General Assembly>Division of Legislative Services>Publications>Session Summaries>2006>Prisons and Other Methods of Correction

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Prisons and Other Methods of Correction

Passed

P HB207

Community-based correctional facilities; notice. Requires the Department of Corrections to notify the locality and adjacent landowners before acquiring, constructing, or leasing a community-based correctional facility, and to hold a public hearing if requested by the locality.
Patron - Cox

P HB629

Felonies by prisoners; tampering, etc., with fire protection systems; penalty. Makes it a Class 6 felony for a prisoner in a state, local, or community correctional facility to willfully tamper with, damage, destroy, or disable any fire protection or fire suppression system, equipment, or sprinklers.
Patron - Phillips

P HB691

Discharge of prisoner; records required to be provided to prisoner upon release. Requires the Director of the Department of Corrections to provide each prisoner with the following documents upon discharge: (i) verification of the prisoner's work history while in custody; and (ii) verification of all educational and treatment programs completed by the prisoner while in custody. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee Studying the Commonwealth's Program for Prisoner Reentry to Society (2005). This bill incorporates HB 1530.
Patron - Dance

P HB882

Suits against prisoners; guardian ad litem. Allows suits to be maintained against a prisoner through his committee, a guardian ad litem appointed for the prisoner pursuant to § 8.01-9, or an attorney licensed to practice law in the Commonwealth who has entered of record an appearance for such prisoner.
Patron - Griffith

P HB1093

Discharge of prisoner; medical records to be provided to prisoner upon release. Requires the Department of Corrections to provide a prisoner with a copy of his medical records upon his discharge, so long as the prisoner requested a copy of the records at least 60 days prior to the expiration of his term.
Patron - Scott, J.M.

P HB1261

Alternative sentences; noncompliance by offender. Allows a sheriff or jail administrator to revoke an offender's sentence to participate in a work release program or to serve his sentence on nonconsecutive days, if the offender violates the rules of the jail. The sheriff or jail administrator shall notify the court that issued the sentence of the decision to remove the offender from the work release program or to require the offender to serve his sentence on consecutive days, indicating the specific violations that led to the decision.
Patron - Janis

P SB457

Sheriff; courthouse security. Provides that funds collected through the $5 assessment in criminal and traffic cases shall only be used to fund courthouse security personnel and equipment used in connection with courthouse security.
Patron - Devolites Davis

Failed

F HB177

Courthouse security; assessment. Increases from $5 to $20 the part of the costs in each criminal or traffic case in district or circuit courts in which the defendant is convicted of a violation of any statute or ordinance that is used to provide and maintain courthouse security. This bill is identical to HB 224 and HB 378.
Patron - McEachin

F HB179

Number of deputy sheriffs. Requires the number of full-time deputies appointed by the sheriff of a county or city to be fixed by the Compensation Board at not less than 10 deputies. The bill also requires that a minimum of five such deputies be assigned by the sheriff to provide courtroom security.
Patron - McEachin

F HB191

Department of Corrections; functional literacy requirement. Requires all mentally capable inmates who are not functionally literate to participate in a literacy program established by the Department of Correctional Education.
Patron - Ward

F HB218

Regional jails. Allows the state to partner with a city to establish, maintain, and operate a regional jail in the same manner as a local governing body. The State Board of Corrections would serve as the participating board or authority with the addition of the city's sheriff and one other local representative.
Patron - Jones, D.C.

F HB221

Inmate telephone systems; Prisoner Reentry Fund. Requires the Department of Corrections to obtain debit or prepaid telephone services for inmates at the lowest available rates, allowing for the security needs of the institutions. The bill caps at 10 percent the commission to be paid to the Commonwealth by the service providers. The bill creates a prisoner reentry fund, comprised of the commissions, to be used for pre-release and post-release programs, including those supported by charitable and faith-based organizations.
Patron - Jones, D.C.

F HB224

F HB235

Members of jail farm board or regional jail authority; establishment of regional board or authority by sole locality. Provides a procedure for regional jail boards and authorities to add and remove member localities and allows the City of Richmond to submit the required studies, the required community-based corrections plan and specifications, detailed cost estimates, and financing costs of any construction of a regional facility or enlargement or renovation of an existing jail for the purpose of establishing a regional jail facility as if the City of Richmond were a participating member of a regional jail authority or jail farm board.
Patron - Jones, D.C.

