Regular Session 2019-2020 Senate Bill 0500 P.N. 0482

PRINTER'S NO. 482

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE BILL

No.

500

Session of

2019

INTRODUCED BY BAKER, BARTOLOTTA, KILLION, STREET, COLLETT,

A. WILLIAMS, LEACH, HAYWOOD, SCHWANK AND COSTA,

MARCH 25, 2019

REFERRED TO JUDICIARY, MARCH 25, 2019

AN ACT

Amending the act of November 22, 1978 (P.L.1166, No.274),

entitled "An act establishing the Pennsylvania Commission on

Crime and Delinquency, providing for its powers and duties

establishing several advisory committees within the

commission and providing for their powers and duties,"

providing for County Adult Probation and Parole Advisory

Committee, for justice reinvestment grants, phase 2 and for

continuing county probation and parole grants; making an

appropriation; and making a related repeal.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1. The act of November 22, 1978 (P.L.1166, No.274),

referred to as the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and

Delinquency Law, is amended by adding sections to read:

Section 6.1. County Adult Probation and Parole Advisory

Committee.

(a) Establishment.--The County Adult Probation and Parole

Advisory Committee is established within the commission.

(b) Composition.--The committee shall consist of the

following members:

(1) The chairman of the Pennsylvania Board of Probation

and Parole or a designee, who shall serve as an ex officio

and nonvoting member.

(2) The Chair of the Juvenile Court Judges' Commission

or a designee, who shall serve as an ex officio and nonvoting

member.

(3) The Executive Director of the Pennsylvania

Commission on Sentencing, or a designee, who shall serve as

an ex officio and nonvoting member.

(4) The President of the County Commissioners

Association of Pennsylvania or a designee.

(5) The Executive Director of the County Chief Adult

Probation and Parole Officers Association of Pennsylvania or

a designee.

(6) The Victim Advocate.

(7) The Court Administrator of Pennsylvania or a

designee.

(8) A district attorney and a chief defender appointed

by the Chief Justice of Pennsylvania.

(9) A county chief probation and parole officer

appointed by the Chief Justice of Pennsylvania.

(10) A county commissioner or a home rule equivalent

appointed by the Governor.

(11) Seven judges of the courts of common pleas who

serve in the criminal court area and are representative of

the geographic and demographic diversity of this

Commonwealth, appointed by the Chief Justice of Pennsylvania.

(1) As designated by the Chief Justice of Pennsylvania

at the time of appointment and until successors are

appointed, the following shall apply to appointees initially

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appointed under subsection (b)(8), (9) and (11):

(i) Four appointees shall serve an initial term of

two years.

(ii) Three appointees shall serve an initial term of

three years.

(iii) Three appointees shall serve an initial term

of four years.

(2) An appointment to fill a vacancy created by a member

appointed in accordance with paragraph (1) shall be for the

remainder of the unexpired term.

(3) Members appointed under subsection (b)(1), (2), (3),

(4), (5), (6) , (7) and (10) shall serve by virtue of the

member's office, and the member's term shall be concurrent

with the member's service in the office.

(d) Terms of office.--Upon the expiration of a term of a

member appointed under subsection (c)(1), a member may be

appointed for no more than one additional consecutive term of

four years.

(e) Conditions of appointment.--The committee and the

committee's members are subject to the same limitations and

conditions imposed upon the commission under section 2(d), (e),

(h), (i), (m) and (n).

(f) Quorum.--A majority of the voting members shall

constitute a quorum and a vote of the majority of the voting

members present shall be sufficient for all actions.

(g) Committee chair.--The chairperson of the commission

shall appoint a committee chair from among the judges on the

committee, who shall serve at the pleasure of the chairperson. A

vice committee chair shall be designated by the committee chair

and shall preside at meetings in the chair's absence. The

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committee shall meet at the call of the committee chair, but not

less than four times per year.

(h) Powers and duties.--The County Adult Probation and

Parole Advisory Committee, with the review and approval of the

commission, shall:

(1) Review and comment on grant applications for county

intermediate punishment programs or discretionary grants.

(2) Develop a funding plan for county adult probation

and parole departments that includes county intermediate

punishment programs, discretionary grants and a funding

formula. Counties supervising larger numbers of individuals

with significant risk and need scores shall receive greater

consideration in grant awards. The committee shall consider

the following in developing the funding formula:

(i) The number of people in the county that were

sentenced to probation supervision in the prior year.

(ii) The number of people in the county that were

under judicial supervision in pretrial status in the

community in the prior year.

(iii) The number of people in the county that were

placed under county probation supervision following

county incarceration in the prior year.

(iv) The offense gravity score and prior record

score of persons in the county under the supervision of

county probation in the prior year.

(v) The risk and need score of persons in the county

under the supervision of county probation, as determined

through the use of a validated and commission-approved

instrument.

(vi) The county's submission of data to the

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Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing, and the

commission's certification of the county's compliance

with guidelines and the county's current intermediate

punishment plan for imposing restrictive conditions.

(3) Advise on all matters pertaining to the

administration of the county adult probation and parole

system.

(4) Analyze data to identify trends and to determine the

effectiveness of programs and practices to ensure the

reasonable and efficient administration of the county adult

probation and parole system.

(5) Make recommendations and adopt standards for

probation and parole personnel, including standards for

services, caseload standards, risk assessment, responses to

violations and other evidence-based programs and practices.

(6) Assist the commission in the implementation of 42

Pa.C.S. Ch. 98 (relating to county intermediate punishment).

