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Introduced Version Senate Bill 160 History

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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
Senate Bill No. 160

(By Senator Barnes)

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         [Introduced February 14, 2013; referred to the Committee on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance        .]                     

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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated §62-16-1, §62-16-2, §62-16-3, §62-16-4, §62-16-5, §62-16-6 and §62-16-7, all relating to creating the Conditional Early Release Bond Act; permitting the Board of Parole to release an inmate on parole; permitting the board to place conditions on the release of a prisoner including requiring the posting of an early-release bond by cash or surety and certain other discretionary conditions; setting forth the terms of a bond; providing for penalties; providing for the surrender of the parolee; defining terms; and providing for severability.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
    That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new article, designated §62-16-1, §62-16-2, §62-16-3, §62-16-4, §62-16-5, §62-16-6 and §62-16-7,
all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 16. CONDITIONAL EARLY RELEASE BOND ACT.
§62-16-1. Short title.
    This article may be cited as the Conditional Early Release Bond Act."
§62-16-2 . Definitions.
    
The following definitions apply in this article :
    (1)
"Board" means the Board of Parole having legal authority to release a prisoner on parole .
    (2)
"Bond" means the written undertaking delivered by the surety to the Board of Parole and describing the terms and conditions of surety's duties .
    (3)
"Breach" means any condition of release violated by the principal .
    (4)
"Breach penalty" means the amount of money to be paid by surety to the state upon the surety's failure to meet the requirements under this article. The breach penalty is equal to the face amount of the bond. There are two types of breach penalties:
    (A) An amount of money paid by the surety upon breach of a release condition; and
    (B) An amount of money paid by the surety if the principal is not back in custody within a given amount of time following breach of release condition.

    (5)
"Conditions" means such conditions as the board may impose as a prerequisite to being on release from custody .
    (6)
"Charge" means the amount of money the surety charges to write the bond. In no case may the charges be less than ten percent of the aggregate penalty amounts which charge is fully earned when the bond is written .
    (7)
"Mandatory conditions" means those nondiscretionary conditions the board has placed on the principal as a condition to early release by operation of law .
    (8) "Principal" means any person to be released on furlough or parole pursuant to this article.  
    (9)
"Revocation of bond" means the use and effectiveness of the bond has ceased. The board may revoke the bond upon a breach or continue the bond by nullifying the breach. The decision of the board is final. The bond may be revoked at any time the board determines that the principal has failed to abide by the conditions of the bond or is no longer capable of abiding by the conditions of the bond.
    (10) "Surety" means any insurance company licensed under the laws of the state to execute bonds filed in criminal cases.
§62-16-3. Early release on bond.
    Upon the decision of the board to release any person on furlough or parole, the board may condition the release of a principal by requiring the posting of an early release bond by cash or surety. The board may set other conditions of release, which conditions shall be appended to and made a part of the bond. The conditions are discretionary with the board and shall be appropriate to the character and circumstances of the principal and the circumstances of the principal's release. Discretionary conditions may include:
    (1) The principal shall be drug/alcohol tested as specified;
    (2) The principal shall take part in specified recovery programs;
    (3) The principal may not contact, go about, or communicate directly with any witness involved in the principal's conviction;
    (4) The principal may not contact, go about, or communicate directly or indirectly with any victim(s) involved in the principal's conviction;
    (5) The principal shall obtain and keep employment;
    (6) The principal shall be on home arrest via global positioning satellite (GPS) monitoring devices approved by the state;
    (7) The principal shall abide by specified travel restrictions;
    (8) The principal shall make all specified periodic restitution payments;
    (9) The principal shall pay specified fines and court costs;
    (10) The principal shall perform specified community services;
    (11) The principal shall pursue specified education courses;
    (12) The principal shall obtain such education as specified;
    (13) The principal shall participate in such family or third party involvement as specified;
    (14) The principal shall have, as a mandatory condition, that he or she pay the surety's charge; and
    (15) The principal shall have, as a mandatory condition, that he or she personally report to the surety at such time and in such manner as directed by the board and the surety.
§62-16-4. Terms of the bond.
    The early release bond put up by the surety shall:
    (1) Be for a term of one year, and may be renewed annually;
    (2) Be in favor of and payable to the state; and
    (3) Be conditioned that the board shall:
    (A) Give the surety written notice of any breach of condition within five calendar days of the breach.
    (B) If within one hundred eighty calendar days from date of receipt of written notice by board that the principal has failed to meet one or more of the conditions of principal's early release, the principal shall have been placed back into custody, whether by surety or another, then the bond shall be exonerated.

§62-16-5 . Penalties paid by surety.
    The surety shall pay a breach penalty upon breach of a condition by the principal and upon the principal not being back in custody within the prescribed one hundred eighty days.
§62-16-6. Surrender of principal.
    At any time after receiving a notice of breach by the principal, the surety may arrest the principal and surrender him or her to the nearest jail or correctional facility. If the principal is surrendered within one hundred eighty calendar days of receipt of the notice of breach, the bond shall be exonerated.
§62-16-7. Severability.
    If any provision of this article or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the article which can be given effect without the invalid provision or its application, and to this end, the provisions of this article are declared to be severable.



    NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to
create the Conditional Early Release Bond Act. The bill permitting the Board of Parole to release any person on parole. The bill permits the board to place conditions on the release of a prisoner including requiring the posting of an early release bond by cash or surety. The bill sets forth the terms of a bond. The bill provides for penalties. The bill provides for the surrender of the parolee. The bill defines terms and provides for severability.

     This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.
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