An act to amend 1953 PA 232, entitled “An act to revise, consolidate, and codify the laws relating to probationers and probation officers, to pardons, reprieves, commutations, and paroles, to the administration of correctional institutions, correctional farms, and probation recovery camps, to prisoner labor and correctional industries, and to the supervision and inspection of local jails and houses of correction; to provide for the siting of correctional facilities; to create a state department of corrections, and to prescribe its powers and duties; to provide for the transfer to and vesting in said department of powers and duties vested by law in certain other state boards, commissions, and officers, and to abolish certain boards, commissions, and offices the powers and duties of which are transferred by this act; to allow for the operation of certain facilities by private entities; to prescribe the powers and duties of certain other state departments and agencies; to provide for the creation of a local lockup advisory board; to provide for a lifetime electronic monitoring program; to prescribe penalties for the violation of the provisions of this act; to make certain appropriations; to repeal certain parts of this act on specific dates; and to repeal all acts and parts of acts inconsistent with the provisions of this act,” by amending sections 34 and 35 (MCL 791.234 and 791.235), section 34 as amended by 2019 PA 14 and section 35 as amended by 2019 PA 13.
Senate Bill 599 amends the Corrections Code of 1953 to modify parole eligibility, particularly for medically frail inmates. Key provisions include:
Parole Eligibility: Prisoners serving indeterminate sentences must serve the minimum sentence, adjusted for good time and disciplinary credits, before becoming eligible for parole. However, those sentenced to life for specific serious crimes are not eligible for parole.
Criteria for Parole: The bill outlines eligibility criteria for parole, including for prisoners sentenced to life with the possibility of parole, detailing time-served requirements and conditions for parole board reviews and public hearings.
Drug Offenses: Special considerations are given for prisoners convicted of certain drug offenses before specific dates, with varying time-served requirements and the possibility of parole based on cooperation with law enforcement.
Notification and Objection Process: Prosecutors and victims are given a process to be notified of and object to parole decisions. This includes provisions for independent medical examinations and judicial review for medically frail prisoners.
Exclusions in Parole Determinations: The parole board is instructed on factors it must not consider in making parole determinations, such as expunged juvenile records.
Parole Interview and Report: Prisoners must be notified in advance of a parole interview, and a parole eligibility report must be prepared, including misconduct, work and educational records, and psychological evaluations.
Medical Parole for Medically Frail Prisoners: Defines "medically frail" and allows for medical parole based on evaluations by independent medical specialists, subject to conditions like electronic monitoring.
Public Safety Provisions: Includes requirements for electronic monitoring, the ability to transfer parolees who violate terms, and compliance of medical facilities with regulations.
Mental Health Treatment: Mandates mental health treatment for parolees when deemed necessary.
Co-sponsored by Sens.
Referred to the Committee on Civil Rights, Judiciary, and Public Safety
Reported with substitute S-1
Referred to the Committee of the Whole
Reported with substitute S-1
Substitute S-1 concurred in by voice vote
1. Amend page 21, line 17, after “medical” by striking out “or mental health”.
The amendment failed by voice vote
1. Amend page 14, line 5, after “subsection” by striking out “(18)” and inserting “(19)”.
2. Amend page 17, line 23, after “subsection” by striking out “(20)(d)(ii)” and inserting “(21)(d)(ii)”.
3. Amend page 18, following line 26, by inserting:
“(12) (13) The parole board shall immediately notify the prosecutor for the county in which the offender was convicted and the sentencing or successor judge if the parolee is no longer eligible for care or no longer needs the level of care for which the prisoner was placed at the medical facility.” and renumbering the remaining subsections.
4. Amend page 21, line 17, after “A” by inserting “risk score of low on a validated risk assessment and a”.
5. Amend page 21, following line 23, by inserting:
“(iv) A recommendation from a health professional to receive services provided by a hospice, as that term is defined in section 20106 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.20106, due to the individual’s terminal disease or condition.”.
The amendment failed by voice vote
Passed in the Senate 22 to 16 (details)
Referred to the Committee on Judiciary
Reported without amendment
Referred to the Committee on Criminal Justice
Reported with substitute H-1
Substitute H-1 concurred in by voice vote
Passed in the House 60 to 49 (details)
Motion to give immediate effect
by
The motion prevailed by voice vote
Substitute H-1 concurred in 22 to 16 (details)
