File No. 540

Senate, April 9, 2008

The Committee on Judiciary reported through SEN. MCDONALD of the 27th Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the part of the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.

AN ACT CONCERNING PRISON OVERCROWDING.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2008) (a) For the purposes of this section, "prisoner population of the correctional system" means the number of inmates residing in the correctional system, and "prisoner capacity of the correctional system" means the total prisoner capacity of all correctional facilities as individually set forth in subsection (b) of this section.

(b) The prisoner capacity of each correctional facility in this state shall be as follows:

(1) Bergin Correctional Institution, 962;

(2) Bridgeport Correctional Center, 1040;

(3) Brooklyn Correctional Institution, 456;

(4) Cheshire Correctional Institution, 1,456;

(5) Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center, 1,489;

(6) Enfield Correctional Institution, 724;

(7) Garner Correctional Institution, 748;

(8) Gates Correctional Institution, 1,139;

(9) Hartford Correctional Center, 984;

(10) MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution, 2,131;

(11) Manson Youth Institution, 719;

(12) New Haven Correctional Center, 767;

(13) Northern Correctional Institution, 586;

(14) Osborn Correctional Institution, 2,094;

(15) Robinson Correctional Institution, 1,549;

(16) Webster Correctional Institution, 584;

(17) Willard/Cybulski Correctional Institution, 1,104; and

(18) York Correctional Institution, 1,553.

(c) Whenever the prisoner population of the correctional system equals or exceeds one hundred ten per cent of the prisoner capacity of the correctional system for thirty consecutive days, the Commissioner of Correction shall notify the undersecretary of the Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Division within the Office of Policy and Management and the undersecretary shall convene a meeting of the Criminal Justice Policy Advisory Commission not later than thirty days after such notification.

(d) Not later than thirty days after such meeting, the commission shall submit a report, in accordance with section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly on judiciary setting forth the community resources that would be required by the Department of Correction, the Board of Pardons and Paroles and the Court Support Services Division to enable the release and adequate community supervision of a sufficient number of nonviolent offenders to reduce the prisoner population of the correctional system to the prisoner capacity of the correctional system.

(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the release of any prisoner from confinement in a correctional facility who is not otherwise eligible to be released.

Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2008) Not later than January 1, 2009, the Criminal Justice Policy Advisory Commission shall make recommendations concerning the establishment of specialized programs and services for veterans of the armed forces who served in time of war and who are suffering from a traumatic brain injury or post traumatic stress syndrome and are incarcerated or released into the community on probation or parole or pursuant to any other community release, diversionary or reentry program.

Sec. 3. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2008) In determining the suitability of an inmate for release on parole, the Board of Pardons and Paroles may consider whether an inmate has earned a high school equivalency diploma or is taking classes toward such diploma. If an inmate is taking classes toward such diploma as of such inmate's parole release date, the board may require, as a condition of such parole release, that such inmate continue such classes and earn such diploma.

Sec. 4. (NEW) (Effective July 1, 2008) The Department of Correction and the Court Support Services Division of the Judicial Branch shall notify the police chief and chief elected official of a municipality every thirty days of the names and addresses of the persons, if any, released from confinement in a correctional facility into that municipality on probation or parole or pursuant to any other community release program within the previous thirty days and the support and assistance that is being provided to such persons to facilitate their reentry into the community.

Sec. 5. (Effective from passage) The Commissioner of Correction shall develop a policy to provide notification to the chief elected official of a municipality in which a correctional facility is located, and each member of the General Assembly representing such municipality, not later than seventy-two hours after an assault involving inmates or an inmate and a correction officer occurs in such facility. Not later than January 1, 2009, the commissioner shall provide a copy of such policy to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly on judiciary in accordance with section 11-4a of the general statutes.

Sec. 6. (Effective from passage) Not later than January 1, 2009, the Commissioner of Correction shall submit a report, in accordance with section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly on judiciary setting forth the anticipated reduction in the total prisoner population of the correctional system on and after January 1, 2010, as a result of the legislation raising the age at which a person is considered an adult for criminal law purposes.

Sec. 7. (Effective July 1, 2008) (a) The sum of ten million dollars is appropriated to the Department of Correction, from the General Fund, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, for the purpose of hiring an additional two hundred correction officers.

(b) The Department of Correction shall assign the correction officers hired pursuant to subsection (a) of this section in such a manner as to ensure adequate staffing at all correctional facilities.

