PRINTER'S NO. 3502
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE BILL
No.
2155
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY THOMAS, JUNE 13, 2016
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY, JUNE 13, 2016
AN ACT
Amending Title 61 (Prisons and Parole) of the Pennsylvania
Consolidated Statutes, in miscellaneous provisions,
establishing the Pennsylvania Interagency Council on Inmate
Reentry.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Title 61 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
Statutes is amended by adding a section to read:
ยง 5907. Pennsylvania Interagency Council on Inmate Reentry.
(a) Establishment.--The Pennsylvania Interagency Council on
Inmate Reentry is established.
(b) Membership.--The council shall consist of the following
members:
(1) The secretary, or a designee.
(2) The Secretary of Community and Economic Development,
or a designee.
(3) The Secretary of Education, or a designee.
(4) The Secretary of Labor and Industry, or a designee.
(5) The Secretary of Human Services, or a designee.
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(6) The Director of Homeland Security, or a designee.
(7) The Director of the Pennsylvania Emergency
Management Agency, or a designee.
(8) The Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Housing
Finance Agency, or a designee.
(9) The Adjutant General of the Department of Military
and Veterans Affairs, or a designee.
(10) The victim advocate of the Office of Victim
Advocate, or a designee.
(11) The Chairman of the Pennsylvania Board of Probation
and Parole, or a designee.
(12) An elected county commissioner selected by the
County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.
(13) An elected district attorney selected by the
Pennsylvania District Attorney's Association.
(14) The chairman of the Pennsylvania Commission on
Crime and Delinquency, or a designee.
(c) Quorum.--A majority of the members shall constitute a
quorum and a vote of the majority of the members present shall
be sufficient for all actions.
(d) Chairperson.--The secretary or his designee shall serve
as the chairperson of the council. A member of the council shall
be designated by the chairperson of the committee as vice
chairperson and shall preside at meetings in the absence of the
chairperson.
(e) Meetings.--The council shall meet at the call of the
chairperson but no less than six times per year.
(f) Reimbursement.--Members of the council shall serve
without compensation but may be reimbursed for necessary and
reasonable expenses incurred in attending meetings of the
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council and in the performance of their duties under this
section.
(g) Support.--The department shall provide staff and
administrative support for the council. The council may enter
into a memorandum of understanding with the Pennsylvania
Commission on Crime and Delinquency for additional necessary
support.
(h) Duties.--
(1) The council shall examine:
(i) Methods of:
(A) Improving the process of reentering inmates
into the community.
(B) Strengthening the educational and vocational
skills of inmates while incarcerated.
(C) Establishing and implementing effective and
consistent reentry plans prior to inmates' scheduled
release into the community.
(D) Incentivizing employers to hire former
inmates through financial or other economic
incentives.
(ii) The impediments to successful reentry plans,
such as the use of employer background checks and
statutory and regulatory bars to employment.
(2) The council may rely on studies and reports that
have already been prepared by other state entities or private
organizations in its examination under this subsection.
(i) Report to General Assembly.--The council shall submit a
report to the General Assembly that provides the results of its
examination and findings under subsection (h) and shall file its
report with recommendations no later than one year from the
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effective date of this section.
(j) Expiration.--This section shall expire 365 days from the
effective date of this section.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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