SENATE BILL 145
51st legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2013
INTRODUCED BY
Bill B. O'Neill
ENDORSED BY THE COURTS, CORRECTIONS AND JUSTICE COMMITTEE
AN ACT
RELATING TO COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS; ELIMINATING THE STATE SELECTION PANEL AND THE LOCAL SELECTION PANEL; MODIFYING THE APPLICATION REVIEW PANEL; CLARIFYING PROVISIONS IN THE ADULT COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS ACT.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 33-9-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1983, Chapter 202, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:
"33-9-5. CRITERIA FOR APPLICATIONS.--
A. Counties, municipalities or private organizations, individually or jointly, may apply for grants from the fund, including grants for counties or municipalities to purchase contractual services from private organizations, provided that:
(1) the application is for funding a program with priority use being for criminal offenders [selected pursuant to the provisions of Section 33-9-7 NMSA 1978];
(2) the applicant certifies that it is willing and able to operate the program according to standards provided by the department [which may include the negotiation of a contract between the offender and program staff with provisions such as deductions from employment income for applicable victim restitution, family support, room and board, savings and weekly allowance. In addition to monetary restitution, to the extent practical, or if monetary restitution is not applicable, the contract may include provision for community service restitution for a specific number of hours];
(3) the applicant demonstrates the support of key components of the criminal justice system;
(4) the applicant, if a private organization, demonstrates the support of the county and municipality where the program will provide services;
(5) the applicant certifies that it will utilize volunteer services as an integral portion of the program to the maximum extent feasible; and
(6) no class A county as defined in Section
4-44-1 NMSA 1978, alone or in conjunction with any municipality within a class A county, shall receive more than forty-nine percent of any money appropriated to the fund.
B. [Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection A of this section:
(1)] The department may [utilize] use the fund to place individuals eligible for probation or parole in community-based settings. The department may also [utilize] use the fund to place criminal offenders within twelve months of eligibility for parole in community-based settings; provided that the criminal offender has never been convicted of a felony offense involving the use of a firearm. The adult parole board may, in its discretion, require participation by a criminal offender in a program as a condition of parole pursuant to the provisions of Section 31-21-10 NMSA 1978. [and
(2)] C. The department may authorize use of the fund for adults who are not criminal offenders with prior department approval, if the priority use does not result in full [utilization] use of the fund or the capacity of a program, or the department may authorize additional programs or additional funding for existing programs.
[C.] D. The department may [utilize not more than twenty-five percent of the fund to] contract directly for programs, including programs for New Mexico Indian tribes and pueblos for diversion of state law offenders, [or to] and may establish and operate adult community corrections programs [operated by the department; provided, however, that the department may utilize up to sixty percent of the fund to operate adult community corrections programs if, after a reasonable effort to solicit proposals, there are no satisfactory proposals from a community where it is determined that a program is necessary or if it becomes necessary to cancel a program as provided in the contract].
[D.] E. The department shall establish additional guidelines for allocation of funds under the Adult Community Corrections Act. [An applicant shall retain the authority to accept or reject the placement of any person in a program.]"
SECTION 2. Section 33-9-6 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1983, Chapter 202, Section 6, as amended) is amended to read:
"33-9-6. APPLICATION REVIEW PANEL.--The department shall establish a panel to review all applications for [funding] grants under the Adult Community Corrections Act. The panel shall make recommendations to the secretary of corrections regarding each application. [The panel shall be appointed by the secretary of corrections and shall include representatives of corrections, the judiciary, law enforcement, local and tribal government, interested organizations and the general public. The panel shall work jointly with any other panel established pursuant to Section 33-9A-4.]"
SECTION 3. Section 33-9-9 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1983, Chapter 202, Section 9, as amended) is amended to read:
"33-9-9. SENTENCING--PLACEMENT OF OFFENDER.--
A. In every case where the commitment of a person to the department is contemplated by a sentencing judge and the offender meets criteria for placement in community corrections, [a report shall be prepared by] the adult probation and parole division of the department shall, at the request of the judge, prepare a report containing a recommendation regarding a community corrections placement or complete a diagnostic evaluation [shall be completed by the department] containing the recommendation of the department regarding that placement, including a statement that the criminal offender has been approved for a program [by the state or local selection panel]. The sentencing judge shall consider [that] the report or evaluation prior to making [that] the commitment.
B. At a sentencing hearing, if a judge of a court of competent jurisdiction determines that placement in community corrections is appropriate, [he] the judge shall defer or suspend the sentence and, as a condition of probation, require an individual to serve a period of time in a community corrections program.
C. The department may place an offender serving a term of probation or parole into a community corrections program if the offender meets the department's criteria for such a placement and the sentencing judge or parole board has not ordered otherwise."
SECTION 4. REPEAL.--Sections 33-9-7 and 33-9-8 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1983, Chapter 202, Sections 7 and 8, as amended) are repealed.
SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2013.
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