HOUSE BILL 57

56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2024

INTRODUCED BY

Stefani Lord and John Block

 

 

 

 

 

AN ACT

RELATING TO CRIMINAL SENTENCING; PROVIDING FOR CHEMICAL CASTRATION TREATMENT AS A CONDITION OF PAROLE FOR SEX OFFENDERS; PROVIDING THAT REFUSAL TO UNDERGO CHEMICAL CASTRATION TREATMENT IS A PAROLE VIOLATION.

 

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

     SECTION 1. Section 31-21-10.1 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2003 (1st S.S.), Chapter 1, Section 9, as amended by Laws 2007, Chapter 68, Section 4 and by Laws 2007, Chapter 69, Section 4) is amended to read:

     "31-21-10.1. SEX OFFENDERS--PERIOD OF PAROLE--TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF PAROLE.--

          A. If the district court sentences a sex offender to a term of incarceration in a facility designated by the corrections department, the district court shall include a provision in the judgment and sentence that specifically requires:

                (1) the sex offender to serve an indeterminate period of supervised parole for a period of:

                     [(1)] (a) not less than five years and not in excess of twenty years for the offense of kidnapping when committed with intent to inflict a sexual offense upon the victim, criminal sexual penetration in the third degree, criminal sexual contact of a minor in the fourth degree or sexual exploitation of children in the second degree; or

                     [(2)] (b) not less than five years and up to the natural life of the sex offender for the offense of aggravated criminal sexual penetration, criminal sexual penetration in the first or second degree, criminal sexual contact of a minor in the second or third degree or sexual exploitation of children by prostitution in the first or second degree; and

                (2) the sex offender to undergo chemical castration treatment pursuant to Section 31-21-10.3 NMSA 1978 as a condition of parole.

     A sex offender's period of supervised parole may be for a period of less than the maximum if, at a review hearing provided for in Subsection C of this section, the state is unable to prove that the sex offender should remain on parole.

          B. Prior to placing a sex offender on parole, the board shall conduct a hearing to determine the terms and conditions of supervised parole for the sex offender. The board may consider any relevant factors, including:

                (1) the nature and circumstances of the offense for which the sex offender was incarcerated;

                (2) the nature and circumstances of a prior sex offense committed by the sex offender;

                (3) rehabilitation efforts engaged in by the sex offender, including participation in treatment programs while incarcerated or elsewhere;

                (4) the danger to the community posed by the sex offender; and

                (5) a risk and needs assessment regarding the sex offender, developed by the sex offender management board of the New Mexico sentencing commission or another appropriate entity, to be used by appropriate parole board personnel.

          C. When a sex offender has served the initial five years of supervised parole, and at two and one-half year intervals thereafter, the board shall review the duration of the sex offender's supervised parole. At each review hearing, the attorney general shall bear the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that the sex offender should remain on parole.

          D. The board may order a sex offender released on parole to abide by reasonable terms and conditions of parole, including:

                (1) being subject to intensive supervision by a parole officer of the corrections department;

                (2) participating in an outpatient or inpatient sex offender treatment program;

                (3) a parole agreement by the sex offender not to use alcohol or drugs;

                (4) a parole agreement by the sex offender not to have contact with certain persons or classes of persons; and

                (5) being subject to alcohol testing, drug testing or polygraph examinations used to determine if the sex offender is in compliance with the terms and conditions of the sex offender's parole.

          E. The board shall require electronic real-time monitoring of every sex offender released on parole for the entire time the sex offender is on parole. The electronic monitoring shall use global positioning system monitoring technology or any successor technology that would give continuous information on the sex offender's whereabouts and enable law enforcement and the corrections department to determine the real-time position of a sex offender to a high level of accuracy.

          F. The board shall notify the chief public defender of an upcoming parole hearing for a sex offender pursuant to Subsection C of this section, and the chief public defender shall make representation available to the sex offender at the parole hearing.

          G. If the board finds that a sex offender has violated the terms and conditions of the sex offender's parole, the board may revoke the sex offender's parole or may modify the terms and conditions of parole.

          H. The provisions of this section shall apply to all sex offenders, except geriatric, permanently incapacitated and terminally ill inmates eligible for the medical and geriatric parole program as provided by the Parole Board Act.

          I. As used in this section, "sex offender" means a person who is convicted of, pleads guilty to or pleads nolo contendere to any one of the following offenses:

                (1) kidnapping, as provided in Section 30-4-1 NMSA 1978, when committed with intent to inflict a sexual offense upon the victim;

                (2) aggravated criminal sexual penetration or criminal sexual penetration in the first, second or third degree, as provided in Section 30-9-11 NMSA 1978;

                (3) criminal sexual contact of a minor in the second, third or fourth degree, as provided in Section 30-9-13 NMSA 1978;

                (4) sexual exploitation of children in the second degree, as provided in Section 30-6A-3 NMSA 1978;

                (5) sexual exploitation of children by prostitution in the first or second degree, as provided in Section 30-6A-4 NMSA 1978; or

                (6) child solicitation by electronic communication device, as provided in Section 30-37-3.2 NMSA 1978."

     SECTION 2. A new section of the Probation and Parole Act, Section 31-21-10.3 NMSA 1978, is enacted to read:

     "31-21-10.3. [NEW MATERIAL] CHEMICAL CASTRATION TREATMENT AS A CONDITION OF PAROLE FOR SEX OFFENDERS.--

          A. For the purposes of this section, "chemical castration treatment" means the use of hormonal drugs such as medroxyprogesterone acetate or a chemical equivalent to reduce sexual violence recidivism.

          B. The district court shall inform a person required to undergo chemical castration treatment as a condition of parole about the effect of chemical castration treatment and any side effects that may result from the treatment. The person shall sign a written acknowledgment of receipt of the information.

          C. A person required to undergo chemical castration treatment shall begin the treatment not less than one month prior to the person's release from the custody of the corrections department.

          D. The corrections department shall administer the chemical castration treatment if the person is incarcerated during the person's parole term. If the person is released from the corrections department's custody during the person's parole term, the person's parole officer shall advise the person where to receive chemical castration treatment.

          E. A person receiving chemical castration treatment shall authorize the corrections department to share with the board all medical records relating to the person's chemical castration treatment.

          F. A person receiving chemical castration treatment shall pay for all of the costs associated with the chemical castration treatment; provided that a person may not be denied parole based solely on the person's inability to pay for the costs associated with the chemical castration treatment required under this section.

          G. A person shall continue receiving chemical castration treatment until the board determines the treatment is no longer necessary.

          H. If a person required to undergo chemical castration treatment refuses the treatment, the person's parole officer shall report a parole violation to the board. The refusal to receive chemical castration treatment shall constitute a violation of the person's parole, and the person shall be immediately remanded to the custody of the corrections department for the remainder of the sentence from which the person was paroled."