Assigned to COMPS & APPROP FOR
COMMITTEE
Assigned to COMPS & APPROP FOR
COMMITTEE
ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Third Legislature, Second Regular Session
prisoners; drug sentences; out-of-custody treatment
Purpose
Permits certain prisoners serving sentences for drug offenses to be released to probation, parole or community supervision if the offender agrees to participate in an outpatient program that provides substance abuse treatment.
Background
Pursuant to Arizona’s truth-in-sentencing laws, if convicted of an offense committed on or after January 1, 1994, inmates may earn release credits of one day for every six days served, including time served in county jails (A.R.S. § 41-1604.07). The earned release credits shorten the prison sentence. Arizona’s truth-in-sentencing also created community supervision for inmates who commit offenses on or after January 1, 1994. Once an inmate has reached his or her earned release date or sentence expiration date, the inmate is released to begin his or her term of community supervision, or a term of probation if the court waived community supervision. Community supervision is a portion of a felony sentence and is served consecutive to the inmate’s period of imprisonment (A.R.S. § 13-603).
Laws 2017, Chapter 286 appropriated $2,750,000 from several funds to the Arizona Criminal Justice Commission to distribute to county attorney offices other than Maricopa County for the purpose of administering pretrial intervention programs. Pretrial intervention programs provide substance abuse treatment including medically-assisted treatment with mandatory drug testing when appropriate, cognitive behavioral therapy and case management services as appropriate for non-dangerous, nonrepetitive offenders.
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
Prisoner Outpatient Programs
1. Requires the Director of the Department of Corrections (Director) to require each prisoner who is placed on probation, parole or community supervision pursuant to this section to attend and participate in an outpatient program that provides substance abuse treatment, including the administration of pharmacological treatments for the management of opioid dependence, if appropriate.
2. Requires prisoners who are released for parole or community supervision to participate in outpatient programs if convicted of possession or use of:
a) marijuana;
b) a dangerous drug;
c) a narcotic drug; or
d) drug paraphernalia.
3. Permits a prisoner whose community supervision was waived to be released and begin a term of probation if the offender agrees to participate in the outpatient programs if otherwise eligible.
Program Eligibility
4. Prohibits a prisoner from participating in a prisoner outpatient program if the person has:
a) previously been convicted of violent crimes, sexual offenses or sexual exploitation of children;
b) a felony detainer;
c) been found to be in violation of a major violent rule during the prisoner's current period of incarceration or to be in violation of any other major rule within the previous six months;
d) served less than 50 percent of the person's sentence; or
e) previously been released on an outpatient release program and violated a term of the prisoner's release.
5. Stipulates that an accumulation of minor rule violations does not equal a major violation.
6. Prohibits the Director from denying a prisoner eligibility for a prisoner outpatient program because the prisoner does not have a place to reside before being released.
7. Repeals language exempting a person who has previously been convicted and sentenced of any felony offense in any jurisdiction of the United States from eligibility for a prisoner outpatient program.
8. Repeals language stipulating that an offense that is committed in another jurisdiction and classified as a felony in Arizona is not a felony offense for the purposes of early release.
9. Repeals a condition for early release that the Board of Executive Clemency must grant the release in circumstances where the offender is released to a prisoner outpatient program.
Department of Corrections
10. Requires the Director to submit a report by September 30 of each year to the Governor, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House that contains all of the following:
a) the number of prisoners who were transferred to probation, parole or community supervision pursuant to this section in the previous year;
b) the annual total dollar amount of the difference in cost to the Department of Corrections for prisoners who are transferred to probation, parole or community supervision pursuant to this section compared to the average per diem cost of prisoners incarcerated in prison; and
c) the number of prisoners whose probation, parole or community supervision was revoked and who were returned to prison during the previous year.
11. Requires the Director to provide a copy of the report to the Secretary of State.
12. Requires the Director to prepare a list that identifies each person who is eligible for probation, parole or community supervision pursuant to this section and deliver the list to the Board of Executive Clemency within 30 days after the effective date.
13. Requires the Director to use the difference in the per diem incarceration cost and the cost of transferring prisoners to outpatient programs to pay for the program, related administrative costs, and correctional officer compensation.
Miscellaneous
14. Permits a county attorney to place persons who are repeat offenders in a felony pretrial intervention program.
15. Makes technical and conforming changes.
16. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
Prepared by Senate Research
February 8, 2018
GH/VR/lb