Journal of the House of Representatives
of the Second Session of the 110th General Assembly
of the State of South Carolina
being the Regular Session Beginning Tuesday, January 11, 1994

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"(a) The Director of the Department of Corrections may allow any a prisoner in the custody of the department, who is assigned to a productive duty assignment or who is regularly enrolled and actively participating in an academic, technical, or vocational training program, a reduction from the term of his sentence of zero to one day for every two days he is employed or enrolled. However, no inmate serving the sentence of life imprisonment is entitled to credits under this provision. A maximum annual credit for both work credit and class credit is limited to one hundred eighty days. Notwithstanding other provisions of law, no inmate is entitled to an amount of credit that results in an earlier release than is allowed under the minimum sentence requirements as provided in Section 24-13-150. The amount of credit to be earned for each duty classification or enrollment must be determined by the director and published by him in a conspicuous place available to inmates at each correctional institution. No credits earned under this section may be applied in a manner which would prevent full participation in the department's prerelease and community supervision program. If an inmate is released early due to credits earned from productive duty assignment, the inmate must serve the remainder of his sentence under community supervision as provided in Section 24-13-710."

SECTION 21. Section 24-13-710 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended to read:

"Section 24-13-710. (A) The Department of Corrections and the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, and Community Supervision shall jointly develop the policies, procedures, guidelines, and cooperative agreement for the implementation of a supervised furlough community supervision program which permits carefully screened and selected inmates who have served the mandatory minimum sentence as required by law Section 24-3-150 or have not committed a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60 nor committed the crime of criminal sexual conduct in the third degree as defined in Section 16-3-654 or the crime of committing or attempting a lewd act upon a child under the age of fourteen as defined in Section 16-15-140 to be released on furlough prior to parole eligibility and community supervision under the supervision of state probation and parole community supervision agents with the privilege of residing in an approved residence and continuing treatment, training, or employment in the community until parole eligibility or expiration of sentence, whichever is earlier.

(B) The department and the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, and Community Supervision shall assess a fee sufficient to cover the cost of the participant's supervision and any other financial

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obligations incurred because of his participation in the supervised furlough community supervision program as provided by this article. The two departments shall jointly develop and approve written guidelines for the program to include, but not be limited to, the selection criteria and process, requirements for supervision, conditions for participation, and removal. The cooperative agreement between the two departments shall specify the responsibilities and authority for implementing and operating the program. Inmates approved and placed on the program must be under the supervision of agents of the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, and Community Supervision who are responsible for insuring the inmate's compliance with the rules, regulations, and conditions of the program as well as monitoring the inmate's employment and participation in any of the prescribed and authorized community-based correctional programs such as vocational rehabilitation, technical education, and alcohol/and drug treatment.

(C) Eligibility criteria for the program include, but are not limited to, all of the following requirements:

(1) maintain a clear disciplinary record for at least six months prior to before consideration for placement on the program;

(2) demonstrate to Department of Corrections' officials a general desire to become a law-abiding member of society;

(3) satisfy any other reasonable requirements imposed upon him by the Department of Corrections;

(4) have an identifiable need for and willingness to participate in authorized community-based programs and rehabilitative services;

(5) have been committed to the State Department of Corrections with a total sentence of five years or less as the first or second adult commitment for a criminal offense for which the inmate received a sentence of one year or more.
(D) The Department of Corrections shall notify victims pursuant to Section 16-3-1530(c) as well as the sheriff's office of the place to be released before releasing inmates through any supervised furlough community supervision program.

These requirements do not apply to the crimes referred to in this section.

(E) If, during the term of community supervision, a prisoner commits an offense or violates a rule or regulation of the Department of Corrections or the Department of Probation, Pardon Services, and Community Supervision all or any of his early release may be forfeited at the discretion of the Board of Probation, Pardon Services, and Community

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Supervision and he may be required to serve the remainder of his sentence in prison."

SECTION 22. Section 24-13-1310(1) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 520 of 1992, is further amended to read:

"(1) `Eligible inmate' means a person committed to the South Carolina Department of Corrections:

(a) who has not reached the age of thirty years at the time of admission to the department;

(b) who is eligible for release on parole in two years or less;

(c) who has not been convicted of a violent crime as defined in Section 16-1-60;

(d)(c) who has not been incarcerated previously in a state correctional facility or has not served a sentence previously in a shock incarceration program;

(e)(d) who physically is able to participate in the program;

(f)(e) whose sentence specifically does not prohibit the offender from participating in the shock incarceration program."

