75th OREGON LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY--2009 Regular Session
NOTE: Matter within { + braces and plus signs + } in an
amended section is new. Matter within { - braces and minus
signs - } is existing law to be omitted. New sections are within
{ + braces and plus signs + } .
LC 1752
House Bill 2335
Ordered printed by the Speaker pursuant to House Rule 12.00A (5).
Presession filed (at the request of House Interim Committee on
Judiciary for Oregon District Attorneys' Association)
SUMMARY
The following summary is not prepared by the sponsors of the
measure and is not a part of the body thereof subject to
consideration by the Legislative Assembly. It is an editor's
brief statement of the essential features of the measure as
introduced.
Prohibits State Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision
from considering release of certain prisoners on parole less than
five years from previous denial of release or postponement of
release date. Authorizes reduction of five-year period under
certain circumstances.
A BILL FOR AN ACT
Relating to crime; creating new provisions; and amending ORS
144.125, 144.228 and 144.232.
Be It Enacted by the People of the State of Oregon:
SECTION 1. { + (1) The State Board of Parole and Post-Prison
Supervision may not grant to a prisoner sentenced for a crime
committed prior to November 1, 1989, a hearing:
(a) Under ORS 144.122 (1)(a) less than five years following the
board's denial of a request to reset a parole release date under
ORS 144.122, unless the board finds substantial and compelling
reasons to reduce the five-year period.
(b) Under ORS 163.105 (2) or 163.115 (5)(c), notwithstanding
ORS 163.105 (5) or 163.115 (5)(f), less than five years following
the board's denial of a petition for a change in the terms of the
prisoner's confinement, unless the board finds substantial and
compelling reasons to reduce the five-year period.
(2) The board may not reduce the five-year period described in
this section to less than two years, unless a prisoner who is
subject to subsection (1)(a) of this section would be held beyond
the maximum sentence less good time credits imposed by the
court. + }
SECTION 2. ORS 144.125 is amended to read:
144.125. (1) Prior to the scheduled release of any prisoner on
parole and prior to release rescheduled under this section, the
State Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision may upon
request of the Department of Corrections or on its own initiative
interview the prisoner to review the prisoner's parole plan and
psychiatric or psychological report, if any, and the record of
the prisoner's conduct during confinement. To accommodate such
review by the board, the Department of Corrections shall provide
to the board any psychiatric or psychological reports held by the
department regarding the prisoner. However, if the psychiatrist
or psychologist who prepared any report or any treating
psychiatrist or psychologist determines that disclosure to the
prisoner of the contents of the report would be detrimental to
the prisoner's mental or emotional health, the psychiatrist or
psychologist may indorse upon the report a recommendation that it
not be disclosed to the prisoner. The department may withhold
from the board any report so indorsed.
(2) The board shall postpone a prisoner's scheduled release
date if it finds, after a hearing, that the prisoner engaged in
serious misconduct during confinement. The board shall adopt
rules defining serious misconduct and specifying periods of
postponement for such misconduct.
(3)(a) If the board finds the prisoner has a present severe
emotional disturbance such as to constitute a danger to the
health or safety of the community, the board may order the
postponement of the scheduled parole release until a specified
future date.
(b) If the board finds the prisoner has a present severe
emotional disturbance such as to constitute a danger to the
health or safety of the community, but also finds that the
prisoner can be adequately controlled with supervision and mental
health treatment and that the necessary supervision and treatment
are available, the board may order the prisoner released on
parole subject to conditions that are in the best interests of
community safety and the prisoner's welfare.
(4) Each prisoner shall furnish the board with a parole plan
prior to the scheduled release of the prisoner on parole. The
board shall adopt rules specifying the elements of an adequate
parole plan and may defer release of the prisoner for not more
than three months if it finds that the parole plan is inadequate.
The Department of Corrections shall assist prisoners in preparing
parole plans.
{ + (5) The board may not postpone a prisoner's scheduled
release date under this section to a date less than five years
after the date of a hearing described in this section, unless:
(a) The prisoner would be held beyond the maximum sentence less
good time credits imposed by the court; or
(b) The board finds substantial and compelling reasons to
reschedule the release date to an earlier date. The board may not
reduce the five-year period to less than two years under this
paragraph. + }
SECTION 3. ORS 144.228 is amended to read:
144.228. (1)(a) Within six months after commitment to the
custody of the Department of Corrections of any person sentenced
under ORS 161.725 and 161.735 as a dangerous offender, the State
Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision shall set a date for
a parole consideration hearing instead of an initial release date
as otherwise required under ORS 144.120 and 144.125. The parole
consideration hearing date shall be the time the prisoner would
otherwise be eligible for parole under the board's rules.