Sec. 8. (Effective July 1, 2008) The sum of five hundred thousand dollars is appropriated to the Department of Correction, from the General Fund, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2009, for the purpose of providing sufficient funds to ensure that parenting programs are available to any inmates who desire to participate in such programs.

Statement of Legislative Commissioners:

References to section 11-4a of the general statutes were inserted with respect to reporting requirements in sections 1 and 6 for consistency.

The following fiscal impact statement and bill analysis are prepared for the benefit of members of the General Assembly, solely for the purpose of information, summarization, and explanation, and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose:

OFA Fiscal Note

State Impact:

Note: GF=General Fund

Municipal Impact: None

Explanation

Section 1 of the bill sets the prisoner capacity for the correctional system at 20,085¹. The bill also requires the Criminal Justice Policy Advisory Committee (CJPAC) to submit recommendations to the Judiciary Committee on resources that are needed to enable release and provide adequate community supervision of nonviolent offenders, when the prisoner population exceeds 110% (20,094 inmates) of total capacity for 30 consecutive days. The CJPAC could incur minimal costs, for printing and overtime to prepare reports, when the prisoner population exceeds 110% of capacity.

Sections 2-6 of the bill establish other requirements for criminal justice agencies, which are not anticipated to result in a fiscal impact.

Section 7 of the bill appropriates $10.0 million for the hiring of 200 additional Correction Officers. It is estimated that in FY 09 it would cost the Department of Correction (DOC) approximately $10.8 million² to hire an additional 200 Correction Officers; FY 10 costs are estimated at $14.27 million.³ However, the total cost of hiring an additional 200 Correction Officers is offset by a significant savings in overtime, since it is assumed that the 200 additional officers would relieve posts currently occupied by Correction Officers working overtime shifts.⁴ The overtime savings projected for FY 09 are estimated to be $5.0 million, resulting in a net FY 09 cost of $5.8 million. The overtime savings projected for FY 10 are estimated to be $6.3 million, resulting in a net FY 10 cost of $8.0 million.

Section 8 of the bill appropriates $500,000 to DOC for the purposes of providing parenting programs to inmates who wish to participate. It is estimated that up to 8,500 inmates could take advantage of the parenting program. To the extent that DOC offered the program themselves, and did not offer an RFP to contract for outside services, 6 full-time counselor positions would be needed, along with supplies and materials for program development. It is anticipated that the cost of offering the parenting program to the eligible 8,500 inmates would be approximately $500,000 annually.

The Out Years

The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation.



OLR Bill Analysis

sSB 668

AN ACT CONCERNING PRISON OVERCROWDING.

SUMMARY:

This bill sets the prisoner capacity at each Department of Correction (DOC) facility and a total capacity for the correctional system at 20,085. It establishes a procedure that requires the Criminal Justice Policy Advisory Commission (CJPAC) to submit recommendations to the Judiciary Committee on needed community resources whenever the total number of inmates residing in the correctional system is at least 110% of the total capacity (22,094 inmates) for 30 consecutive days.

The bill also:

1. requires CJPAC to make recommendations about specialized programs and services for certain veterans;

2. specifies that the Board of Pardons and Paroles can consider whether an inmate earned a high school equivalency diploma or is taking classes toward one when determining whether an inmate is suitable for parole;

3. appropriates to DOC for FY 09 (a) $10 million to hire 200 additional correction officers, who must be assigned in a way that ensures adequate staffing at all correctional facilities, and (b) $500,000 to provide sufficient funds to ensure that parenting programs are available to inmates who want them;

4. requires DOC to report to the Judiciary Committee by January 1, 2009 on the anticipated prison population reduction starting on January 1, 2010 because of the legislation raising the age for juvenile court jurisdiction (see BACKGROUND);

5. requires DOC to develop a policy, and give the Judiciary Committee a copy by January 1, 2009, to provide notice within 72 hours of an inmate assault on another inmate or a correction officer to (a) the chief elected official of the municipality where the correctional facility is located and (b) the legislators representing the municipality; and

6. requires DOC and the Judicial Branch's Court Support Services Division (CSSD) to notify municipal police chiefs and chief elected officials every 30 days of the names and addresses of people released from prison to their municipality on probation, parole, or other community release program within the past 30 days, including the support and assistance provided to facilitate their reentry into the community.

