Omnibus Criminal Justice Reform Bill Introduced

On the heels of Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s $64 million prisons and public safety plan announced on Wednesday, the omnibus bill outlining a slew of changes was introduced late Thursday. Also, a state Senator who has been leading the charge for criminal justice reform introduced a bill that would implement measures regarding the state’s sex offender registry.

SB 472 by Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, R-Little Rock, and Rep. Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado, was filed on Thursday. It outlines a number of revisions and changes to the state’s criminal justice system advocated by Hutchinson.

The omnibus bill would:

• Create a Legislative Criminal Justice Oversight Task Force to study outcomes of the state’s new efforts.

• Create a “pay-for-success” program to finance programs for reducing recidivism rates through intervention. Colleges, universities, community-based providers and nonprofits could create or expand programs to reduce recidivism through jobs education. The entities providing educational services would split savings with the state if recidivism goals are met.

• Suspend those incarcerated on Medicaid from the program until they are released, but it charges the Department of Human Services to automate the suspension and reinstatement process to “maximize Medicaid reimbursement for allowable medical services and essential health benefits.”

• As an inmate nears release from incarceration, parolees and probationers should be enrolled in Medicaid to receive medical services including substance abuse and mental health treatment.

• Provide more funding for specialty courts, which include smarter sentencing, DWI, drug, veterans, mental health, and high-supervision/high-intervention courts.

• Allow police officers and Department of Community Corrections officers the authority for warrantless searches of probationers and parolees. Currently, parole and probation officers have the authority as probationers and parolees have forfeited their Fourth Amendment rights as part of their parole.

• Reform the state Parole Board in several ways. It would allow the chairman of the board to submit names of board members derelict in their duties and allow the governor to remove them and replace with new members. It would change mandatory release vote authority from a majority of four members to a larger majority of five members of the seven member board. It would also make Parole Board service a full-time job and restrict other employment for board members.

• The Parole Board may deny parole to anyone eligible, regardless of the sentence, if 5 members determine the release would be “a detriment to the community into which the person would be released.”

While not outlined in the bill, Gov. Hutchinson is also calling on the Department of Corrections to look at a number of options to free up prison beds, including creating regional facilities, transferring some prisoners out-of-state, and expanding existing prison beds without building a completely new $100 million prison.

Hutchinson has also said he plans to budget for more probation officers to help with enforcement of those on parole and probation.

SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY TRANSPARENCY BILL
Sen. David Sanders, R-Little Rock, also introduced Senate Bill 467 Thursday morning. Rep. Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado, is a co-sponsor.

The bill would amend current state law by updating rules for reporting requirements for sex offenders as well as rules for juvenile sex offenders.

On the reporting requirement issue, a person convicted of rape, first-degree sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault, third-degree sexual assault, kidnapping or incest would have to report in person every 90 days to the local law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction on their reporting.

The person would also be required to turn in several pieces of information about themselves as well.

Under current law, the information includes a sex offender’s name, Social Security number, age, race, gender, date of birth, height, weight and hair and eye color; address of any permanent residence and address of any current temporary residence within Arkansas or out of state including a rural route address and a post office box.

A sex offender also has to report the date and place of any employment as well as the vehicle make, model, color and license plate number of a vehicle the person “owns, operates or to which he or she has access.”

Under the measure, a sex offender would have to report all computers or other devices with Internet capability they have access to, as well as all email addresses, all user names, screen names or instant message names and their passport.

The rules are currently in state law, but the bill would make reporting the information mandatory.

Currently, the state’s sex offender registry lists offenders on a 1 to 4 scale, with people receiving a 4 being violent sexual predators.

The bill would make the following information public record for all sex offenders:

· The sex offender’s complete name as well as any alias.
· Date of birth.
· Any sex offense that the sex offender has pleaded guilty or no contest to.
· The street name and block number, county, city and zip code for the offender.
· Race and gender.
· The date of the last address verification of the sex offender provided to the Arkansas Crime Information Center.
· Most recent photograph.
· The offender’s parole or probation office.
· The street name and block number, county, city and zip code where the sex offender is employed.
· Any college or university where the person is enrolled.
· The vehicle identification number and license plate number of any vehicle the person owns or operates.
· A physical description of the sex offender.

Sanders said the bill is part of an overall approach at looking at the criminal justice issue.

“My belief is that we need to be compliant with our sex offender database,” Sanders said. “Level 1, 2, 3 and 4 need to be consistent; and they are not now.”

Sanders said the bill would also help the state be in compliance with the federal Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, passed in 2006; and help with funding on the issue.