(b) At the parole consideration hearing, the prisoner shall be
given a release date in accordance with the rules of the board if
the board finds the prisoner no longer dangerous or finds that
the prisoner remains dangerous but can be adequately controlled
with supervision and mental health treatment and that the
necessary resources for supervision and treatment are available
to the prisoner. If the board is unable to make such findings,
reviews will be conducted at least once every { - two - } { +
five + } years until the board is able to make such findings, at
which time release on parole shall be ordered if the prisoner is
otherwise eligible under the rules. In no event shall the
prisoner be held beyond the maximum sentence less good time
credits imposed by the court.
(c) Nothing in this section shall preclude a prisoner from
submitting a request for a parole consideration hearing prior to
the earliest time the prisoner is eligible for parole or a
{ - two-year - } { + five-year + } review. Should the board
find, based upon the request, that there is a reasonable cause to
believe that the prisoner is no longer dangerous or that
necessary supervision and treatment are available based upon the
information provided in the request, it shall conduct a review as
soon as is reasonably convenient.
(2) For the parole consideration hearing, the board shall cause
to be brought before it and consider all information regarding
such person. The information shall include:
(a) The written report of the examining psychiatrist or
psychologist which shall contain all the facts necessary to
assist the State Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision in
making its determination. The report of the examining
psychiatrist or psychologist shall be made within two months of
the date of its consideration; and
(b) A written report to be made by the executive officer of the
Department of Corrections institution in which the person has
been confined. The executive officer's report shall contain:
(A) A detailed account of the person's conduct while confined,
all infractions of rules and discipline, all punishment meted out
to the person and the circumstances connected therewith, as well
as the extent to which the person has responded to the efforts
made in the institution to improve the person's mental and moral
condition.
(B) A statement as to the person's present attitude towards
society, towards the sentencing judge, towards the prosecuting
district attorney, towards the arresting police officer and
towards the person's previous criminal career.
(C) The work and program record of the person while in or under
the supervision of the Department of Corrections. The program
history shall include a summary of any psychological or substance
abuse treatment and other activities that will assist the board
in understanding the psychological adjustment and social skills
and habits of the person and that will assist the board in
determining the likelihood for successful community reentry.
SECTION 4. ORS 144.232 is amended to read:
144.232. (1) A person sentenced under ORS 161.725 and 161.735
as a dangerous offender for felonies committed on or after
November 1, 1989, shall be considered for release to post-prison
supervision. The offender is eligible for release to post-prison
supervision after having served the required incarceration term
established under ORS 161.737.
(2) The State Board of Parole and Post-Prison Supervision shall
hold a release hearing no later than 10 days prior to the date on
which the offender becomes eligible for release on post-prison
supervision as provided in subsection (1) of this section.
{ - (3) - } { + (3)(a) + } { + Except as provided in
paragraph (b) of this subsection, + } the dangerous offender's
eligibility for and release to post-prison supervision shall be
determined in a manner consistent with the procedures and
criteria required by ORS 144.228 for the parole determination
process applicable to dangerous offenders sentenced for crimes
committed prior to November 1, 1989. { +
(b) The board shall conduct the reviews described in ORS
144.228 (1)(b) at least once every two years for dangerous
offenders sentenced for a crime committed on or after November 1,
1989. + }
(4) An offender released under this section shall serve the
remainder of the sentence term imposed under ORS 161.725, 161.735
and 161.737 on post-prison supervision, however:
(a) Notwithstanding ORS 137.010 or the rules of the Oregon
Criminal Justice Commission, the State Board of Parole and
Post-Prison Supervision may sanction an offender to the
supervision of the local authority for a maximum period of 180
days for any supervision violation. The sanction may be imposed
repeatedly during the term of post-prison supervision for
subsequent supervision violations.
(b) After release under this section, the board may at any time
return the offender to prison and require the offender to submit
to a psychiatric or psychological examination as provided for in
ORS 144.226. If the board finds that the offender's dangerousness
has returned and cannot be adequately controlled with supervision
and mental and physical health treatment, or that resources for
supervision and treatment are not available to the offender, the
board may defer the offender's release from prison for an
indefinite period of time. An offender returned to prison under
this paragraph is entitled to periodic reviews once every two
years for possible release to post-prison supervision as provided
by subsection (3) of this section.
SECTION 5. { + Section 1 of this 2009 Act and the amendments
to ORS 144.125, 144.228 and 144.232 by sections 2 to 4 of this
2009 Act apply to prisoners:
(1) Whose request to reset a release date under ORS 144.122 or
petition to change the terms of confinement under ORS 163.105 or
163.115 is denied on or after the effective date of this 2009
Act.
(2) Whose release date is rescheduled under ORS 144.125 on or
after the effective date of this 2009 Act.
(3) For whom the board is unable to give a release date under
ORS 144.228 (1)(b) on or after the effective date of this 2009
Act. + }
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