Legislature(2001 - 2002)
02/05/2001 01:38 PM Senate JUD
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* first hearing in first committee of referral
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+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
SB 23-EXTEND TERMINATION DATE FOR BD OF PAROLE
MR. LARRY JONES, Executive Director, Board of Parole, said the
board acts under the sunset rule for boards and commissions. The
Board of Parole is up for reinstatement June 30, 2001 and SB 23
extends the date to 2006. The extension is usually three years but
SB 23 allows for a five year extension. There is a constitutional
mandate in Alaska for a parole system and the parole board meets
that constitutional mandate. The board is autonomous, it is not
officially part of the Department of Corrections (DOC) but it is
integrated into DOC.
MR. JONES said the board consists of five members. Each board
member is appointed for five years. The appointments are staggered
with some members having served for many years.
MR. JONES said the board meets for face-to-face hearings and also
face-to-face parole hearings. The board feels strongly that the
face-to-face, eye contact, body language part of the hearings are
very important for proper decision-making.
MR. JONES commented that the board is please with their decision-
making, with statistics showing that less than five percent of the
discretionary parolees have revocations and these are usually
technical revocations. The greatest role of the board, in terms of
time consumption, is revocation hearings - 95 percent of the
revocation hearings are for mandatory parolees. Mandatory parole
is when a prisoner has served his time and is being released
without consideration by the parole board.
MR. JONES noted that public safety is the primary consideration for
a release. Extension is also a considerable factor in inmate
population control. It costs $100.00 a day for an inmate in a
"hard bed" (prison), and less than $10.00 a day for being released
to community corrections supervision on the street. The state
saves $8 to $10 million dollars by releasing prisoners to the
street. The parole board budget is less than $500,000.
Number 352
SENATOR DONLEY requested copies of the legislative budget and audit
report for the board of parole and said there should not be a
sunset bill until the audit has been released and is available for
public comment.
Number 434
SENATOR COWDERY asked for the location of the parole board
hearings.
MR. JONES responded that there are hearings at every prison site in
the state. There is a general policy that if there are fewer than
five people up for a hearing, the board will not go to that prison.
For equity though, if there is an in-person hearing, a
teleconference can be used to hear from other prisoners. There are
even hearings at the contracted private facility in Arizona.
SENATOR COWDERY asked what the average pay is for a board member.
MR. JONES answered that the governor establishes compensation for
the board. The rate is $150 a day and $75 for half a day when
conducting business for the board. Yearly pay is $15,000 to
$30,000, depending on the amount of time a member puts in. This
figure has not been changed since 1984.
SENATOR COWDERY asked if this amount is adequate.
MR. JONES replied that what was equitable in 1984 does not meet
inflation and other factors today. The audit speaks to this
matter.
Number 570
SENATOR COWDERY asked if a five-member board is adequate for a
quorum.
MR. JONES responded that five members are adequate. This is a
working board, traveling two full weeks a month. Having more than
five members could make the decision process more complex.
Number 610
SENATOR THERRIAULT said the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee
(LB&A) reviewed the parole board audit in its last meeting. The
audit is now with the Department of Corrections for their review.
The final audit will be out at the next LB&A meeting.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked when that would be.
SENATOR THERRIAULT said that has not been determined yet. It may
depend on whether the Administration has any revised program-
legislative (RPL) for the committee.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked Mr. Jones how long he has been on the parole
board.
MR. JONES said he has been on the board for five years.
Number 690
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked if there has been any political pressure put
on the board to expedite people out of prison.
MR. JONES replied no. The parole board is a quasi-judicial board
and it does not receive this type of pressure.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked about the recidivism rate. What is the
percentage mandated by law?
MR. JONES said of all the revocation hearings the board holds,
about four percent are for people who are allowed out on
discretionary parole. 96 percent of revocations are for people who
are released because their sentence was over.
CHAIRMAN TYALOR asked about people who have done a certain amount
of time and are then released on mandatory probation.
MR. JONES replied that after a revocation hearing, the board sets
conditions for all mandatory parolees prior to their release.
There are conditions of parole the parolee has to abide by. If
they fail to abide by the conditions, parole is revoked. The board
can then decide to put them back in prison, let them out, or revoke
a portion of the time.
Number 800
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked if the violations of parole are just
technical violations?
MR. JONES said the vast majority of the offenses are technical
violations. If the person commits a new criminal offense, the
board does not see them until there is a resolution in the court
system for the new offense. The parolee then goes into "limbo," in
terms of the board seeing them, until the court resolves what will
happen. Sometimes the parolee will spend a lot more time in prison
for the new crime than the board has time to control them.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR asked if the parolee would be on the street during
this "limbo" time.
MR. JONES said no, but in some cases they could be bailed out. The
board is notified of the offense and depending on the crime, such
as rape, the board is very likely to keep them in prison so they
cannot be released on bail.
MR. JONES gave the committee copies of the parole board's annual
report and said the report is also on the board's web page.
CHAIRMAN TAYLOR said SB 23 would be held until the committee can
see the budget and audit report.
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