RELATING TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE; ESTABLISHING THE NEW MEXICO SENTENCING COMMISSION; EXPANDING DUTIES; MAKING AN APPROPRIATION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section 1. Section 9-3-10 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1977, Chapter 257, Section 11, as amended) is amended to read:
"9-3-10. [CRIMINAL AND JUVENILE JUSTICE COORDINATING
COUNCIL] NEW MEXICO SENTENCING COMMISSION--CREATION--
MEMBERSHIP--DUTIES.--
A. There is created the ["criminal and juvenile
justice coordinating council"] "New Mexico sentencing
commission".
B. The [criminal and juvenile justice coordinating
council] New Mexico sentencing commission shall be composed of
[fifteen] twenty-three members. Appointed members shall serve
at the pleasure of the appointing authority. The [council]
commission shall reflect reasonable geographical and
urban-rural balances and regard for the incidence of crime and
the distribution and concentration of law enforcement services
in the state. The [council] commission shall consist of the
following individuals or their designees:
(1) the attorney general;
(2) a district attorney appointed by the district attorneys association of New Mexico;
(3) the chief public defender;
(4) two district court judges, one of whom shall be a children's court judge, appointed by the district court judge's association of New Mexico;
(5) a judge from the court of appeals appointed by the chief judge of the court of appeals;
(6) the dean of the university of New Mexico
[college] school of law;
(7) the secretary of corrections;
(8) the secretary of public safety;
(9) the secretary of children, youth and families;
(10) a county sheriff appointed by the executive director of the New Mexico association of counties;
(11) two public members appointed by the
governor, one of whom shall be designated as chairman of the
[criminal and juvenile justice coordinating council] New
Mexico sentencing commission by the governor;
(12) three public members appointed by the president pro tempore of the senate;
(13) three public members appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;
(14) two public members appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court;
(15) one public member who is Native American and a practicing attorney, appointed by the president of the state bar association; and
(16) one public member who is the president of the New Mexico victim assistance organization.
C. A majority of the members of the [criminal and
juvenile justice coordinating council] New Mexico sentencing
commission constitutes a quorum for the transaction of
[council] commission business.
D. The [criminal and juvenile justice coordinating
council] New Mexico sentencing commission shall:
(1) hold meetings at times and for periods as
the [council] commission deems necessary;
(2) hire staff as needed to assist the
[council] commission in the performance of its duties;
(3) prepare an annual budget;
(4) establish policies for the operation of
the [criminal and juvenile justice coordinating council] New
Mexico sentencing commission and supervision of the activities
of [council] commission staff;
(5) advise the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government on policy matters relating to criminal and juvenile justice;
(6) make recommendations to the legislature
concerning proposed changes to laws relating to the criminal
and juvenile justice systems that the [council] commission
determines would improve those systems; [and
(7) assume the following duties as primary
responsibilities during the first year when an appropriation
is made to the criminal and juvenile justice coordinating
council for the purpose of taking action to:
(a)] (7) annually assess, monitor and report
to the legislature on the impact of any enacted sentencing
guidelines on correctional resources and programs and the need
for further sentencing reform;
(8) when developing proposed sentencing reform:
(a) study sentencing models in other jurisdictions;
(b) study the Criminal Sentencing Act, the Criminal Code and all other New Mexico statutes relating to criminal law, criminal sentencing, criminal procedure and probation and parole;
[(b)] (c) review past studies or
reports regarding proposed changes to the Criminal Code, the
Criminal Sentencing Act or other New Mexico statutes relating
to criminal law, criminal sentencing, criminal procedure or
probation and parole;
[(c)] (d) study past and current
criminal sentencing and release practices and create a
statistical database for simulating the impact of various
sentencing policies;
[(d)] (e) study the full range of
prison, nonprison and intermediate sanctions;
[(e) study, develop and define specific
criminal sentencing policies and make recommendations that
address major policy issues, including: 1) determining]
(f) determine the principal purpose for criminal sanctions;
[2) ranking] (g) rank criminal offenses
by degree of seriousness;
[3) determining] (h) determine the role
of criminal history in making criminal sentencing decisions;
[4) defining] (i) define dispositional
policy that determines when adult felony offenders are
confined in state prisons and county jails or sentenced to
nonprison and intermediate sanctions;
[5) establishing] (j) establish the
length of criminal sentences;
