HOUSE BILL NO. 637
INTRODUCED BY C. KAUFMANN, CALLAHAN
AN ACT PROVIDING FOR AN OFFICE OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE IN THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE TO PROMOTE THE USE OF RESTORATIVE JUSTICE AND TO PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND GRANTS FOR RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PROGRAMS; PROVIDING FOR RESTORATIVE JUSTICE PRINCIPLES IN THE CORRECTIONAL AND SENTENCING POLICY; CREATING A FUND IN THE STATE SPECIAL REVENUE ACCOUNT; AUTHORIZING THE BOARD OF CRIME CONTROL TO MAKE GRANTS FROM THE FUND; PROVIDING AN APPROPRIATION; AMENDING SECTION 46-18-101, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. Intent. The legislature recognizes that incarcerating offenders carries an extremely high cost and may not be the most effective strategy for restoring victims, reforming offenders, and reducing recidivism. It is the intent of [section 2] to divert appropriate offenders who are at low risk for violence from incarceration to community programs based on restorative justice and to divert funds from the department of corrections to the department of justice to support an office of restorative justice and to support community programs based on restorative justice.
Section 2. Office of restorative justice. (1) There is an office of restorative justice in the department of justice.
(2) The purposes of the office of restorative justice are to:
(a) promote the use of restorative justice throughout the state by balancing the needs of victims, communities, and juvenile and adult offenders;
(b) provide technical assistance to jurisdictions and organizations interested in implementing the principles of restorative justice; and
(c) bring additional resources to Montana communities for restorative justice programs.
(3) (a) For the purposes of [sections 1 and 2], the term "restorative justice" means the philosophy of promoting and supporting practices, policies, and programs that focus on repairing the harm of crime, strengthening communities around the state, emphasizing accountability, and providing alternatives to incarceration for offenders who are at low risk for violence.
(b) Restorative justice is intended to improve the ability of the justice system to meet the needs of victims, to encourage community and victim participation in the criminal justice process, to reduce crime and increase the public sense of safety, to hold offenders accountable, and to provide rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders back into the community.
(c) Restorative justice programs include but are not limited to victim-offender meetings, family group conferencing, sentencing circles, use of victim and community impact statements, restitution programs, constructive community service, victim awareness education, victim empathy programs, school expulsion alternatives, peer mediation, diversion programs, and community panels.
(4) Efforts of the office of restorative justice may include but are not limited to:
(a) providing educational programs on the philosophical framework of restorative justice;
(b) providing technical assistance to schools, law enforcement, youth courts, probation and parole officers, juvenile corrections programs, and prisons in designing and implementing applications of restorative justice;
(c) housing a repository for resources and information to coordinate expertise in restorative justice;
(d) serving as a liaison between victims, the judiciary, and state agencies, such as the department of justice and the department of corrections, that are involved in criminal and juvenile justice efforts including victim compensation programs;
(e) providing information to schools, local governments, law enforcement, state agencies, the judiciary, and the legislature regarding systemic changes that may be necessary to enhance further development of restorative justice in the state; and
(f) securing additional resources for restorative justice programs through a grant program administered by the board of crime control, which may be coordinated with other appropriate grant programs of agencies, and providing sustained funding for successful community programs.
Section 3. Restorative justice fund created -- source of funding -- use of fund. (1) There is an account in the state special revenue fund established by 17-2-102 to be known as the restorative justice fund.
(2) There must be deposited in the account:
(a) money received from legislative allocations;
(b) a transfer of money from a state or local agency for the purposes of [section 2]; and
(c) a gift, donation, grant, legacy, bequest, or devise made for the purposes of [section 2].
(3) The fund may be used only to provide grants for restorative justice programs as provided in [section 2] to community-based, including faith-based, organizations.
Section 4. Section 46-18-101, MCA, is amended to read:
"46-18-101. Correctional and sentencing policy. (1) It is the purpose of this section to establish the correctional and sentencing policy of the state of Montana. Laws for the punishment of crime are drawn to implement the policy established by this section.
(2) The correctional and sentencing policy of the state of Montana is to:
(a) punish each offender commensurate with the nature and degree of harm caused by the offense and to hold an offender accountable;
(b) protect the public, reduce crime, and increase the public sense of safety by incarcerating violent offenders and serious repeat offenders;
(c) provide restitution, reparation, and restoration to the victim of the offense; and
(d) encourage and provide opportunities for the offender's self-improvement to provide rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders back into the community.
(3) To achieve the policy outlined in subsection (2), the state of Montana adopts the following principles:
(a) Sentencing and punishment must be certain, timely, consistent, and understandable.
(b) Sentences should be commensurate with the punishment imposed on other persons committing the same offenses.
(c) Sentencing practices must be neutral with respect to the offender's race, gender, religion, national origin, or social or economic status.
(d) Sentencing practices must permit judicial discretion to consider aggravating and mitigating circumstances.
(e) Sentencing practices must include punishing violent and serious repeat felony offenders with incarceration.
(f) Sentencing practices must provide alternatives to imprisonment for the punishment of those nonviolent felony offenders who do not have serious criminal records.
(g) Sentencing and correctional practices must emphasize that the offender is responsible for obeying the law and must hold the offender accountable for the offender's actions.
(h) Sentencing practices must emphasize restitution to the victim by the offender. A sentence must require an offender who is financially able to do so to pay restitution, costs as provided in 46-18-232, costs of court-appointed counsel as provided in 46-8-113, and, if the offender is a sex offender, costs of any chemical treatment.
(i) Sentencing practices should promote and support practices, policies, and programs that focus on restorative justice principles."
Section 5. Appropriation. There is appropriated up to $200,000 from the state special revenue account established in [section 3] to the board of crime control for the biennium beginning July 1, 2001, for providing grants to communities for restorative justice programs.
Section 6. Codification instruction. [Sections 1 through 3] are intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 2, chapter 15, part 20, and the provisions of Title 2, chapter 15, part 20, apply to [sections 1 through 3].
Section 7. Effective date. [This act] is effective July 1, 2001.
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