SECTION 23. Section 24-13-1320(B) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended to read:

"(B) For each reception center the commissioner director shall appoint or cause to be appointed a shock incarceration selection committee which must include at least one representative of the Department of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services, and Community Supervision and which shall meet on a regularly scheduled basis to review all applications for a program."

SECTION 24. Section 24-13-1330 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended to read:

"Section 24-13-1330. (A) An eligible inmate may make an application to the shock incarceration screening committee for permission to participate in a shock incarceration program. If the department has a victim witness notification request for an eligible inmate who has made an application, it shall notify the victim of the application. Upon order by the court, the committee may consider an inmate for participation in the shock incarceration program. (B) The committee shall consider input received from law enforcement agencies, victims, and others in making its decision for approval or disapproval of participation. If the committee determines that an inmate's participation in a program is consistent with the safety of the community, the welfare of the applicant, and the regulations of the department, the committee shall forward the application to the commissioner director or his designee for approval or disapproval.

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(C)(B) An applicant may not participate in a program unless he agrees to be bound by all of its terms and conditions and indicates this agreement by signing the following:

`I accept the foregoing program and agree to be bound by its terms and conditions. I understand that my participation in the program is a privilege that may be revoked at the sole discretion of the commissioner director. I understand that I shall complete the entire program successfully to obtain a certificate of earned eligibility upon the completion of the program, and if I do not complete the program successfully, for any reason, I will be transferred to a nonshock incarceration correctional facility to continue service of my sentence.'

(D)(C) An inmate who has completed a shock incarceration program successfully is eligible to receive a certificate of earned eligibility and must be granted parole release.

(E)(D) Participation in a shock incarceration program is a privilege. Nothing contained in this article confers upon an inmate the right to participate or continue to participate in a program."

SECTION 25. Section 24-13-1520(1) and (2) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended to read:

"(1) `Department' means, in the case of a juvenile offender, the Department of Juvenile Justice and, in the case of an adult offender, the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, and Community Supervision, the Department of Corrections, and any other law enforcement agency created by law.

(2) `Court' means a circuit or family court having criminal or juvenile jurisdiction to sentence an individual to incarceration for a violation of law, the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, and Community Supervision, Board of Juvenile Parole, and the Department of Corrections."

SECTION 26. Section 24-13-1590(2) of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended to read:

"(2) diminishes the lawful authority of the courts of this State, the Department of Juvenile Justice, or the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, and Community Supervision to regulate or impose conditions for probation or parole."

SECTION 27. Section 24-19-160 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 24-19-160. Nothing in this chapter shall limit limits or affect affects the power of any a court to suspend the imposition or execution of any a sentence and place a youthful offender on probation.

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Nothing in this chapter shall may be construed in anywise to amend, repeal, or affect the jurisdiction of the Board of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services, Board and Community Supervision. For parole purposes, a sentence pursuant to Section 24-19-50 (c) shall be considered a sentence for six years."

SECTION 28. Section 24-21-10 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended to read:

"Section 24-21-10. (A) The Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, and Community Supervision, hereafter referred to as the `department', is governed by the director of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services the department, hereafter referred to as the `director'. The director must be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate.

(B) The Board of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services, and Community Supervision is composed of seven members. The terms of office of the members are for six years and until their successors are appointed and qualify. Six of the seven members must be appointed from each of the congressional districts and one member must be appointed at-large. Vacancies must be filled by gubernatorial appointment with the advice and consent of the Senate for the unexpired term. If a vacancy occurs during a recess of the Senate, the Governor may fill the vacancy by appointment for the unexpired term pending the consent of the Senate. A chairman must be elected annually by a majority of the membership of the board. The chairman may serve consecutive terms."

SECTION 29. Section 24-21-13 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended to read:

"Section 24-21-13. (A) It is the duty of the director to oversee, manage, and control the department. The director shall develop written policies and procedures for the following:

(1) the supervising of offenders on probation, parole or community supervision, and other offenders released from incarceration prior to before the expiration of their sentence;

(2) the granting of paroles and pardons;

(3) the operation of community-based correctional programs; and

(4) the operation of public work sentence programs for offenders as provided in item (1) of this subsection. This program also may be utilized as an alternative to technical revocations.; and

(5) the development of additional work release programs.

The director shall establish priority programs for litter control along state and county highways. This must be included in the `public service work' program.

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(B) It is the duty of the board to consider cases for parole, pardon, and any other form of clemency provided for under law."

