SESSION OF 2002

SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON SENATE BILL NO. 95

As Recommended by Senate Committee on

Judiciary

Brief

       SB 95 would enact the Interstate Compact for Adult Offenders Supervision and repeal the current Uniform Act for Out-of-State Parole Supervision.

       The purpose of the Compact is the following:

• Provide the framework for promotion of public safety;
• Protect the rights of victims through the control and regulation of the interstate movement of offenders in the community;
• Provide effective tracking, supervision, and rehabilitation of these offenders by the sending and receiving states; and
• Equitably distribute the costs, benefits, and obligations of the compact among the compacting states.

       The major provisions of the bill include the following:

• Establish an interstate commission to: develop procedures for the transfer of offender supervision responsibilities from one compact state to another; ensure opportunity for victim notification and input; establish a system for uniform data collection and access to information; monitor compliance; and coordinate training and education.

• Empower the commission to promulgate rules which will have the force and effect of statutory law and which will be binding on the member states.

• Require that the compact promulgate rules to govern member state procedures in the following areas, at a minimum, as they relate to interstate compact offenders:
  • victim notification and opportunity for victim input;
  • offender registration and compliance;
  • violations and returns;
  • transfer procedures and forms;
  • transfer eligibility;
  • collection of restitution and fees;
  • uniform standards for data collection and reporting;
  • supervision levels to be provided by the receiving state;
  • transition rules; and
  • mediation, arbitration, and dispute resolution.

• Authorize the commission to enforce compliance with compact provisions, commission rules and by-laws, using all necessary and proper means, including but not limited to, initiation of legal action through the federal court system.

• Require courts and executive agencies in each compacting state to enforce the compact and to take all necessary and appropriate actions to effectuate the compact’s purposes and intent.

• Authorize the commission to impose penalties on states determined by the commission to have defaulted in the performance of any of their compact obligations or responsibilities. Penalties may include: fees, fines, and costs; remedial training and technical assistance; and suspension and termination of membership.

• Provide that all compacting states’ laws conflicting with the compact are superceded to the extent of the conflict.

• Authorize the commission to levy and collect an annual assessment from each member state to finance its operations and activities.

• Provide that each member state shall create a State Council for Interstate Adult Offender Supervision, which shall be responsible for appointment of the commissioner to represent the state on the compact commission. The state council would also be responsible for oversight and advocacy concerning the state’s participation in the compact.

•  Provide that the state compact administrator be appointed either by the governor or the state council.

• The compact would be effective July 1, 2001, or upon enactment by the 35^th state, whichever is later.

Background

       The Secretary of the Kansas Department of Corrections supported the bill.

       Enactment of SB 95 would constitute state approval of the Interstate Compact for Adult Offender Supervision. If approved by 35 states (25 states have approved the compact to date), the compact would supercede the Probation and Parole Compact Administration Association, of which Kansas is currently a member and active participant.

       The Interstate Compact Unit currently monitors approximately 593 probationers supervised in other states. Additionally, there are 1,018 parole and postrelease offenders under the jurisdiction of the Kansas Department of Corrections who are under supervision in other states. There are 249 parolees and 717 probationers from other states residing in Kansas.

       The fiscal note prepared in 2001 did not indicate a fiscal impact.