H. B. 2859
(By Delegates Compton, Amores, Mahan,
Hrutkay, Poling, Webster and Fleischauer)
[Introduced March 15, 2001; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section twenty, article five, chapter
forty-nine of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact
section seventeen, article twelve, chapter sixty-two of said
code, all relating to requiring mandatory supervision for one
year of paroled sex offenders and juvenile offenders released
from an institution or facility.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section twenty, article five, chapter forty-nine of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; and that section seventeen,
article twelve, chapter sixty-two of said code be amended and
reenacted, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 49. CHILD WELFARE.
ARTICLE 5. JUVENILE PROCEEDINGS.
§49-5-20. After-care plans.
(a) At least forty-five days prior to the discharge of a
juvenile from any institution or facility to which the juvenile was
committed pursuant to subdivision (5), (6) or (7) of subsection
(b), section thirteen of this article, the director of the
institution or facility shall forward a copy of the juvenile's
proposed after-care plan to the circuit court which committed the
juvenile. A copy of the plan shall also be sent to: (1) The
juvenile's parents or legal guardian ; (2) the juvenile's lawyer;
(3) the juvenile's probation officer or community mental health
center professional; (4) the prosecuting attorney of the county in
which the original commitment proceedings were held; and (5) the
principal of the school which the juvenile will attend. The plan
shall have a list of the names and addresses of these persons
attached to it.
(b) The after-care plan shall contain a detailed description
of the education, counseling and treatment which the juvenile
received while at the institution or facility, and it shall also
propose a plan for education, counseling and treatment for the
juvenile upon the juvenile's discharge. The plan shall also
contain a description of any problems the juvenile has, including
the source of those problems, and it shall propose a manner for
addressing those problems upon discharge.
(c) Within twenty-one days of receiving the plan, the juvenile's probation officer or community mental health center
professional shall submit written comments upon the plan to the
circuit court which committed the juvenile. Any other person who
received a copy of the plan pursuant to subsection (a) of this
section may submit written comments upon the plan to the circuit
court which committed the juvenile. Any person who submits
comments upon the plan shall send a copy of those comments to every
other person who received a copy of the plan.
(d) Within twenty-one days of receiving the plan, the
juvenile's probation officer or community mental health center
professional shall contact all persons, organizations and agencies
which are to be involved in executing the plan to determine whether
they are capable of executing their responsibilities under the plan
and to further determine whether they are willing to execute their
responsibilities under the plan.
(e) If adverse comments or objections regarding the plan are
submitted to the circuit court, it shall, within forty-five days of
receiving the plan, hold a hearing to consider the plan and the
adverse comments or objections. Any person, organization or agency
which has responsibilities in executing the plan, or their
representatives, may be required to appear at the hearing unless
they are excused by the circuit court. Within five days of the
hearing, the circuit court shall issue an order which adopts the
plan as submitted or as modified in response to any comments or objections.
(f) If no adverse comments or objections are submitted, a
hearing need not be held. In that case, the circuit court shall
consider the plan as submitted and shall, within forty-five days
of receiving the plan, issue an order which adopts the plan as
submitted.
(g) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (e) and (f)
of this section, the plan which is adopted by the circuit court
shall be in the best interests of the juvenile and shall also be in
conformity with West Virginia's interest in youth as embodied in
subsection (b), section thirteen of this article.
(h) The circuit court which committed the juvenile shall
appoint the juvenile's probation officer or community mental health
center professional to act as supervisor of the plan. The
supervisor shall report the juvenile's progress under the plan to
the circuit court every sixty days, or until the circuit court
determines that no report or no further care is necessary:
Provided, That each juvenile offender released shall be subject to
mandatory supervision for at least one year following his or her
release date by a qualified juvenile probation officer or officers.
CHAPTER 62. CRIMINAL PROCEDURE.
ARTICLE 12. PROBATION AND PAROLE.
§62-12-17. Conditions of release on parole.
Release and supervision on parole of any person, including the supervision by the division of corrections of any person paroled by
any other state or by the federal government, shall be upon the
following conditions:
(1) That the parolee may not, during the period of his or her
parole, violate any criminal law of this or any other state or of
the United States.
(2) That he or she may not, during the period of his or her
parole, leave the state without the consent of the division.
(3) That he or she shall comply with the rules and regulations
prescribed by the division for his or her supervision by the parole
officer.
(4) That in every case wherein the parolee for a conviction is
seeking parole from an offense against a child, defined in section
twelve, article eight, chapter sixty-one of this code; or article
eight-b or eight-d of said chapter, or similar convictions from
other jurisdictions where the parolee is returning or attempting to
return to this state pursuant to the provisions of article six,
chapter twenty-eight of this code, the parolee shall not live in
the same residence as any minor child, nor exercise visitation with
any minor child nor shall he or she have any contact with the
victim of the offense.
(5) That the parolee, and all federal or foreign state
probationers and parolees whose supervision may have been
undertaken by this state, shall be required to pay a fee, based on his or her ability to pay, not to exceed twenty dollars per month
to defray costs of supervision. The commissioner shall keep a
record of all actions taken and account for moneys received. No
provision of this section shall be construed to prohibit the
division from collecting such fees and conducting such checks upon
the effective date of this section. All moneys shall be deposited
in a special account in the state treasury to be known as the
"Parolee's Supervision Fee Fund." Expenditures from said fund
shall be for the purposes of providing parole supervision required
by the provisions of this code and are not authorized from
collections but are to be made only in accordance with
appropriation by the Legislature and in accordance with the
provisions of article three, chapter twelve of this code and upon
the fulfillment of the provisions set forth in article two, chapter
five-a of this code: Provided,
That for the fiscal year ending the
thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four,
expenditures are authorized from collections rather than pursuant
to an appropriation by the Legislature. Amounts collected which
are found from time to time to exceed the funds needed for purposes
set forth in this article may be transferred to other accounts or
funds and redesignated for other purposes by appropriation of the
Legislature. The division shall consider the following factors in
determining whether a parolee or probationer is financially able to
pay the fee:
(A) Current income prospects for the parolee or probationer,
taking into account seasonal variations in income;
(B) Liquid assets of the parolee or probationer, assets of the
parolee or probationer that may provide collateral to obtain funds
and assets of the parolee or probationer that may be liquidated to
provide funds to pay the fee;
(C) Fixed debts and obligations of the parolee or probationer,
including federal, state and local taxes and medical expenses;
(D) Child care, transportation and other reasonably necessary
expenses of the parolee or probationer related to employment;
(E) The reasonably foreseeable consequences for the parolee or
probationer if a waiver of, or reduction in, the fee is denied.
(6) In the case of a person receiving parole for any offense
involving sexual assault, sexual abuse, sexual misconduct or any
other offense involving sexually-related misconduct, the person
shall be subjected to at least one year of supervision by the
parole board immediately following his or her release date
.
(7) In addition, the division may impose, subject to
modification at any time, any other conditions which the division
may deem consider advisable.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require mandatory
supervision for at least one year of youth offenders released from
youth facilities and sex offenders granted parole.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.