[6) establishing] (k) establish the
appropriate use of community service and fines; [and 7)
structuring]
(l) structure proposed sentencing guidelines to assure consistency in all aspects of criminal sentencing policy;
[(f)] (m) assess the impact of
[council] commission recommendations to modify criminal
sentencing policy on the availability of and need for
correctional resources and programs;
(n) use the expertise of a national or state organization with experience in sentencing reform; and
(o) present proposed legislation or recommendations regarding sentencing reform to the appropriate legislative interim committee;
[(g) assess, monitor and report on the
impact of any enacted sentencing guidelines on correctional
resources and programs;
(h)] (9) monitor any enacted sentencing
guidelines with respect to uniformity and proportionality;
[(i)] (10) conduct research relating to the
use and effectiveness of any enacted guidelines, prosecution
standards, offense charging, plea bargaining, sentencing
practices, probation and parole practices and any other
matters relating to the criminal justice system; [and
(j)] (11) serve as a clearinghouse for the
systematic collection, analysis and dissemination of
information relating to felony offense charges, plea
agreements, convictions, sentences imposed, incarceration time
actually served and actual and projected inmate population in
the state correctional system;
(12) review all proposed legislation that creates a new criminal offense, changes the classification of an offense or changes the range of punishments for an offense and make recommendations to the legislature as to whether proposed changes would improve the criminal and juvenile justice system; and
(13) provide impact estimates, incorporating prison population projections, on all proposed legislation that has the potential to affect correctional resources.
E. The members of the [criminal and juvenile
justice coordinating council] New Mexico sentencing commission
shall be paid pursuant to the Per Diem and Mileage Act and
shall receive no other perquisite, compensation or allowance.
F. The [criminal and juvenile justice coordinating
council] New Mexico sentencing commission is administratively
attached to the office of the governor."
Section 2. Section 9-3-10.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1994, Chapter 19, Section 2) is amended to read:
"9-3-10.1. AUTHORITY TO REVIEW RECORDS OR INFORMATION--EXCEPTIONS--RULES.--
A. The [criminal and juvenile justice coordinating
council] New Mexico sentencing commission is authorized to
inspect, copy, receive and review all records, data and
information in the possession of state, county and local
government agencies, except records, data or information that:
(1) are privileged under the rules of evidence;
(2) compromise or tend to disclose any privileged record or information; or
(3) are reports, memoranda or other internal documents given to or communications made to a prosecutor or defense attorney in connection with the investigation, prosecution or defense of a criminal case.
B. The [criminal and juvenile justice coordinating
council] New Mexico sentencing commission shall promulgate
rules setting forth procedures for inspecting, copying,
receiving, reviewing and reporting records, data and
information necessary to fulfill its duties. State, county
and local government agencies shall assist the [council]
commission in obtaining the records, data and information
necessary to fulfill the [council's] commission's duties. All
records, data and information received or obtained by the
[council] commission shall have the same status with regard to
access or release as when the records, data or information
were in the possession of the entity from whom the [council]
commission received them."
Section 3. Section 9-3-10.2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1994, Chapter 19, Section 3) is amended to read:
"9-3-10.2. AUTHORITY TO ACCEPT GRANTS OR DONATIONS.--The
[criminal and juvenile justice coordinating council] New
Mexico sentencing commission may, in the name of the state,
accept grants, donations or gifts to carry out its functions
and purposes."
Section 4. Section 31-18-15 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1977, Chapter 216, Section 4, as amended) is amended to read:
"31-18-15. SENTENCING AUTHORITY--NONCAPITAL FELONIES--BASIC SENTENCES AND FINES--PAROLE AUTHORITY--MERITORIOUS DEDUCTIONS.--
A. If a person is convicted of a noncapital felony, the basic sentence of imprisonment is as follows:
(1) for a first degree felony, eighteen years imprisonment;
(2) for a second degree felony resulting in the death of a human being, fifteen years imprisonment;
(3) for a second degree felony, nine years imprisonment;
(4) for a third degree felony resulting in the death of a human being, six years imprisonment;
(5) for a third degree felony, three years imprisonment; or
(6) for a fourth degree felony, eighteen months imprisonment.
B. The appropriate basic sentence of imprisonment shall be imposed upon a person convicted of a first, second, third or fourth degree felony or a second or third degree felony resulting in the death of a human being, unless the court alters such sentence pursuant to the provisions of Section 31-18-15.1, 31-18-16, 31-18-16.1 or 31-18-17 NMSA 1978.
