SENATE BILL 66

54th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2019

INTRODUCED BY

Cisco McSorley

AN ACT

RELATING TO CORRECTIONS; ENACTING THE HALFWAY HOUSE AND TRANSITIONAL RESIDENTIAL FACILITY ACT; REQUIRING THE CORRECTIONS DEPARTMENT TO OPERATE OR CONTRACT WITH A THIRD PARTY TO OPERATE HALFWAY HOUSES OR TRANSITIONAL RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

     SECTION 1. [NEW MATERIAL] SHORT TITLE.--This act may be cited as the "Halfway House and Transitional Residential Facility Act".

     SECTION 2. [NEW MATERIAL] DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Halfway House and Transitional Residential Facility Act:

          A. "department" means the corrections department;

          B. "halfway house" means a residential facility operated by or under contract with the department to provide housing and supervision to persons released on parole;

          C. "release-eligible inmate" means an inmate who is eligible for parole or supervised release to the community but who is serving a parole term pursuant to Section 31-21-10 NMSA 1978 within a correctional facility operated by the department;

          D. "transitional residential facility" means a facility operated by or under contract with the department to provide housing, supervision and in-house programmatic support to persons released on parole or transferred from a correctional facility operated by the department; and

          E. "validated risk and needs assessment" means an actuarial tool scientifically proven to determine a person's risk to reoffend and criminal risk factors that, when properly addressed, can reduce that person's likelihood of committing future criminal behavior.

     SECTION 3. [NEW MATERIAL] DUTY TO ESTABLISH AND OPERATE HALFWAY HOUSES AND TRANSITIONAL RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES.--The department shall:

          A. promulgate rules dividing the state into no fewer than four probation and parole regions, composed of one or more judicial districts;

          B. operate or contract with a third party to operate at least one halfway house or transitional residential facility in each probation and parole region by July 1, 2022. In establishing the halfway houses and transitional residential facilities, the department shall consider the needs of both the male and female inmate populations; and

          C. promulgate rules necessary to implement the provisions of the Halfway House and Transitional Residential Facility Act.

     SECTION 4. [NEW MATERIAL] HOUSING PAYMENTS--FEE SCALE.--

          A. The department shall:

                (1) collect a housing payment from each person residing in a halfway house or transitional residential facility operated by the department based on a sliding fee scale that shall be established by the department and that shall take into account each person's financial ability to pay; provided that no person who is otherwise eligible for housing in a halfway house or transitional residential facility shall be denied housing based solely on inability to pay; and

                (2) deposit payments collected pursuant to this subsection into the general fund.

          B. If the department contracts with a third party to operate a halfway house or transitional residential facility, the department shall require the third-party contractor to collect a housing payment from each person residing in the halfway house or transitional residential facility based on a sliding fee scale that shall be established by the department and shall take into account each person's financial ability to pay; provided that no person who is otherwise eligible for housing in a halfway house or transitional residential facility shall be denied housing based solely on inability to pay.

     SECTION 5. [NEW MATERIAL] REHABILITATION AND PROGRAMMING.--The department shall:

          A. make available to each person residing in a halfway house or transitional residential facility the opportunity to participate in a program to obtain a high school equivalency credential if the person does not already possess a high school equivalency credential or a high school diploma; and

          B. require each person residing in a transitional residential facility to participate in programs that enhance the rehabilitation, education and vocational skills of the person, as determined by a validated risk and needs assessment.

     SECTION 6. [NEW MATERIAL] ELIGIBILITY.--The department shall establish criteria concerning eligibility for halfway houses and transitional residential facilities; provided that the department shall give priority to the following:

          A. release-eligible inmates;

          B. nonviolent offenders, as that term is defined in Section 33-2A-3 NMSA 1978; and

          C. any other inmates as determined at the discretion of the department.

     SECTION 7. [NEW MATERIAL] ELECTRONIC MONITORING.--The department may require electronic monitoring of any person residing in a halfway house or transitional residential facility.

     SECTION 8. [NEW MATERIAL] FAILURE TO COMPLY.--A person who fails to comply with any of the provisions of the Halfway House and Transitional Residential Facility Act or rules promulgated by the department may be removed from the halfway house or transitional residential facility at the discretion of the department and returned to a correctional facility.

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