02/05/1997 02:21 PM House JUD

 HB 91 - EXTEND BOARD OF PAROLE                                              
                                                                               
 Number 515                                                                    
                                                                               
 CHAIRMAN GREEN announced the next order of business was House Bill            
 No. 91, "An Act extending the termination date of the Board of                
 Parole; and providing for an effective date."  He invited                     
 Representative Porter to present the bill.                                    
                                                                               
 Number 519                                                                    
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE PORTER, sponsor of HB 91, explained, "This bill                
 extends the existing parole board for four years.  I think it                 
 probably does not have to be articulated extensively what would               
 happen if we didn't extend the parole board.  People otherwise                
 eligible for discretionary parole would not get out, and our                  
 Corrections problems would be further exacerbated, and those on               
 mandatory parole would walk without any conditions, which isn't a             
 very healthy thing, either."                                                  
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE PORTER stated, "The only difference between the bill           
 and the recommendation of the legislative audit report is the time.           
 And they recommended a longer time.  I wish we could make it the              
 longer time.  This going through this every four years seems a                
 little bit silly, but it is a statutory requirement that it can               
 only be extended for four years at a time."  Representative Porter            
 noted that Bill Parker, Deputy Commissioner of the Department of              
 Corrections, was available to answer questions.                               
                                                                               
 Number 586                                                                    
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE ETHAN BERKOWITZ said, "I'd just note the optimism of           
 putting a zero fiscal note on this in the expectation that we                 
 probably won't have more criminals coursing through the system."              
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE advised there was a substantial fiscal note.             
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ acknowledged he should have said                     
 "unchanged."                                                                  
                                                                               
 Number 614                                                                    
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE ERIC CROFT said he was curious why the time was four           
 years.  He inquired whether the enabling statute had ever been                
 looked at in terms of change.  He commented, "It did seem silly               
 that we couldn't at least go the additional two [years] that the              
 audit report recommended."                                                    
                                                                               
 Number 621                                                                    
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE PORTER responded, "I guess it's a balance of the               
 theory of not binding future legislatures and having the                      
 opportunity to ask questions if issues do come up about programs in           
 a timely fashion.  There's a balance between one and the other, and           
 four years seems to be statutorily what everybody arrived at for              
 just about everything."                                                       
                                                                               
 CHAIRMAN GREEN commented it was a point well-made.  He asked Donna            
 White, Acting Executive Director of the Board of Parole, if she               
 wished to testify; Ms. White indicated she would answer questions.            
                                                                               
 Number 645                                                                    
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE JAMES said, "Maybe it's because I'm as old as I am             
 that I see great changes happening from year to year to year to               
 year.  And when you put in something in place, and you don't change           
 it until you get here, you have a bigger change to address.  And              
 so, if there's something that comes up in the system, or new modern           
 methods or new things, because we live in a changing world, that if           
 you make it too long, you close the door to looking at and making             
 those changes. ... It would be really nice if we had time to just             
 look at everything every year, but we don't.  So every four years             
 to take a look at it is certainly wise.  But we certainly need to             
 have an open mind, because there may be a better way of doing                 
 business than this.  We never know until we get there from here."             
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ said Representative James's comments                 
 seemed more the product of wisdom than age.                                   
                                                                               
 CHAIRMAN GREEN noted although Margot Knuth from the Department of             
 Corrections had signed up to testify, she had left.  Bill Parker,             
 Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Corrections, and Donna               
 White, Acting Director of the Board of Parole, were present to                
 answer questions.  Chairman Green asked if there were questions;              
 there were none.                                                              
                                                                               
 Number 717                                                                    
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE BUNDE made a motion that HB 91 move from committee             
 with individual recommendations and the accompanying fiscal note.             
                                                                               
 Number 727                                                                    
                                                                               
 CHAIRMAN GREEN asked if there was any objection.  There being none,           
 HB 91 moved from the House Judiciary Committee.