C. The court shall include in the judgment and sentence of each person convicted of a first, second, third or fourth degree felony or a second or third degree felony resulting in the death of a human being and sentenced to imprisonment in a corrections facility designated by the corrections department authority for a period of parole to be served in accordance with the provisions of Section 31-21-10 NMSA 1978 after the completion of any actual time of imprisonment and authority to require, as a condition of parole, the payment of the costs of parole services and reimbursement to a law enforcement agency or local crime stopper program in accordance with the provisions of that section. The period of parole shall be deemed to be part of the sentence of the convicted person in addition to the basic sentence imposed pursuant to Subsection A of this section together with alterations, if any, pursuant to the provisions of Section 31-18-15.1, 31-18-16, 31-18-16.1 or 31-18-17 NMSA 1978.
D. When a court imposes a sentence of imprisonment pursuant to the provisions of Section 31-18-15.1, 31-18-16, 31-18-16.1 or 31-18-17 NMSA 1978 and suspends or defers the basic sentence of imprisonment provided pursuant to the provisions of Subsection A of this section, the period of parole shall be served in accordance with the provisions of Section 31-21-10 NMSA 1978 for the degree of felony for the basic sentence for which the inmate was convicted. For the purpose of designating a period of parole, a court shall not consider that the basic sentence of imprisonment was suspended or deferred and that the inmate served a period of imprisonment pursuant to the provisions of Section 31-18-15.1, 31-18-16, 31-18-16.1 or 31-18-17 NMSA 1978.
E. The court may, in addition to the imposition of a basic sentence of imprisonment, impose a fine not to exceed:
(1) for a first degree felony, fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000);
(2) for a second degree felony resulting in the death of a human being, twelve thousand five hundred dollars ($12,500);
(3) for a second degree felony, ten thousand dollars ($10,000);
(4) for a third degree felony resulting in the death of a human being, five thousand dollars ($5,000); or
(5) for a third or fourth degree felony, five thousand dollars ($5,000).
F. When the court imposes a sentence of imprisonment for a felony offense, the court shall indicate whether or not the offense is a serious violent offense, as defined in Section 33-2-34 NMSA 1978. The court shall inform an offender that the offender's sentence of imprisonment is subject to the provisions of Sections 33-2-34, 33-2-36, 33-2-37 and 33-2-38 NMSA 1978. If the court fails to inform an offender that the offender's sentence is subject to those provisions or if the court provides the offender with erroneous information regarding those provisions, the failure to inform or the error shall not provide a basis for a writ of habeas corpus.
G. No later than October 31 of each year, the
[criminal and juvenile justice coordinating council] New
Mexico sentencing commission shall provide a written report to
the secretary of corrections, all New Mexico criminal court
judges, the administrative office of the district attorneys
and the chief public defender. The report shall specify the
average reduction in the sentence of imprisonment for serious
violent offenses and nonviolent offenses, as defined in
Section 33-2-34 NMSA 1978, due to meritorious deductions
earned by prisoners during the previous fiscal year pursuant
to the provisions of Sections 33-2-34, 33-2-36, 33-2-37 and
33-2-38 NMSA 1978. The corrections department shall allow the
[coordinating council] commission access to documents used by
the department to determine earned meritorious deductions for
prisoners."
Section 5. TEMPORARY PROVISION--SENTENCING REFORM.--In fiscal years 2003 and 2004, using the expertise of a national or state organization with experience in sentencing reform, the New Mexico sentencing commission shall develop sentencing reforms for the state and present recommended reforms to the legislature.
Section 6. TEMPORARY PROVISION--TRANSFER OF PERSONNEL, PROPERTY, CONTRACTUAL OBLIGATIONS AND REFERENCES IN LAW.--
A. On July 1, 2002, all personnel, appropriations, money, records, furniture, equipment and other personal and real property of the criminal and juvenile justice coordinating council shall be transferred to the New Mexico sentencing commission.
B. On July 1, 2002, all contracts and other obligations binding on the criminal and juvenile justice coordinating council shall be transferred to the New Mexico sentencing commission.
C. On July 1, 2002, all references in the law to the criminal and juvenile justice coordinating council shall be deemed to be references to the New Mexico sentencing commission.
Section 7. APPROPRIATION.--Five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) is appropriated from the general fund to the New Mexico sentencing commission for expenditure in fiscal year 2003 to carry out additional sentencing and impact assessment duties and hire additional staff. Any unexpended or unencumbered balance remaining at the end of fiscal year 2003 shall revert to the general fund.
Section 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2002.