Senate Commerce Committee Statement to Senate, No. 2519 — State of New Jersey (July 23, 2020)

Summary

A Senate Commerce Committee statement to the Senate on Senate Bill No. 2519, State of New Jersey, dated July 23, 2020, reporting the bill favorably with committee amendments. The bill requires public health emergency credits for certain inmates during a public health emergency declared by the Governor, giving remission of four months for each month served, up to eight months, for inmates or juveniles to be released within 12 months; repetitive, compulsive sex offenders are excluded. Prosecutors or the Attorney General must notify identifiable victims of the release, and the court is to enter a "no contact" order unless the victim objects. The statement says the COVID-19 death rate of inmates in New Jersey is the highest in the country.

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SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

SENATE, No.
2519

with
committee amendments

STATE
OF NEW JERSEY

DATED: JULY
23, 2020

The Senate Commerce Committee reports favorably and with
committee amendments Senate Bill No. 2519.

This bill requires public health emergency credits to
be awarded to certain inmates during a public health emergency declared by the
Governor. The credits would provide remission of time from the inmates’ sentences.
The bill also requires notice to any identifiable victim that an inmate who was
awarded credits will be released, and requires the entry of a “no contact”
order prohibiting the inmate from having contact with an identifiable victim
under certain circumstances.

The COVID-19 death rate of inmates in New Jersey is
the highest in the country. While the State of New Jersey has been severely
impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, inmates in this State have been afflicted at
a particularly alarming rate, as the inability of inmates to quarantine or
practice social distancing creates a higher risk to their lives. In providing
a method to award these credits, it is the sponsor’s intent to expedite the
release of certain inmates who are approaching the end of their sentences in
order to reduce the risk of harm to inmates and correctional facility staff,
while simultaneously protecting the public safety.

The bill provides for public health emergency credits
to be awarded to certain inmates in the event a public health emergency is
declared by the Governor that arises as a result of a communicable or
infectious disease, and results in the modification of correctional facility
operations.

Under the bill, public health emergency credits are to
be awarded to any inmate in the custody of the Department of Corrections (DOC)
who is serving a sentence or receiving jail credits applicable to the sentence.
The credits would provide further remission from both the maximum and minimum
term of the inmate’s sentence at the rate of four months for each month, or
portion of each month, served during the declared emergency with a maximum of
eight months of remission to be awarded for any declared emergency period. The
award of public health emergency credits is not to limit or affect an inmate’s
eligibility for parole consideration.

Public health emergency credits are not to be awarded
under the bill to an inmate who has been deemed a repetitive, compulsive sex
offender. The bill also provides that juvenile offenders, other than those
deemed to be repetitive, compulsive sex offenders, are eligible to receive
public health emergency credits.

Under the bill, the Commissioner of Corrections or
Executive Director of the Juvenile Justice Commission, as appropriate, is to
notify the appropriate court and the prosecutor of the county in which the
inmate was convicted or the Attorney General if the matter was prosecuted by
the Attorney General of:

· the name of any inmate or juvenile who is scheduled to be
released from custody within 12 months as a result of the award of credits;

· the date the inmate or juvenile is scheduled to be released; and

· the date the inmate or juvenile was scheduled to be released
prior to the award of credits.

Information concerning the procedures for filing an
application for a domestic violence final restraining order, resources for
victims of domestic violence; and the procedures for filing a petition to
dissolve a “no contact” order entered under the bill are to be made available
on the DOC, Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC), and the Department of Law and
Public Safety websites.

The prosecutor or Attorney General is required, not
less than five days prior to the inmate or juvenile’s scheduled release date
to:

· use any reasonable means available to notify any identifiable
victim of the crime for which the inmate or juvenile is incarcerated of the
scheduled release date; that a “no contact” order will be entered prohibiting
the inmate or juvenile from having any contact with the victim, unless the
victim requests that an order not be entered; the date that the order, if
entered, will expire; and the penalties imposed for a violation; and

· provide information to the victim concerning how to dissolve a
“no contact” order, the procedures for filing an application for a domestic
violence final restraining order, and resources for victims of domestic
violence.

The prosecutor or Attorney General is required to
immediately notify the court and either the DOC or JJC of whether an order
prohibiting the inmate from having any contact with the victim is to be
entered, based on the prosecutor’s contact with the victim or inability to
contact the victim.

The court is to enter an order prohibiting the inmate
from having any contact with an identifiable victim if the prosecutor notifies
the court that an identifiable victim does not oppose the entry of an order or
the prosecutor was unable to contact the victim. Any order entered under the
bill is to expire on the date that the inmate was scheduled to be released
prior to the award of public health emergency credits. The court is to provide
a copy of the order to the DOC or JJC, which is to provide a copy of the order
to the inmate or juvenile upon to release. An inmate or juvenile who purposely
or knowingly violates a “no contact” order is guilty of a crime of the fourth
degree. As crime of the fourth degree is punishable by imprisonment of up to
18 months, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS

The committee amended the bill to:

(1) provide that only an inmate or juvenile who is to
be released from custody within 12 months is eligible to receive public health
emergency credits;

(2) reduce the award of credits from six months for
each month served during a declared emergency to four months, and reduce the
maximum award of credits from 12 months to eight months;

(3) provide that an inmate who was in the custody of
the DOC or JJC during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic is to receive
public health emergency credits;

(4) provide that an inmate or juvenile scheduled to
be released from custody following an award of credits is to be released on the
scheduled release date, except that an inmate or juvenile who is scheduled to
be released on or within five days following the effective date of the bill is
to be released either on the date of the entry of a “no contact” order or the
date the prosecutor notifies the court that no order is to be entered,
whichever occurs sooner; however, under no circumstances is the inmate to be
released later than five days following the effective date of the bill;

(5) require the commissioner or executive director,
as appropriate, to identify any inmate or juvenile to be released within 12
months from custody following an award of credits, and notify the appropriate
court and prosecutor or Attorney General;

(6) establish procedures for notifying any
identifiable victim of the inmate’s release and entry of a “no contact” order;

(7) require the entry of a “no contact” order
prohibiting the inmate from having any contact with the victim, unless the
victim objects to the entry of an order, which is to expire on the date the
inmate was scheduled to be released prior to the award of credits;

(8) require any order entered to be provided to the
inmate or juvenile upon release;

(9) provide that an inmate or juvenile who purposely
or knowingly violates a “no contact” order is guilty of a crime of the fourth
degree; and

(10) establish procedures for information to be
provided to an identifiable victim and made publicly available on the DOC, JJC,
and Department of Law and Public Safety websites concerning the filing of an
application for a domestic violence final restraining order, resources for victims
of domestic violence, and procedures for filing a petition to dissolve a “no
contact” order.

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