAPACITY ESTABLISHED ANNUALLY.--The board of county commissioners shall establish annually, by resolution, the operational capacity for each county detention facility.
Section 4. COUNTY DETENTION FACILITY POPULATION CONTROL COMMISSION--MEMBERS--MEETINGS--IMMUNITY.--
A. A board of county commissioners may create a "county detention facility population control commission" to address instances of overcrowding in a county detention facility. The commission shall convene quarterly to review population data and data regarding the use of alternative incarceration programs and the use or anticipated use of other population control mechanisms.
B. The commission shall be composed of the following five members:
(1) the jail administrator, who shall serve as chair of the commission;
(2) two public officials or private citizens appointed by the board of county commissioners;
(3) a public official or private citizen appointed by the chief judge of the district court; and
(4) a public official or private citizen appointed by the chief judge of the metropolitan or magistrate court.
C. A majority of the members of the commission constitutes a quorum for the transaction of commission business.
D. The appointed members of the commission shall serve until excused by the appointing authority. A vacancy on the commission shall be filled by the appointing authority that made the original appointment.
E. Members of the commission are entitled to compensation pursuant to the provisions of the Per Diem and Mileage Act but shall receive no other perquisite, compensation or allowance for service on the commission.
F. Members of the commission shall be immune from liability in civil actions for the performance of their duties pursuant to the County Detention Facility Population Control Act, provided that the members perform their duties in good faith.
Section 5. OVERCROWDING--POPULATION CONTROL MEASURES-- PROCEDURES.--
A. When the inmate population of a county detention facility exceeds ninety percent of the operational capacity for that facility for a period of ninety consecutive days, the jail administrator shall engage in all lawful and professionally appropriate efforts to reduce the inmate population to ninety percent or less of operational capacity, including providing notice to the corrections department that the county detention facility is in excess of ninety percent of the operational capacity and providing a list to the department of all convicted felons in the county detention facility. Within thirty days of the notice, the corrections department shall remove all convicted felons from the county detention facility.
B. If the inmate population of a county detention facility is in excess of ninety percent of operational capacity after ninety consecutive days, the jail administrator shall notify the commission, the district court, the metropolitan court or municipal and magistrate courts, the district attorney, the public defender, the secretary of corrections and local law enforcement agencies and shall include in the notification a list of the nonviolent offenders in the facility.
C. The commission shall convene within ten days of receipt of the notice provided pursuant to Subsection B of this section to consider the release of the nonviolent offenders on the list provided by the jail administrator. The commission may provide for the early release of nonviolent offenders; provided that a nonviolent offender shall not be released if:
(1) information that classifies the offender as a nonviolent offender is discovered to be materially inaccurate;
(2) the nonviolent offender is convicted of a crime while incarcerated; or
(3) the nonviolent offender fails a drug screening test within ten days of the offender's scheduled release.
Section 6. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2009.
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