AN ACT ESTABLISHING A SENTENCING COMMISSION.

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

Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2009) (a) There is established a Connecticut Sentencing Commission which shall be within the Office of Policy and Management for administrative purposes only.

(b) The mission of the commission shall be to review the existing criminal sentencing structure in the state and any proposed changes thereto, including existing statutes, proposed legislation and existing and proposed sentencing policies and practices and make recommendations to the Governor, the General Assembly and appropriate criminal justice agencies.

(c) In fulfilling its mission, the commission shall be mindful that the primary purpose of sentencing in this state is to enhance public safety while holding the offender accountable to the community. Sentencing is to reflect the seriousness of the offense and should be proportional to the harm to victims and the community, utilizing the most appropriate sanctions available, including incarceration, community punishment and supervision. Sentencing should have as an overriding goal the reduction of criminal activity, the imposition of just punishment and the provision of meaningful and effective rehabilitation and reintegration of the offender. Sentences should be fair, just and equitable while promoting respect for the law.

(d) The commission shall be composed of the following members:

(1) Four members of the General Assembly appointed as follows: (A) The president pro tempore of the Senate shall appoint one member of the Senate from the majority party who serves on the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies, (B) the speaker of the House of Representatives shall appoint one member of the House of Representatives from the majority party who serves on the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary, (C) the minority leader of the Senate shall appoint one member of the Senate from the minority party who serves on the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary, and (D) the minority leader of the House of Representatives shall appoint one member of the House of Representatives from the minority party who serves on the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to appropriations and the budgets of state agencies;

(2) Two judges appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, one of whom shall serve for a term of one year and one of whom shall serve for a term of three years;

(3) One representative of the Court Support Services Division of the Judicial Branch appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who shall serve for a term of two years;

(4) The Commissioner of Correction, who shall serve for a term coterminous with his or her term of office;

(5) The Chief State's Attorney, who shall serve for a term coterminous with his or her term of office;

(6) The Chief Public Defender, who shall serve for a term coterminous with his or her term of office;

(7) One state's attorney appointed by the Chief State's Attorney, who shall serve for a term of three years;

(8) One member of the criminal defense bar appointed by the president of the Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, who shall serve for a term of three years;

(9) The Victim Advocate, who shall serve for a term coterminous with his or her term of office;

(10) The chairperson of the Board of Pardons and Paroles, who shall serve for a term coterminous with his or her term of office;

(11) The Commissioner of Public Safety, who shall serve for a term coterminous with his or her term of office;

(12) A municipal police chief appointed by the president of the Connecticut Police Chiefs Association, who shall serve for a term of two years;

(13) The Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services, who shall serve for a term coterminous with his or her term of office;

(14) The undersecretary of the Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Division within the Office of Policy and Management, who shall serve for a term coterminous with his or her term of office;

(15) Four members of the public, appointed as follows: (A) The president pro tempore of the Senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives shall jointly appoint a formerly incarcerated person or an advocate for formerly incarcerated persons, who shall serve for a term of four years, (B) the Governor shall appoint a crime victim or a victim advocate, who shall serve for a term of four years, (C) the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall appoint an academic, who shall serve for a term of four years, and (D) the minority leader of the Senate and the minority leader of the House of Representatives shall jointly appoint a member of a civil rights organization involved in addressing issues of racial disparity in the criminal justice system, who shall serve for a term of four years; and

(16) An active or retired judge appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, who shall serve as chairperson of the commission and serve for a term of four years.

(e) The commission shall elect a vice-chairperson from among the membership. Appointed members of the commission shall serve for the term specified in subsection (d) of this section and may be reappointed. Any vacancy in the appointed membership of the commission shall be filled by the appointing authority for the unexpired portion of the term.

(f) The commission shall:

(1) Facilitate the development and maintenance of a state-wide sentencing database in collaboration with existing state and local agencies;

(2) Evaluate current sentencing statutes, policies and practices including conducting a cost-benefit analysis;

(3) Conduct sentencing trends analyses and studies and prepare offender profiles;

(4) Provide training regarding sentencing and related issues, policies and practices;

(5) Act as a sentencing policy resource for the state;

(6) Preserve judicial discretion and provide for individualized sentencing;

(7) Evaluate the impact of pre-trial, sentencing diversion, incarceration and post-release supervision programs;

(8) Perform fiscal impact analyses on selected proposed criminal justice legislation; and

(9) Identify potential areas of sentencing disparity relevant to racial, ethnic, gender and socioeconomic status.

(g) Upon completion of the state-wide sentencing database provided in subdivision (1) of subsection (f) of this section, the commission shall review criminal justice legislation as requested and as resources allow.

(h) The commission shall make recommendations concerning criminal justice legislation, including proposed modifications thereto, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary which shall hold a hearing thereon.

(i) The commission shall have access to confidential information received by sentencing courts and the Board of Pardons and Paroles including, but not limited to, arrest data, criminal history records, medical records and other nonconviction information.

(j) The commission shall obtain full and complete information with respect to programs and other activities and operations of the state.

(k) The commission may request any office, department, board, commission or other agency of the state or any political subdivision of the state to supply such records, information and assistance as may be necessary or appropriate in order for the commission to carry out its duties. Each officer or employee of such office, department, board, commission or other agency of the state or any political subdivision of the state is authorized and directed to cooperate with the commission and to furnish such records, information and assistance.

(l) Any records or information supplied to the commission that is confidential in accordance with any provision of the general statutes shall remain confidential while in the custody of the commission and shall not be disclosed. Any penalty for the disclosure of such records or information applicable to the officials, employees and authorized representatives of the office, department, board, commission or other agency of the state or any political subdivision of the state that supplied such records or information shall apply in the same manner and to the same extent to the members, staff and authorized representatives of the commission.

(m) The commission shall be deemed to be a criminal justice agency as defined in subsection (b) of section 54-142g of the general statutes.

(n) The commission shall meet at least once during each calendar quarter and at such other times as the chairperson deems necessary.

(o) Not later than January 15, 2010, and annually thereafter, the commission shall submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a of the general statutes, to the Governor, the General Assembly and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Statement of Purpose:

To adopt the recommendation of the Connecticut Sentencing Task Force to establish a permanent Connecticut Sentencing Commission.

[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]