Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

H.B. 44 (2021GS)

Sponsor

Rep. Miles, K.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/11/2021

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Spencer J. Cox

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• requires the State Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice to make an annual report to the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee on the progress made on the following goals of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative:
• ensuring oversight and accountability;
• supporting local corrections systems;
• improving and expanding reentry and treatment services; and
• strengthening probation and parole supervision; and
• makes technical changes.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

CCJJ REPORTING REQUIREMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Kelly B. Miles
Senate Sponsor: 
Evan J. Vickers
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill requires the State Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice to make an
annual progress report on certain topics to the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice
Interim Committee.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ requires the State Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice to make an annual
report to the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee on the
progress made on the following goals of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative:
• ensuring oversight and accountability;
• supporting local corrections systems;
• improving and expanding reentry and treatment services; and
• strengthening probation and parole supervision; and
▸ makes technical changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
63M-7-204
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapters 200, 230, and 395
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
63M-7-204
 is amended to read:
63M-7-204.
Duties of commission.
(1) The State Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice administration shall:
(a) promote the commission's purposes as enumerated in Section 
63M-7-201
;
(b) promote the communication and coordination of all criminal and juvenile justice
agencies;
(c) study, evaluate, and report on the status of crime in the state and on the
effectiveness of criminal justice policies, procedures, and programs that are directed toward the
reduction of crime in the state;
(d) study, evaluate, and report on programs initiated by state and local agencies to
address reducing recidivism, including changes in penalties and sentencing guidelines intended
to reduce recidivism, costs savings associated with the reduction in the number of inmates, and
evaluation of expenses and resources needed to meet goals regarding the use of treatment as an
alternative to incarceration, as resources allow;
(e) study, evaluate, and report on policies, procedures, and programs of other
jurisdictions which have effectively reduced crime;
(f) identify and promote the implementation of specific policies and programs the
commission determines will significantly reduce crime in Utah;
(g) provide analysis and recommendations on all criminal and juvenile justice
legislation, state budget, and facility requests, including program and fiscal impact on all
components of the criminal and juvenile justice system;
(h) provide analysis, accountability, recommendations, and supervision for state and
federal criminal justice grant money;
(i) provide public information on the criminal and juvenile justice system and give
technical assistance to agencies or local units of government on methods to promote public
awareness;
(j) promote research and program evaluation as an integral part of the criminal and
juvenile justice system;
(k) provide a comprehensive criminal justice plan annually;
(l) review agency forecasts regarding future demands on the criminal and juvenile
justice systems, including specific projections for secure bed space;
(m) promote the development of criminal and juvenile justice information systems that
are consistent with common standards for data storage and are capable of appropriately sharing
information with other criminal justice information systems by:
(i) developing and maintaining common data standards for use by all state criminal
justice agencies;
(ii) annually performing audits of criminal history record information maintained by
state criminal justice agencies to assess their accuracy, completeness, and adherence to
standards;
(iii) defining and developing state and local programs and projects associated with the
improvement of information management for law enforcement and the administration of
justice; and
(iv) establishing general policies concerning criminal and juvenile justice information
systems and making rules as necessary to carry out the duties under Subsection (1)(k) and this
Subsection (1)(m);
(n) allocate and administer grants, from money made available, for approved education
programs to help prevent the sexual exploitation of children;
(o) allocate and administer grants for law enforcement operations and programs related
to reducing illegal drug activity and related criminal activity;
(p) request, receive, and evaluate data and recommendations collected and reported by
agencies and contractors related to policies recommended by the commission regarding
recidivism reduction;
(q) establish and administer a performance incentive grant program that allocates funds
appropriated by the Legislature to programs and practices implemented by counties that reduce
recidivism and reduce the number of offenders per capita who are incarcerated;
(r) oversee or designate an entity to oversee the implementation of juvenile justice
reforms;
(s) make rules and administer the juvenile holding room standards and juvenile jail
standards to align with the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act requirements
pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Sec. 5633;
(t) allocate and administer grants, from money made available, for pilot qualifying
education programs;
(u) oversee the trauma-informed justice program described in Section 
63M-7-209
;
[
and
]
(v) request, receive, and evaluate the aggregate data collected from prosecutorial
agencies[
, jails,
] and the Administrative Office of the Courts, in accordance with Sections
[
17-22-32.4
,
] 
63M-7-216
[
,
] and 
78A-2-109.5
[
.
]
; and
(w) report annually to the Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Interim Committee
on the progress made on each of the following goals of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative:
(i) ensuring oversight and accountability;
(ii) supporting local corrections systems;
(iii) improving and expanding reentry and treatment services; and
(iv) strengthening probation and parole supervision.
(2) If the commission designates an entity under Subsection (1)(r), the commission
shall ensure that the membership of the entity includes representation from the three branches
of government and, as determined by the commission, representation from relevant stakeholder
groups across all parts of the juvenile justice system, including county representation.