SECTION 30. Section 24-21-30 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 24-21-30. The board shall hold regular meetings, as may be necessary to carry out its duties, but at least four times each year, and as many extra meetings as the chairman, or the Governor acting through the chairman, may order. The board may preserve order at its meetings and punish any disrespect or contempt committed in its presence. The chairman may direct the members of the board to meet as three-member panels to hear matters relating to paroles and pardons and community supervision as often as necessary to carry out the board's responsibilities. Membership on such the panels shall must be periodically rotated on a random basis by the chairman. At the meetings of the panels, any unanimous vote shall be considered is the final decision of the board, and the panel may issue an order of parole with the same force and effect of an order issued by the full board pursuant to Section 24-21-650. Any A vote that is not unanimous shall is not be considered as a decision of the board and the matter shall must be referred to the full board which shall decide it based on a vote of a majority of the membership."

SECTION 31. Section 24-21-50 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 24-21-50. The board shall grant hearings and permit arguments and appearances by counsel or any individual before it at any such hearing while considering any a case for parole, pardon or any other form of clemency provided for under law."

SECTION 32. Section 24-21-60 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended to read:

"Section 24-21-60. Every Each city, county, or state official or department shall assist and cooperate to further the objectives of this chapter. The board, the director of the department, and the probation and community supervision agents may seek the cooperation of officials and departments and especially of the sheriffs, jailers, magistrates, police officials, and institutional officers. The director may conduct surveys of the State Penitentiary, county jails, and camps and obtain information to enable the board to pass intelligently upon all applications for parole. The Director of the Department of Corrections and the wardens, jailers, sheriffs, supervisors, or other officers in whose control a prisoner may be committed must aid and assist the director and the probation agents in the surveys."

SECTION 33. Section 24-21-80 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 24-21-80. Every person granted parole by the board and every An adult placed on probation by a court of competent jurisdiction shall pay

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two hundred forty dollars a year toward offsetting the cost of his supervision for so long as he remains under supervision. This fee is due and payable on the date of sentencing or date of parole and each subsequent anniversary for the duration of the supervision period. This fee must be remitted for credit to the state general fund. The payment of the fee must be a condition of parole or probation and a delinquency of two months or more in making payments may operate as a revocation of parole or probation rendering the violator liable to serving out any remaining part of his sentence, at the determination of the board or the court.
If the probationer is placed under intensive supervision by a court of competent jurisdiction, or if the board places a parolee under intensive supervision, or if the department places an inmate under intensive supervision who is participating in the Supervised Furlough Community Supervision Program as provided in Section 24-13-710 under supervision as a result of a prison overcrowding emergency, the probationer, parolee, or inmate is required to pay ten dollars each week for the duration of intensive supervision in lieu instead of the two hundred forty dollars a year fee. Fees derived from persons under intensive supervision must be retained in aggregate by the board to support these supervisory efforts and fees collected in prior years from this source must be retained and carried forward to continue the supervisory effort. Offenders sentenced for the offense of murder, kidnapping, voluntary manslaughter, assault and battery with intent to kill, criminal sexual conduct in any degree, armed robbery, arson, or trafficking in drugs pursuant to Section 44-53-370(e) are ineligible for participation in the intensive supervision program. The board, in the cases of parolees community supervision, or a court of competent jurisdiction, in the case of probationers, or the department, in the case of an inmate, may exempt the probationer, parolee supervised prisoner, or inmate from payment of a part or all of the yearly or weekly fee during any part or all of the term where the board, the court, or the department determines that these payments work a severe hardship on the parolee supervised prisoner, probationer, or inmate. Delinquencies of two months or more in payment of a reduced fee operates in the same manner as delinquencies for the full amount."

SECTION 34. Section 24-21-220 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended to read:

"Section 24-21-220. The director shall be is vested with the exclusive management and control of the department and shall be is responsible for the management of the department and for the proper care, treatment, supervision, and management of offenders under its control. The director

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shall manage and control the department and it shall be is the duty of the director to carry out the policies of the department. The director is responsible for scheduling board meetings, assuring that the proper cases and investigations are prepared for the board, maintaining the board's official records, and performing other administrative duties relating to the board's activities. The director must employ within his office such personnel as may be necessary to carry out his duties and responsibilities including the functions of probation and parole community supervision, community based programs, financial management, research and planning, staff development and training, and internal audit. The director shall make annual written reports to the board, the Governor, and the General Assembly providing statistical and other information pertinent to the department's activities."

SECTION 35. Section 24-21-230 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended to read:

"Section 24-21-230. The director must employ such probation and community supervision agents as required for service in the State and such clerical assistants as may be necessary. Such The probation and parole community supervision agents must take and pass such psychological and qualifying examinations as directed by the director. The director must ensure that each probation and community supervision agent receives adequate training. Until such the initial employment requirements are met, no person may take the oath of a probation and community supervision agent nor exercise the authority granted thereto to them."