(7) Within one year of the effective date of this

section, absorb the funding, powers and duties of the County

Probation Officers' Firearm Education and Training Commission

established under 61 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63 (relating to county

probation officers' firearm education and training), appoint

a subcommittee with expertise comparable to that of the

current membership of the County Probation Officers' Firearm

Education and Training Commission and assume responsibility

and oversight for the firearm education and training of

county adult and juvenile probation and parole officers.

(8) Report annually to the Governor and General Assembly

on the distribution and use of funding under paragraphs (1)

and (2).

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(i) Staff.--Staff support shall be made available to the

committee by the executive director of the commission in order

to adequately perform the duties provided for under this

section.

(j) Authority not diminished.--This section may not be

interpreted to diminish the authority of a president judge in a

supervising county's probation and parole department.

Section 9.1. Justice reinvestment grants, phase 2.

(a) Justice Reinvestment Fund.--The Justice Reinvestment

Fund will be utilized to support programs and activities to

improve the delivery of criminal justice services within this

Commonwealth.

(b) Savings assessment.--For fiscal years 2020-2021, 2021-

2022, 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, the Office of the Budget shall

develop a formula to calculate the amount of savings to the

Department of Corrections in the prior fiscal year. The

calculation shall include all of the following:

(1) implementation of short sentence parole under 61

Pa.C.S. § 6137.5 (relating to short sentence parole);

(2) increased use of the State drug treatment program

under 61 Pa.C.S. Ch. 41 (relating to State intermediate

punishment); or

(3) use of sanctions for technical parole violations

under 61 Pa.C.S. § 6138(c)(8) (relating to violation of terms

of parole).

the Justice Reinvestment Fund:

(1) In fiscal year 2020-2021, an amount not to exceed

100% of the amount determined to be savings in the prior

fiscal year.

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(2) In fiscal year 2021-2022, an amount not to exceed

50% of the amount determined to be savings in the prior

fiscal year.

(3) In fiscal years 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, an amount

in each year not to exceed 50% of the amount determined to be

savings in the prior fiscal year.

(d) Distributions.--For fiscal years 2019-2020, 2020-2021,

2021-2022, 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, the sum of $250,000 shall be

distributed to the commission for the purpose of crime victim

compensation and the sum of $250,000 shall be distributed to the

Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing to implement risk

assessment and justice reinvestment sentencing features. The

remaining deposits in subsection (c) shall be distributed to the

commission for formula funding to county probation and parole

departments, as advised by the County Adult Probation and Parole

Advisory Committee under section 6.1.

(e) Restriction.--Grants awarded under this section shall be

annual grants and shall be used to supplement and not supplant

existing funding, including funding provided by county

governments.

(f) Expiration.--This section shall expire July 15, 2024.

Section 10.1. Continuing county probation and parole grants.

(a) General rule.--A county that provides adult probation

staff shall receive grant funding from the Commonwealth through

the commission for costs incurred by the county but only to the

extent that the staff and program meet the qualifications and

standards established by the commission.

(b) Appropriation.--

(1) For fiscal years 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021,

2021-2022, 2022-2023 and 2023-2024, the sum of $16,222,000

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shall be appropriated to the commission for the purpose of

formula funding to county probation and parole departments,

as advised by the County Adult Probation and Parole Advisory

Committee under section 6.1.

(2) For fiscal year 2024-2025, the sum of $34,922,000

shall be appropriated to the commission for the purpose of

formula funding to county probation and parole departments,

as advised by the County Adult Probation and Parole Advisory

Committee under section 6.1.

(3) Beginning in fiscal year 2025-2026 and annually

thereafter, the Commonwealth shall adjust the appropriation

to reflect the annual percentage change in the Consumer Price

Index for All Urban Consumers, published by the United States

Department of Commerce, Bureau of Labor Statistics, occurring

in the one-year period ending on January 1 immediately

preceding July 1.

(4) If insufficient funds are appropriated, each county

shall receive a prorated reduction in funding.

Section 2. Repeals are as follows:

(1) The General Assembly declares that the repeal under

paragraph (2) is necessary to effectuate the addition of

section 6.1 of the act.

(2) 61 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63 is repealed.

Section 3. Transfers shall be effectuated as follows:

(1) The functions, personnel, allocations,

appropriations, equipment, supplies, records, contracts,

rights and obligations of the County Probation Officers'

Firearm Education and Training Commission are transferred to

the County Adult Probation and Parole Advisory Committee. The

transfer under this paragraph has the same effect as if the

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subjects of transfer had originally been those of the County

Adult Probation and Parole Advisory Committee.

(2) Personnel transferred under paragraph (1) shall

retain the same employment status held prior to transfer.

This paragraph includes:

(i) Civil service classification.

(ii) Seniority.

(iii) Benefits.

(iv) Perquisites.

(3) Activities initiated under 61 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63 shall

continue and remain in full force and effect and may be

completed under section 6.1 of the act.

(4) Orders, regulations, rules and decisions which were

made under 61 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63 and which are in effect on the

effective date of section 2(2) of this act shall remain in

full force and effect until revoked, vacated or modified

under section 6.1 of the act.

(5) Contracts, obligations and collective bargaining

agreements entered into under 61 Pa.C.S. Ch. 63 are not

affected nor impaired by repeals under this act.

Section 4. A reference in a statute or regulation to the

County Probation Officers' Firearm Education and Training

Commission shall be deemed a reference to the County Adult

Probation and Parole Advisory Committee.

Section 5. This act shall take effect in 60 days.

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