45th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2001

REQUESTING THAT THE LEGISLATURE CONDUCT A STUDY TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE COMPOSITION OF THE PAROLE BOARD SHOULD BE REVISED.

WHEREAS, the parole board is statutorily created in the Parole Board Act, as a professional parole board; and

WHEREAS, the parole board plays a critical role within the continuum of the criminal justice system as it pertains to individuals incarcerated or supervised by the corrections department; and

WHEREAS, the Parole Board Act was amended in 1999 to change the board from a paid board comprised of four full-time members to an all-volunteer citizen board comprised of nine members; and

WHEREAS, the parole board conducted three thousand forty-six hearings in fiscal year 2000, the highest number of hearings ever conducted by the board, an increase of sixty-two and one-half percent over the number of cases reviewed in 1990, twenty-one and six-tenths percent above the number reviewed in fiscal year 1995 and three and six-tenths percent over the number of hearings conducted in fiscal year 1999; and

WHEREAS, approximately thirty-one percent, or nine hundred forty-six, of the hearings conducted in fiscal year 2000 were revocation hearings, in which the parole board exercised discretion on whether to revoke parole and return the parolee to prison or reinstate the parolee to parole; and

WHEREAS, it is projected that the parole board will conduct between three thousand one hundred and three thousand two hundred hearings for fiscal year 2001; and

WHEREAS, the parole board reviewed and made recommendations on two hundred forty-nine executive clemency applications for fiscal year 2000; and

WHEREAS, the number of individuals incarcerated within corrections department facilities has steadily increased over the years; and

WHEREAS, the corrections department incarcerates inmates at thirteen different facilities in the seven communities of Grants, Hobbs, Las Cruces, Los Lunas, Roswell, Santa Fe and Santa Rosa; and

WHEREAS, numerous members of the parole board travel significant distances to the corrections department facilities throughout the state to conduct hearings; and

WHEREAS, parole or revocation hearings are scheduled thirteen to fourteen days out of the month; and

WHEREAS, parole board members currently provide a substantial and significant service to the state by committing to be present at hearings six or seven business days per month to attend to board business, including quarterly board meetings, reviewing cases, hearing preparation and conducting of parole and revocation hearings throughout the state; and

WHEREAS, the extent of the time commitment necessary to fulfill the duties of the positions of a volunteer parole board member is so significant that attracting and retaining board members may be adversely affected; and

WHEREAS, the parole board is committed to enhancing the public safety and providing quality service to the citizens of the state;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that, in furthering the mission of the parole board, the legislature conduct a study to determine whether the board should return to a full-time paid board, continue as an all-volunteer board or transform into a synthesis of a paid and volunteer board; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the New Mexico legislative council assign the review of the parole board to an appropriate interim legislative committee to hear testimony from parole board members, agency staff and other individuals that the committee members deem appropriate or necessary; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the committee assigned to hold hearings regarding the structure of the parole board develop legislation reflecting the sense of the committee regarding the structure that is most reasonable for maintaining the public safety and providing fair and informed hearings for inmates and parolees and include in the legislation an approximation of the estimated costs of the structure agreed upon by the committee; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be transmitted to the New Mexico legislative council and the chairman of the parole board.