ENROLLED

COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

FOR

H. B. 2243

(By Delegates Stemple, Fletcher, Williams and Shelton)


[Passed April 14, 2001; in effect ninety days from passage.]



AN ACT to amend and reenact section nineteen, article twelve, chapter sixty-two of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating generally to parole; violation of parole; procedures; conditions; restrictions; updating terms; and effecting release of persons upon approval of a home plan.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section nineteen, article twelve, chapter sixty-two of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 12. PROBATION AND PAROLE.
§62-12-19. Violation of parole.
(a) If at any time during the period of parole, there shall be reasonable cause to believe that the parolee has violated any of the conditions of his or her release on parole, the parole officer may arrest him or her with or without an order or warrant, or the commissioner of corrections may issue its written order or warrant for his or her arrest, which written order or warrant shall be sufficient for his or her arrest by any officer charged with the duty of executing an ordinary criminal process. The commissioner's written order or warrant delivered to the sheriff against the paroled prisoner shall be a command to keep custody of the parolee for the jurisdiction of the division of corrections, and during the period of custody, the parolee may be admitted to bail by the court before which the parolee was sentenced. If the parolee is not released on a bond, the costs of confining the paroled prisoner shall be paid out of the funds appropriated for the division of corrections.
(b) When a parolee is under arrest for violation of the conditions of his or her parole, he or she shall be given a prompt and summary hearing, at which the parolee and his or her counsel shall be given an opportunity to attend. If at the hearing, it shall appear to the satisfaction of the board that the parolee has violated any condition of his or her release on parole, or any rules or conditions of his or her supervision, the board may revoke his or her parole and may require him or her to serve in prison the remainder or any portion of his or her maximum sentence for which, at the time of his or her release, he or she was subject to imprisonment: Provided, That if the violation of the conditions of parole or rules for his or her supervision is not a felony as set out in section eighteen of this article, the board may, if in its judgment the best interests of justice do not require revocation, reinstate him or her on parole. The division of corrections will effect release from custody upon approval of a home plan.
(c) When a parolee has violated the conditions of his or her release on parole by confession to, or being convicted of any of the crimes set forth in section eighteen of this article, he or she shall be returned to the custody of the division of corrections to serve the remainder of his or her maximum sentence, during which remaining part of his or her sentence he or she shall be ineligible for further parole.
(d) Whenever the parole of a paroled prisoner has been revoked, the commissioner shall upon receipt of the board's written order of revocation, convey and transport the paroled prisoner to a state correctional institution. A paroled prisoner whose parole has been revoked shall remain in custody of the sheriff until delivery to a corrections officer sent and duly authorized by the commissioner for the removal of the paroled prisoner to a state penal institution; the cost of confining such paroled prisoner shall be paid out of the funds appropriated for the division of corrections.
(e) When a paroled prisoner is convicted of, or confesses to, any one of the crimes enumerated in section eighteen of this article, it shall be the duty of the board to cause him or her to be returned to this state for a summary hearing as provided by this article. Whenever a parolee has absconded supervision, the commissioner shall issue a warrant for his or her apprehension and return to this state for the hearing provided for in this article: Provided, That the board may, if it be of opinion the best interests of justice do not require revocation, cause the paroled absconder to be reinstated to parole.
(f) A warrant filed by the commissioner shall stay the running of his or her sentence until the parolee is returned to the custody of the division of corrections and physically in the state of West Virginia.
(g) Whenever a parolee, who has absconded supervision or has been transferred out of this state for supervision pursuant to section one, article six, chapter twenty-eight of this code is returned to West Virginia due to a violation of parole and costs are incurred by the division of corrections, the commissioner may assess reasonable costs from the parolee's inmate funds or the parolee as reimbursement to the division of corrections for the costs of returning him or her to the state of West Virginia.