F HB365

Regional jails. Extends the deadline for consideration of construction, enlargement, or renovation of certain local or regional jail facilities as that deadline applies to the New River Valley Regional Jail. This bill contains an emergency clause to make it effective upon passage.
Patron - Carrico

F HB378

F HB475

Prisoners; residential community programs. Requires the Department of Corrections to give nonviolent prisoners who have not been convicted of murder in the first degree, rape in violation of § 18.2-61, forcible sodomy, animate or inanimate object sexual penetration, aggravated sexual battery, or sentenced to one or more life terms the opportunity, where available, to participate in a residential community program, work release, or a community-based program. Current law requires that the prisoner not be convicted of any violent crime and be sentenced to at least three years. The bill also restricts the cost of keep to up to 30 percent of the prisoner's gross earnings. This bill is identical to SB 185.
Patron - Shuler

F HB487

Department of State Police; immigration laws. States that it is the responsibility of the Governor to enter into an agreement with federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement that would allow the Department of State Police to enforce civil immigration laws.
Patron - Frederick

F HB603

Treatment of prisoners; infectious disease. Requires assessment of inmates with infectious diseases to insure safety in work and housing assignments. Also requires an examination by a licensed physician within 30 days of any new work assignment.
Patron - Amundson

F HB635

Correctional officer; definition. Includes wardens, assistant wardens, and supervisors in the definition of a correctional officer. This would have the effect of including wardens, assistant wardens, and supervisors in the Virginia Law Officers' Retirement System. It would also include them in the Line of Duty Act, and would give them the more protected status of law officers under several criminal law statutes.
Patron - Phillips

F HB745

Punishment for conviction of felony; drug violations; post-release supervision; penalties. Requires that for any felony drug offense committed on or after July 1, 2006, the court impose an additional term of not less than 18 months of post-release supervision, which shall include drug testing on a regular basis.
Patron - Purkey

F HB1060

Parole; basis for parole denial. Provides that, for a prisoner who has served at least 20 years of the term of imprisonment imposed and has been denied parole at least three consecutive times solely because of the seriousness of the offense, the Board shall not deny parole a fourth consecutive time solely on the basis of the serious nature of the offense.
Patron - Reid

F HB1255

Department of Corrections; privatization of food service. Requires the Department of Corrections to increase, by 10 percent per year for Fiscal Years 2007 through 2010, the amount contracted for private provision of food service at correctional facilities.
Patron - Hugo

F HB1316

Revocation of suspension of sentence and probation. Mandates the revocation of probation or sentence suspension for subsequent probation violations.
Patron - Cosgrove

F HB1452

Board of Corrections; membership; powers. Provides that the membership of the State Board of Corrections shall include two community leaders, two elected officials, three members of the medical profession, and two citizens with an immediate family member incarcerated within the Commonwealth of Virginia. The bill also requires the Board to report to the Governor on a quarterly basis and to the General Assembly at least once per year during the month of November, and provides that Board members with an incarcerated family member shall not be provided unlimited access to those institutions where their incarcerated family members are housed. Finally, the bill allows the Board to enter and inspect Department of Corrections facilities at any time.
Patron - Ebbin

F HB1530

Discharge of prisoner; records required upon release. Requires the Director of the Department of Corrections to provide each prisoner with the following documents upon discharge: (i) any identification documents received pursuant to § 53.1-10, (ii) a list of all court fines or child support owed by the prisoner along with a payment schedule to bring such accounts current, and (iii) a list of mental health resources available to the prisoner upon release. This bill was incorporated into HB 691.
Patron - BaCote

F SB44

Residential community programs. Requires the Department of Corrections to give nonviolent prisoners who have not been convicted of murder in the first degree, rape in violation of § 18.2-61, forcible sodomy, animate or inanimate object sexual penetration, or aggravated sexual battery, or sentenced to a term of life imprisonment or two or more life sentences the opportunity to participate in a residential community program, work release, or a community-based program. Current law requires that the prisoner not be convicted of any violent crime and be sentenced to at least three years. The bill also restricts the cost of keep to up to 30 percent of gross earnings. This bill was incorporated into SB 185.
Patron - Locke

