HOUSE BILL 60

48th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2007

INTRODUCED BY

Rick Miera

AN ACT

RELATING TO CRIMINAL JUSTICE; ADDING AN ADDITIONAL MEMBER TO THE NEW MEXICO SENTENCING COMMISSION.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     Section 1. Section 9-3-1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1977, Chapter 257, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read:

     "9-3-1. SHORT TITLE.--[Sections 9-3-1 through 9-3-12] Chapter 9, Article 3 NMSA 1978 may be cited as the "Corrections Department Act"."

     Section 2. Section 9-3-10 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1977, Chapter 257, Section 11, as amended) is amended to read:

     "9-3-10. NEW MEXICO SENTENCING COMMISSION--CREATION--

MEMBERSHIP--DUTIES.--

          A. There is created the "New Mexico sentencing commission".

          B. The New Mexico sentencing commission shall be composed of [twenty-three] twenty-four members. Appointed members shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority. The 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 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 school of law;

                (7) the secretary of corrections;

                (8) the secretary of public safety;

                (9) the secretary of children, youth and families;

                (10) the secretary of public education;

                [(10)] (11) a county sheriff appointed by the executive director of the New Mexico association of counties;

                [(11)] (12) two public members appointed by the governor, one of whom shall be designated as [chairman] chair of the New Mexico sentencing commission by the governor;

                [(12)] (13) three public members appointed by the president pro tempore of the senate;

                [(13)] (14) three public members appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;

                [(14)] (15) two public members appointed by the chief justice of the supreme court;

                [(15)] (16) one public member who is Native American and a practicing attorney, appointed by the president of the state bar association; and

                [(16)] (17) one public member appointed by the governor who is a representative of a New Mexico victim organization.

          C. A majority of the members of the New Mexico sentencing commission constitutes a quorum for the transaction of commission business.

          D. The New Mexico sentencing commission shall:

                (1) hold meetings at times and for periods as the commission deems necessary;

                (2) hire staff as needed to assist the commission in the performance of its duties;

                (3) prepare an annual budget;

                (4) establish policies for the operation of the [New Mexico sentencing] commission and supervision of the activities of 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 commission determines would improve those systems;

                (7) annually assess, monitor and report to the legislature on the impact of any enacted sentencing standards and guidelines on state and local 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;

                     (c) review past studies or reports regarding proposed changes to the Children's Code, the Criminal Code, the Criminal Sentencing Act or other New Mexico statutes relating to criminal law, criminal sentencing, criminal procedure or probation and parole;

                     (d) study past and current criminal sentencing and release practices and create a statistical database for simulating the impact of various sentencing policies;

                     (e) study the full range of prison, nonprison and intermediate sanctions;

                     (f) determine the principal purpose for criminal sanctions;

                     (g) rank criminal offenses by degree of seriousness;

                     (h) determine the role of criminal history in making criminal sentencing decisions;

                     (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;

                     (j) establish the length of criminal sentences;

                     (k) establish the appropriate use of community service and fines;

                     (l) structure proposed sentencing guidelines to [assure] ensure consistency in all aspects of criminal sentencing policy;

                     (m) assess the impact of 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; 

                (9) monitor any enacted sentencing guidelines with respect to uniformity and proportionality;

                (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;

                (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) contingent upon the availability of funding, provide impact estimates, incorporating prison population projections, on all proposed legislation that has the potential to affect correctional resources.

          E. The members of the 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 New Mexico sentencing commission is administratively attached to the office of the governor."

     Section 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the provisions of this act is July 1, 2007.

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