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2023 SESSION

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Senate Committee on Rehabilitation and Social Services

Chair: Barbara A. Favola

Clerk: Gillian Conway, Basit Khan
Staff: David May
Date of Meeting: January 20, 2023
Time and Place: 8:00 a.m. Senate Room A
https://virginia-senate.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3

S.B. 846

Patron: Favola

Background checks; peer recovery specialists; barrier crime exceptions. Permits the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, direct care service providers, and community boards to hire peer recovery specialists who have been convicted of certain barrier crimes where a history of such offense does not pose a risk in the work of a peer recovery specialist.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 37.2-314, 37.2-416, and 37.2-506 of the Code of Virginia, relating to background checks; peer recovery specialists; barrier crime exceptions.

23102071D

S.B. 889

Patron: Morrissey

Local correctional facilities; fees; report. Eliminates or caps certain fees charged to inmates in local correctional facilities and repeals provisions that allow a sheriff or jail superintendent to establish a deferred or installment payment agreement or contract with a collections agency when an inmate is unable to pay fees owed to the local correctional facility. The bill establishes the manner in which the balance of all accounts maintained for an inmate's use must be transferred to the inmate upon release. The bill directs the State Board of Local and Regional Jails to create a work group to study implementation of the provisions of the bill and report to the General Assembly by October 1, 2023. The remainder of the bill has a delayed effective date of July 1, 2024.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 53.1-115.2, 53.1-127.1, 53.1-127.2, 53.1-131, and 53.1-131.1 of the Code of Virginia; to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 6 of Chapter 3 of Title 53.1 a section numbered 53.1-127.6; and to repeal §§ 53.1-127.3, 53.1-127.5, and 53.1-131.3 of the Code of Virginia, relating to local correctional facilities; fees; report.

23102869D

S.B. 966

Patron: Peake

Compensation of local jails for cost of incarceration. Requires the Department of Corrections to compensate local jails for the actual cost, based on the rate calculated in the Compensation Board's annual jail cost report, of incarcerating felons who should otherwise be confined in a state correctional facility. Current law provides for local jails to be compensated at the rate set forth in the general appropriation act.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 53.1-20.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to compensation of local jails for cost of incarceration.

23101388D

S.B. 994

Patron: Marsden

Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman; created. Creates the Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman headed by an Ombudsman who is selected by a Corrections Oversight Committee, also created by the bill. The Committee is made up of four members of the General Assembly and 11 nonlegislative citizen members who monitor the activities of the Ombudsman and the Department of Corrections. The bill provides the Office's authority to conduct inspections at least once every three years and more often when warranted of Department or Board of Local and Regional Jails facilities and requires the Office to establish confidential telephone hotlines and online forms for concerns, complaints, and inquiries by inmates, their family members and advocates, and Department employees and contractors. In addition, the bill requires the Committee to conduct quarterly public hearings and submit an annual report to the Governor, the Attorney General, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, the House Committee on Public Safety, and the Director of the Department.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Chapter 1 of Title 53.1 an article numbered 4, consisting of sections numbered 53.1-17.2 through 53.1-17.10, relating to Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman; created.

23102476D

S.B. 1015

Patron: Suetterlein

Investigation prior to release; input from the attorney for the Commonwealth. Provides that when the Parole Board is conducting the required investigation to determine if a prisoner will be released on parole the Board must notify the attorney for the Commonwealth in each jurisdiction in which an offense occurred for which the prisoner is incarcerated, and the attorney for the Commonwealth may submit his input to the Board regarding the impact that the release of the prisoner will have on the jurisdiction.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 53.1-155 of the Code of Virginia, relating to investigation prior to release; input from the attorney for the Commonwealth.

23101332D

S.B. 1022

Patron: Stuart

Mandatory reporting of all offenders released from a state correctional facility before the completion of the offender's sentence. Requires the Department of Corrections to provide the Virginia State Crime Commission with the name, last known address, criminal history information, length of sentence incarcerated, reason for early release, and remaining time on such length of sentence for each offender in the custody of the Department. The bill requires the Commission to publish the names of such offenders along with the reason for early release on its website and provide an annual report by November 15 to the General Assembly concerning the release of such offenders and any future criminal charges and convictions for such offenders.

A BILL to require mandatory reporting of all offenders released from a state correctional facility before the completion of the offender's sentence.

23103445D

S.B. 1219

Patron: Mason

Kinship foster care; barrier crimes; exception. Allows local boards of social services and child-placing agencies to approve as a kinship foster parent an applicant who has been convicted of possessing a Schedule I or Schedule II controlled substance, provided that (i) the offense did not involve possession of heroin, fentanyl, or methylenedioxy-methamphetamine, (ii) five years have elapsed from the date of the conviction, and (iii) the local board or child-placing agency makes a specific finding that approving the kinship foster care placement would not adversely affect the safety and well-being of the child. Under current law, such applicants may be approved as a kinship foster parent if 10 years have elapsed from the date of conviction.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 63.2-901.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to kinship foster care; barrier crimes; exception.

