RELATING TO CORRECTIONS;
PROVIDING EARNED MERITORIOUS DEDUCTIONS FOR PAROLEES; AMENDING A SECTION OF THE
NMSA 1978.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE
OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
Section
1. Section 33-2-34 NMSA 1978 (being Laws
1999, Chapter 238, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read:
"33-2-34. ELIGIBILITY FOR EARNED MERITORIOUS
DEDUCTIONS.‑-
A. To earn meritorious deductions, a prisoner
confined in a correctional facility designated by the corrections department
must be an active participant in programs recommended for the prisoner by the
classification committee and approved by the warden. Meritorious deductions shall not exceed the
following amounts:
(1) for a prisoner confined for committing a
serious violent offense, up to a maximum of four days per month of time served;
(2) for a prisoner confined for committing a
nonviolent offense, up to a maximum of thirty days per month of time served;
(3) for a prisoner confined following revocation
of parole for the alleged commission of a new felony offense or for absconding
from parole, up to a maximum of four days per month of time served during the
parole term following revocation; and
(4) for a prisoner confined following revocation
of parole for a reason other than the alleged commission of a new felony
offense or absconding from parole, up to a maximum of eight days per month of
time served during the parole term following revocation.
B. A prisoner may earn meritorious deductions
upon recommendation by the classification committee, based upon the prisoner's
active participation in approved programs and the quality of the prisoner's
participation in those approved programs.
A prisoner may not earn meritorious deductions unless the recommendation
of the classification committee is approved by the warden.
C. If a prisoner's active participation in
approved programs is interrupted by a lockdown at a correctional facility, he
may continue to be awarded meritorious deductions at the rate he was earning
meritorious deductions prior to the lockdown, unless the warden determines that
the prisoner's conduct contributed to the initiation or continuance of the
lockdown.
D. A prisoner confined in a correctional
facility designated by the corrections department is eligible for lump-sum
meritorious deductions as follows:
(1) for successfully completing an approved
vocational, substance abuse or mental health program, one month; except when
the prisoner has a demonstrable physical, mental health or developmental
disability that prevents the prisoner from successfully earning a general
education diploma, in which case, the prisoner shall be awarded three months;
(2) for earning a general education diploma,
three months;
(3) for earning an associate's degree, four
months;
(4) for earning a bachelor's degree, five months;
(5) for earning a graduate qualification, five
months; and
(6) for engaging in a heroic act of saving life
or property, engaging in extraordinary conduct for the benefit of the state or
the public that is at great expense, risk or effort on behalf of the inmate, or
engaging in extraordinary conduct far in excess of normal program assignments
that demonstrates the prisoner's commitment to rehabilitate himself. The classification committee and the warden
may recommend the number of days to be awarded in each case based upon the
particular merits, but any award shall be determined by the director of the
adult institutions division of the corrections department.
E. Lump-sum meritorious deductions, provided in
Paragraphs (1) through (6) of Subsection D of this section, may be awarded in
addition to the meritorious deductions provided in Subsections A and B of this
section. Lump-sum meritorious deductions
shall not exceed one year per award and shall not exceed a total of one year
for all lump-sum meritorious deductions awarded in any consecutive
twelve-month period.
F. A prisoner is not eligible to earn
meritorious deductions if the prisoner:
(1) disobeys an order to perform labor, pursuant
to Section 33-8-4 NMSA 1978;
(2) is in disciplinary segregation;
(3) is within the first sixty days of receipt by
the corrections department; or
(4) is not an active participant in programs
recommended and approved for him by the classification committee.
G. The provisions of this section shall not be
interpreted as providing eligibility to earn meritorious deductions from a sentence
of life imprisonment or a sentence of death.
H. The corrections department shall promulgate
rules to implement the provisions of this section, and the rules shall be
matters of public record. A concise
summary of the rules shall be provided to each prisoner, and each prisoner
shall receive a quarterly statement of the meritorious deductions earned.
I. A New Mexico prisoner confined in a federal
or out-of-state correctional facility is eligible to earn meritorious
deductions for active participation in programs on the basis of the prisoner's
conduct and program reports furnished by that facility to the corrections
department. All decisions regarding the
award and forfeiture of meritorious deductions at such facility are subject to
final approval by the director of the adult institutions division of the
corrections department or the director's designee.