SECTION 36. Section 24-21-280 of the 1976 Code, as last amended by Act 181 of 1993, is further amended to read:

"Section 24-21-280. A probation and community supervision agent must investigate all cases referred to him for investigation by the judges or director and report in writing. He must furnish to each person released on probation or community supervision under his supervision a written statement of the conditions of probation or community supervision and must instruct him regarding them. He must keep informed concerning the conduct and condition of each person on probation or parole community supervision under his supervision by visiting, requiring reports, and in other ways, and must report in writing as often as the court or director may require. He must use practicable and suitable methods to aid and encourage persons on probation or parole community supervision to bring about improvement in their conduct and condition. A probation or community supervision agent must keep detailed records of his work, make reports in writing, and perform other duties as the director may require. A probation or community supervision agent must have, in the

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execution of his duties, the power to issue an arrest warrant or a citation charging a violation of conditions of supervision, the powers of arrest, and to the extent necessary the same right to execute process given by law to sheriffs. In the performance of his duties of probation, and parole community supervision, and investigation and supervision, he is regarded as the official representative of the court and the department."

SECTION 37. Section 24-21-300 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 24-21-300. At any time during a period of supervision, a probation and parole community supervision agent, instead of issuing a warrant, may issue a written citation and affidavit setting forth that the probationer, parolee supervised prisoner, or any a person released or furloughed under the Prison Overcrowding Powers Offender Management Systems Act in the agent's judgment violates the conditions of his release or suspended sentence. The
citation must be directed to the probationer, parolee supervised prisoner, or the person released or furloughed, must require him to appear at a specified time, date, and court or other place, and must state the charges. The citation must set forth the probationer's, parolee's supervised prisoner's, or released or furloughed person's rights and contain a statement that a hearing will be held in his absence if he fails to appear and that he may be imprisoned as a result of his absence. The citation may be served by a law enforcement officer upon the request of a probation and parole community supervision agent. The issuance of a citation or warrant during the period of supervision gives jurisdiction to the court and the board at any hearing on the violation."

SECTION 38. Section 24-21-910 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 24-21-910. The Board of Probation, Parole, and Pardon Services, and Community Supervision Board shall consider all petitions for reprieves or the commutation of a sentence of death to life imprisonment which may be referred to it by the Governor and shall make its recommendations to the Governor regarding such the petitions. The Governor may or may not adopt such the recommendations but in case he does not he shall submit his reasons for not doing so to the General Assembly. The Governor may act on any such petition without reference to the board."

SECTION 39. Section 24-21-950 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

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"Section 24-21-950. The following guidelines shall must be utilized by the board when determining when an individual is eligible for pardon consideration.

A.(1) Probationers shall must be considered upon the request of the individual anytime after discharge from supervision.

B. Persons discharged from a sentence without benefit of parole shall be considered upon the request of the individual anytime after the date of discharge.

C. Parolees shall be considered for a pardon upon the request of the individual anytime after the successful completion of five years under supervision. Parolees successfully completing the maximum parole period, if less than five years, shall be considered for pardon upon the request of the individual anytime after the date of discharge.

D. An inmate shall be considered for pardon prior to parole eligibility date only when he can produce evidence comprising the most extraordinary circumstances.

E.(2) The victim of a crime or any a member of a convicted person's family living within this State may petition for a pardon for any a person who is no longer an inmate or a probationer."

SECTION 40. Section 24-23-20 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 24-23-20. The case classification plan shall must provide for case classification system consisting of the following:

(a)(1) supervisory control requirements which include, but are not limited to, restrictions on the probationer/parolee's movement in the community, living arrangements, social associations, and reporting requirements;

(b)(2) rehabilitation needs of probationer/parolee including, but not limited to, employment, education, training, alcohol and drug treatment, counseling and guidance with regard to alcohol and drug abuse, psychological or emotional problems, or handicaps;

(c)(3) categorization of the offender as to the extent and type of staff time needed, possible assignment to specialized caseload or treatment programs, and specifics as to the degree of perceived risk posed by the probationer/parolee;

(d)(4) identification of strategies and resources to meet the identified needs, and specific objectives for the probationer/parolee to strive to meet such as obtaining employment, participating in a counseling program, and securing better living arrangements;

(e)(5) periodic and systematic review of cases to assess the adequacy of supervisory controls, participation in rehabilitation programs, and need

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for recategorization based upon the behavior and progress of the probationer/parolee; and

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