EFFECTIVE DATE: July 1, 2008, except for the provisions requiring the (1) report on how raising the juvenile court jurisdiction age limit will affect the prison population and (2) DOC policy on notice of assaults, which are effective upon passage.

PRISONER CAPACITY

The bill sets the prisoner capacity at each DOC facility for a total capacity for the correctional system of 20,085. It requires that whenever the total number of inmates residing in the correctional system is at least 110% of this number (22,094 inmates) for 30 consecutive days:

1. the DOC commissioner notify the Office of Policy and Management's Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Division (CJPPD) undersecretary,

2. the undersecretary convene the CJPAC within 30 days, and

3. the CJPAC submit a report to the Judiciary Committee within 30 days of its meeting stating the community resources DOC, the Board of Pardons and Paroles, and CSSD require to enable the release and adequate community supervision of enough nonviolent offenders to reduce the prison population to the set capacity.

The bill provides that it cannot be construed to require the release of any prisoner from confinement who is not otherwise eligible for release.

Individual Facility Capacity

The bill sets the prisoner capacity of each correctional facility as follows.

Facility	Prisoner Capacity
Bergin Correctional Institution	962
Bridgeport Correctional Center	1,040
Brooklyn Correctional Institution	456
Cheshire Correctional Institution	1,456
Corrigan-Radgowski Correctional Center	1,489
Enfield Correctional Institution	724
Garner Correctional Institution	748
Gates Correctional Institution	1,139
Hartford Correctional Center	984
MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution	2,131
Manson Youth Institution	719
New Haven Correctional Center	767
Northern Correctional Institution	586
Osborn Correctional Institution	2,094
Robinson Correctional Institution	1,549
Webster Correctional Institution	584
Willard/Cybulski Correctional Institution	1,104
York Correctional Institution	1,553
Total	20,085

VETERANS PROGRAMS AND SERVICES

The bill requires CJPAC to make recommendations by January 1, 2009 about specialized programs and services for armed forces veterans who (1) served in time of war and are suffering from traumatic brain injury or post traumatic stress syndrome and (2) are incarcerated or released to probation, parole, other type of community release, or a diversionary or reentry program. The bill does not specify who receives the recommendations.

BOARD OF PARDONS AND PAROLES

The bill specifies that the Board of Pardons and Paroles can consider whether an inmate earned a high school equivalency diploma or is taking classes toward one when it determines whether an inmate is suitable for parole. It also specifies that the board can require that an inmate who is taking these classes on his or her parole release date continue to take classes and earn a diploma as a condition of parole.

BACKGROUND

Criminal Justice Policy Advisory Commission (CJPAC)

The commission (1) develops and recommends policies to prevent prison overcrowding, (2) examines the impact of statutes and administrative policies on overcrowding and recommends legislation, (3) researches and gathers data and information on efforts to prevent overcrowding and makes it available to criminal justice agencies and legislators, (4) advises the CJPPD undersecretary on policies and procedures to promote more effective and cohesive criminal and juvenile justice systems and develop and implement the reentry strategy, and (5) assists the undersecretary in developing recommendations in reports and presentations.

The commission consists of the CJPPD undersecretary, chief court administrator; commissioners of correction, public safety, mental health and addiction services; chief state's attorney; chief public defender; Board of Pardons and Paroles chairman; CSSD executive director; eight members appointed by the governor including a police chief, representatives of offender and victim services, and government and public members; the labor and social services commissioners who can deliberate and vote only on matters concerning employment and entitlement programs available to adult and juvenile offenders reentering the community; and the children and families and education commissioners who can deliberate and vote only on juvenile justice matters.

Juvenile Court Jurisdiction

PA 07-4, June Special Session, permits most offenses involving 16- and 17-olds to be adjudicated in juvenile court beginning January 1, 2010.

COMMITTEE ACTION

Judiciary Committee

Joint Favorable Substitute

¹ The average prisoner population for the correctional system for the month of March, 2008 was 19,677.

² $10.8= $8.6 million for Personal Services, $2.0 million for fringe benefits, $200,000 for Other Expenses.

³ $14.27 million = $9.0 million for Personal Services, $5.2 million for fringe benefits, $70,000 for Other Expenses.

⁴ Overtime expenditures for the Department of Correction for FY 08 are currently estimated to be $60.8 million.