J. In order to be eligible for meritorious
deductions, a prisoner confined in a federal or out-of-state correctional
facility designated by the corrections department must actively participate in
programs that are available. If a
federal or out-of-state correctional facility does not have programs available
for a prisoner, the prisoner may be awarded meritorious deductions at the rate
the prisoner could have earned meritorious deductions if the prisoner had
actively participated in programs.
K. A prisoner confined in a correctional
facility in New Mexico that is operated by a private company, pursuant to a
contract with the corrections department, is eligible to earn meritorious
deductions in the same manner as a prisoner confined in state-run correctional
facilities. All decisions regarding the
award or forfeiture of meritorious deductions at such facilities are subject to
final approval by the director of the adult institutions division of the
corrections department or the director's designee.
L. As used in this section:
(1) "active participant" means a
prisoner who has begun, and is regularly engaged in, approved programs;
(2) "program" means work, vocational,
educational, substance abuse and mental health programs, approved by the classification
committee, that contribute to a prisoner's self-betterment through the
development of personal and occupational skills. "Program" does not include
recreational activities;
(3) "nonviolent offense" means any
offense other than a serious violent offense; and
(4) "serious violent offense" means:
(a) second degree murder, as provided in Section
30-2-1 NMSA 1978;
(b) voluntary manslaughter, as provided in
Section 30-2-3 NMSA 1978;
(c) third degree aggravated battery, as provided
in Section 30-3-5 NMSA 1978;
(d) first degree kidnapping, as provided in
Section 30-4-1 NMSA 1978;
(e) first and second degree criminal sexual
penetration, as provided in Section 30-9-11 NMSA 1978;
(f) second and third degree criminal sexual
contact of a minor, as provided in Section 30-9-13 NMSA 1978;
(g) first and second degree robbery, as provided
in Section 30-16-2 NMSA 1978;
(h) second degree aggravated arson, as provided
in Section 30-17-6 NMSA 1978;
(i) shooting at a dwelling or occupied building,
as provided in Section 30-3-8 NMSA 1978;
(j) shooting at or from a motor vehicle, as
provided in Section 30-3-8 NMSA 1978;
(k) aggravated battery upon a peace officer, as
provided in Section 30-22-25 NMSA 1978;
(l) assault with intent to commit a violent
felony upon a peace officer, as provided in Section 30‑22-23 NMSA 1978;
(m) aggravated assault upon a peace officer, as
provided in Section 30-22-22 NMSA 1978; and
(n) any of the following offenses, when the
nature of the offense and the resulting harm are such that the court judges the
crime to be a serious violent offense for the purpose of this section: 1) involuntary manslaughter, as provided in
Section 30-2-3 NMSA 1978;
2) fourth degree aggravated
assault, as provided in
Section 30-3-2 NMSA 1978; 3)
third degree assault with intent to commit a violent felony, as provided in
Section 30-3-3 NMSA 1978; 4) third and fourth degree aggravated stalking, as
provided in Section 30-3A-3.1 NMSA 1978; 5) second degree kidnapping, as provided
in Section 30-4-1 NMSA 1978;
6) second degree abandonment of a
child, as provided in Section 30-6-1 NMSA 1978; 7) first, second and third
degree abuse of a child, as provided in Section 30-6-1 NMSA 1978;
8) third degree dangerous use of
explosives, as provided in Section 30-7-5 NMSA 1978; 9) third and fourth degree
criminal sexual penetration, as provided in Section 30-9-11 NMSA 1978;
10) fourth degree criminal sexual
contact of a minor, as provided in Section 30-9-13 NMSA 1978; 11) third degree robbery,
as provided in Section 30-16-2 NMSA 1978; 12) third degree homicide by vehicle
or great bodily injury by vehicle, as provided in Section 66-8-101 NMSA 1978;
and 13) battery upon a peace officer, as provided in Section 30-22-24 NMSA
1978.
M. Except for sex offenders, as provided in
Section 31‑21-10.1 NMSA 1978, an offender sentenced to confinement in a
correctional facility designated by the corrections department who has been
released from confinement and who is serving a parole term may be awarded
earned meritorious deductions of up to thirty days per month upon
recommendation of the parole officer supervising the offender, with the final
approval of the adult parole board. The
offender must be in compliance with all the conditions of the offender's parole
to be eligible for earned meritorious deductions. The adult parole board may remove earned
meritorious deductions previously awarded if the offender later fails to comply
with the conditions of the offender's parole.
The corrections department and the adult parole board shall promulgate
rules to implement the provisions of this subsection."
Section
2. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date
of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2004.