23103937D

S.B. 1242

Patron: Obenshain

Geriatric prisoners; conditional release; review hearings. Directs the Parole Board to review annually all petitions for geriatric conditional release. The bill provides that the Parole Board may, however, defer subsequent hearings for up to three years if an initial hearing was held and the petition for conditional release was denied. The bill also requires that, in situations in which a person who is otherwise eligible for parole under current law also files a petition for geriatric conditional release, the Parole Board conduct the reviews for such parole and conditional release at a single hearing.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 53.1-40.01 of the Code of Virginia, relating to geriatric prisoners; conditional release; review hearings.

23102607D

S.B. 1245

Patron: Obenshain

Arrest and return of parolee or felon serving a period of postrelease supervision. Directs the circuit court of the sentencing jurisdiction to initiate proceedings against a felon serving a period of postrelease supervision upon a showing of a violation or probable violation of any of the terms or conditions of his release. Under current law, the Chairman or any member of the Parole Board initiates such proceedings.

A BILL to amend and reenact § 53.1-161 of the Code of Virginia, relating to arrest and return of parolee or felon serving period of postrelease supervision.

23103530D

S.B. 1247

Patron: Obenshain

Parole Board; decision requirements; annual reports. Requires the Parole Board (the Board), prior to making any decision to grant discretionary parole to an inmate, to discuss and debate such decision at a meeting at which all Board members are present. The bill requires, in cases in which the Board grants discretionary parole to an inmate, each Board member to identify his reasoning for such decision at the time such member's vote is cast. The bill requires that parole review hearings include a live interview of the prisoner, which may be conducted in person or by videoconference or telephone, and, absent imminent death or other extraordinary circumstances, prohibits the Board from granting parole to any prisoner who has not received a live interview within the prior calendar year. The bill provides that final discharges may be issued by the Board only upon approval by a majority of Board members and requires the Board to publish an annual report regarding such final discharges, with items specified in the bill. The bill requires the Board to contact the victim of the crime for which the prisoner is incarcerated prior to making any decision to release the prisoner on discretionary parole and allows the victim to present testimony to the Board by virtual means. Under current law, the Board is required to endeavor diligently to contact the victim prior to making such decision.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 53.1-136, 53.1-154, and 53.1-155 of the Code of Virginia, relating to Parole Board; decision requirements; annual reports.

23101059D

S.B. 1267

Patron: Favola

Information to certain defendants; services of community services boards. Requires juvenile and domestic relations district courts and circuit courts, in cases in which a defendant is found not guilty of any offense after a trial at which evidence of the defendant's mental condition at the time of the alleged offense was introduced, to make available to the defendant information regarding services provided by the community services board and how such services may be accessed. The bill requires each community services board to develop, regularly update, and make available to such courts in the same locality information regarding the services provided by the community services board and information about how to access such services.

A BILL to amend the Code of Virginia by adding in Article 2 of Chapter 4.1 of Title 16.1 a section numbered 16.1-69.29:1, by adding in Article 9 of Chapter 11 of Title 16.1 a section numbered 16.1-290.2, by adding in Chapter 5 of Title 17.1 a section numbered 17.1-525, and by adding in Chapter 5 of Title 37.2 a section numbered 37.2-513, relating to information to certain defendants; services of community services boards.

23102228D

S.B. 1274

Patron: Boysko

Electronic communication systems within state correctional facilities; free telephone calls and communication services. Requires the Department of Corrections to provide telephone systems and web-based or electronic communications systems free of charge to any person, whether such person is initiating or receiving the communication. The bill also requires that a minimum ratio of one telephone per every 10 inmates be available within each housing unit at each correctional facility and that a maximum number of telephone numbers permitted on an approved call list must be no fewer than 20.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 53.1-1.1 and 53.1-35.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to electronic communication systems within state correctional facilities; free telephone calls and communication services.

23102463D

S.B. 1371

Patron: Vogel

Alcoholic beverage control; brewery licensees; tied house exception. Creates an exception to the tied house restriction on the retail sale of beer by allowing brewery licensees to sell no more than 5,000 barrels of beer per year to retail licensees for resale. Current law only allows the holder of a brewery license to sell directly to retail licensees under certain conditions.

A BILL to amend and reenact §§ 4.1-204 and 4.1-216 of the Code of Virginia, relating to alcoholic beverage control; brewery licensees; tied house exception.

23101145D