H. B. 2278
(By Delegates Amores, Mahan, Givens,
Coleman, Schadler and Webb)
[Introduced
February 19, 2001
; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend chapter four of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article thirteen; and to
amend chapter sixty-one of said code by adding thereto a new
article, designated article thirteen, all relating to
criminal justice; creating the West Virginia legislative
criminal justice resource center; creating the joint committee
on criminal justice; establishing the duties of the joint
committee on criminal justice; allowing for access to records;
creating the West Virginia criminal justice system task force;
and establishing the objectives and duties of the task force.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter four of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto
a new article, designated article thirteen; and that chapter
sixty-one of said code be amended by adding thereto a new article,
designated article thirteen, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 4. THE LEGISLATURE.
ARTICLE 13. WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATIVE CRIMINAL JUSTICE RESOURCE
CENTER.
§4-13-1. West Virginia legislative criminal justice resource
center created.
(a) There is hereby created the West Virginia legislative
criminal justice resource center in the joint committee on
government and finance.
(b) The duties of the West Virginia legislative criminal
justice resource center include:
(1) Providing a clearinghouse of criminal justice information
for the Legislature;
(2) Providing technical assistance for all criminal justice
agencies of the state when directed;
(3) Obtaining information from criminal justice agencies in
the state for analyses of criminal justice issues for the
Legislature;
(4) Collecting and analyzing criminal justice data for the Legislature;
(5) Producing reports to the Legislature;
(6) Providing independent analyses of the fiscal impact of
legislation for the Legislature;
(7) Monitoring performance of criminal justice agencies,
including analysis of recidivism rates; and
(8) Providing administrative support to the West Virginia
criminal justice system task force.
§4-13-2. Joint committee on criminal justice created; membership;
compensation and expenses; meetings.
(a) The joint committee on criminal justice is hereby created.
The committee shall be composed of five members of the Senate,
including the chair of the committee on the judiciary, to be
appointed by the president of the Senate, no more than three of
whom shall be appointed from the same political party; five members
of the House of Delegates, including the chair of the committee on
the judiciary, to be appointed by the speaker of the House of
Delegates, no more than three of whom shall be appointed from the
same political party: Provided, That in the event the membership
of a political party is less than fifteen percent in the House of
Delegates or the Senate, the membership of that political party from the legislative house with less than fifteen percent
membership may be one from that house.
(b) The president of the Senate and the speaker of the House
of Delegates shall each appoint a cochair for the joint committee
from the members each appointed in subsection (a) of this section.
(c) The members of the committee shall receive no remuneration
for their services, other than actual expenses incurred in the
discharge of their duties required by this article as approved by
the committee.
(d) The committee shall meet upon the call of both or either
of the cochairs and may meet at any time, both during sessions of
the Legislature and in the interim.
(e) A majority of the committee constitutes a quorum.
§4-13-3. Duties of committee and access to records.
(a) The committee has the following duties:
(1) To set the policy of the West Virginia legislative
criminal justice resource center and use the center for certain
criminal justice research;
(2) To review and discuss issues relating to criminal justice;
(3) To make recommendations to the president of the Senate and
the speaker of the House of Delegates on issues of criminal justice.
(b) The committee, subject to the approval of the joint
committee on government and finance, may employ persons or contract
for outside expertise to carry out its duties and responsibilities
under this article.
(c) To carry out the duties set forth in this article, the
committee or any duly authorized employee of the West Virginia
legislative criminal justice resource center is to have access to
any and all records of every criminal justice agency in the state.
When furnishing information, agencies shall provide information in
the format in which it is requested, if the request is specific as
to a preferred format.
CHAPTER 61. CRIMES AND THEIR PUNISHMENT.
ARTICLE 13. THE WEST VIRGINIA CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM.
§61-13-1. Creation of the West Virginia criminal justice system
task force; how members are appointed.
(a) There is hereby created the West Virginia criminal justice
system task force.
(b) The task force is to consist of the following members, who
shall serve without compensation:
(1) Three members of the House of Delegates, to be appointed
by the House of Delegates;
(2) Three members of the Senate, to be appointed by the
president of the Senate;
(3) The chief justice of the supreme court of appeals;
(4) Two circuit judges, to be appointed by the supreme court
of appeals;
(5) One magistrate, to be appointed by the supreme court of
appeals;
(6) One probation officer, to be appointed by the supreme
court of appeals;
(7) The executive director of the public defender services;
(8) One prosecuting attorney, to be appointed by the
prosecuting attorney's institute;
(9) The executive director of the regional jail and
correctional facility authority;
(10) The chair of the parole board;
(11) The commissioner of the division of corrections;
(12) The chair of the governor's committee on crime,
delinquency and corrections;
(13) One member to represent the interests of victims of
crime, to be appointed by the governor;
(14) One rehabilitated former prison inmate, to be appointed by the governor;
(15) The president of the county commissioners association;
(16) The director of the division of criminal justice
services; and
(17) The president of the sheriffs' association.
(c) The task force shall elect a chair or cochairs.
(d) The task force shall meet upon the call of the chairs or,
if there are cochairs, either of the cochairs.
(e) A majority of the task force constitutes a quorum.
§61-13-3. Objectives of the task force.
The task force shall pursue the following objectives:
(1) Establishing priorities with regard to the severity of the
criminal offenses, and in accordance with such established
priorities, to consider alternatives to incarceration for
nonviolent offenders;
(2) Utilizing the limited correctional resources in a manner
best able to fulfill the goals of criminal punishment and protect
the public;
(3) Preserving meaningful judicial discretion in imposition of
sentences and sufficient flexibility to permit individualized
sentences;
(4) Ensuring that sentencing judges are able to impose the
most appropriate criminal penalties including correctional options
programs for appropriate nonviolent offenders;
(5) Promoting fair and uniform sentencing; and
(6) Researching issues regarding sentencing in order to
promote a fuller understanding of the efficient, just and fair
operation of this state's criminal justice system.
§61-13-4. Powers and duties of the task force.
The task force may:
(1) Request information, data and reports from any officer or
agency of the state government as the task force may from time to
time require in furtherance of its objectives; and
(2) Make recommendations to the Legislature concerning
modifications or enactment of sentencing and correctional statutes
which the task force finds to be necessary and advisable to carry
out an effective, humane and rational sentencing policy.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide for the creation
of the West Virginia Legislative Criminal Justice Resource Center
and the Joint Committee on criminal justice. The legislation is
intended to provide a clearing house for criminal justice
information and to offer technical assistance in such matters to
law-enforcement agencies. The bill also provides for the
collection and analyzation of criminal justice data and that the
same be reported to the Legislature. Criminal justice agencies would, additionally, be monitored for performance. Finally, the
bill provides for the creation of the West Virginia criminal
justice system task force whose duties include "establishing
priorities with regard to the severity of the criminal offenses,"
and to consider alternatives to incarceration. Other duties
include deciding: How best to utilize limited correctional
resources, how best to allow meaningful judicial discretion and how
best to promote fair sentencing.
§4-13 and §61-13 are new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.