F SB185

Residential community programs. Requires the Department of Corrections to give nonviolent prisoners who have not been sentenced upon a conviction of murder in the first degree, rape in violation of § 18.2-61, forcible sodomy, animate or inanimate object sexual penetration, aggravated sexual battery, or sentenced to one or more life terms the opportunity, where available, to participate in a residential community program, work release, or a community-based program. Current law requires that the prisoner not be convicted of any violent crime and be sentenced to at least three years. The bill also restricts the cost of keep to no more than 30 percent of the prisoner's gross earnings. This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee Studying the Commonwealth's Program for Prisoner Reentry to Society (2005). This bill is identical to HB 475.
Patron - Puller

F SB343

Regional jail for the counties of Shenandoah, Page, Warren, and Rappahannock. Exempts the counties of Shenandoah, Page, Warren, and Rappahannock from the funding limitation of Item 416 B of the general appropriations act of 2004-2006, or any similar prohibition enacted in the future. The specified counties may submit to the governor, on or before March 1, 2007, a plan for a regional jail.
Patron - Obenshain

F SB500

Board of Corrections; membership; powers. Requires that appointees to the State Board of Corrections include two members of the medical profession, and one citizen with an immediate family member formerly incarcerated in Virginia. The bill also requires the Board to report to the Governor on a quarterly basis and to the General Assembly annually during the month of November. Finally, the bill allows the Board to enter and inspect Department of Corrections facilities at any time.
Patron - Puckett

F SB501

Residential community programs. Requires the Department of Corrections to give nonviolent prisoners who have not been convicted of murder in the first degree, rape in violation of § 18.2-61, forcible sodomy, animate or inanimate object sexual penetration or aggravated sexual battery or sentenced to a term of life imprisonment or two or more life sentences the opportunity to participate in a residential community program, work release, or a community-based program. Current law requires that the prisoner not be convicted of any violent crime and be sentenced to at least three years. The bill also restricts the cost of keep to up to 30 percent of gross earnings. This bill was incorporated into SB 185.
Patron - Puckett

F SB612

F SB633

Courthouse security fee. Increases the fee assessed for costs in criminal and traffic cases to $10. Additionally, the bill states that the assessment shall be used solely for the funding of courthouse security personnel, equipment, and other personal property used in connection with courthouse security. This bill was incorporated into SB 457.
Patron - Edwards

Carried Over

C SB105

Good conduct allowance; mandatory functional literacy requirement. Provides for good conduct allowance for prisoners, depending on their performance and conduct, in which escalating credits toward good conduct allowance are available in four class levels. The highest level available is 50 percent credit for those prisoners who have demonstrated exemplary behavior and who have earned or are making progress toward earning their general educational development (GED) certificate. The bill also provides, for certain prisoners, credits for reading and passing examinations on books approved by the Department of Correctional Education. This summary reflects the substitute adopted by the Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services. The bill, as amended, was carried over to the 2007 Session.
Patron - Marsh

C SB249

Parole Board; eligibility guidelines. Establishes a Parole Guidelines Review Panel, composed of six legislative members and 12 nonlegislative citizen members to review quadrennially the adequacy of guidelines for the determination of parole release by considering current research data on the risks of recidivism, the expectations of sentencing courts at the time parole-eligible sentences were imposed, the expectations for parole on certain sentences prior to the abolishment of parole, and any other resources it deems relevant to such review. This bill also makes other changes to the parole guidelines, such as requiring the Parole Board to include an analytical scale to assess risk, not requiring technical parole violators to serve the minimum six-month sentence, specifying that a person must have been at liberty between felony offenses of murder, rape, or robbery by the presenting of firearms or other deadly weapons in order for them to be separate offenses, not allowing the nature of the offense to be considered in determining eligibility for parole, except as provided in the analytical scale, and allowing the use of videoconferencing in parole interviews.
Patron - Ticer

C SB618

Child-friendly visiting rooms in state and local correctional facilities. Requires each state correctional facility to provide child-friendly visiting rooms that include activities for young children, adequate facilities with private areas for nursing, and regulations that do not penalize inmates with sanctions, such as the termination of a visit, for normal child behavior.
Patron - Miller

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General Assembly>Division of Legislative Services>Publications>Session Summaries>2006>Prisons and Other Methods of Correction

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