Bill Text: VA SJR9 | 2020 | Regular Session | Engrossed
Bill Title: Discretionary parole; State Crime Commission to study reinstatement.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2020-02-19 - Tabled in Rules (17-Y 0-N) [SJR9 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2020-SJR9-Engrossed.html
WHEREAS, Virginia abolished discretionary parole in 1995; and
WHEREAS, the number of prisoners under the jurisdiction of federal or state correctional authorities in Virginia in 1994, prior to the abolition of discretionary parole, totaled 26,192 and the most recent Department of Corrections statistics show that the number of responsible offenders incarcerated in Department of Corrections institutions in March 2019 totaled 30,073; and
WHEREAS, Virginia spends approximately $32,000 on each inmate, a figure that increases annually, and health care costs of aging inmates are expected to continue increasing the overall cost per inmate; and
WHEREAS, 34 states have retained the function of parole release; and
WHEREAS, between 1989 and 2000, only nine states abolished parole and none have abolished parole since 2000; and
WHEREAS, discretionary parole can help to balance jurisdictional differences in arrests, prosecutions, and sentencings for the same offense; and
WHEREAS, parole can provide important monitoring tools for supervision of offenders released into the community as well as help to transition offenders from prison to the community; and
WHEREAS, the 2015 Governor's Commission on Parole Review was unable to discuss or review numerous issues related to parole due to time restrictions and did not address reinstating discretionary parole; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring,
That the [ Joint Legislative Audit and Review
State Crime ] Commission be directed to study the reinstatement of discretionary
parole.
In conducting its study, the [ Joint Legislative
Audit and Review State Crime ] Commission shall (i) review the
overall costs, benefits, and logistics of reinstating discretionary parole;
(ii) compare the growth in crime and the growth in incarcerated
state-responsible inmates in states that have retained discretionary parole
release with corresponding rates in Virginia; (iii) review the increased prison
population in Virginia since the abolition of discretionary parole and the
costs associated with the increase in prison population; (iv) assess the
potential cost savings of the reinstatement of discretionary parole in relation
to current and past incarceration costs in Virginia and compare the costs of
incarceration and parole with other states that currently have discretionary
parole; (v) assess the current number of inmates and types of offenses that
would be potentially appropriate for release on parole; (vi) assess the
potential impacts discretionary parole can have on an offender's supervision
once released and the offender's transition back into the community, including
review of other states that still have discretionary parole and comparison of
recidivism data among other states that still have discretionary parole and
Virginia; and (vii) provide recommendations on the appropriate structure of
discretionary parole, if it were to be reinstated, given the current sentencing
procedures in Virginia and changes to the law since 1995.
Technical assistance shall be provided to the [ Joint
Legislative Audit and Review State Crime ] Commission by the
Virginia Parole Board. All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide
assistance to the [ Joint Legislative Audit and Review
State Crime ] Commission for this study, upon request.
The [ Joint Legislative Audit and Review
State Crime] Commission shall complete its meetings by November 30, 2020, and
the chairman shall submit to the Division of Legislative Automated Systems an
executive summary of its findings and recommendations no later than the first
day of the 2021 Regular Session of the General Assembly. The executive summary
shall state whether the [ Joint Legislative Audit and Review
State Crime ] Commission intends to submit to the General Assembly and the
Governor a report of its findings and recommendations for publication as a
House or Senate document. The executive summary and report shall be submitted
as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems
for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on
the General Assembly's website.