Senate Concurrent Resolution
No. 32–Committee on
Legislative Affairs and Operations
Senate Concurrent RESOLUTION—Directing the Legislative Commission to conduct an interim study of the criminal justice system in rural Nevada and of transitional housing for released offenders.
Whereas, The present budget crisis in Nevada is being keenly
felt in the rural counties of this state; and
Whereas, The relatively sparse populations and the great
distances between population centers increase the difficulties faced
by the judicial system in this state’s rural areas; and
Whereas, The State has mandated programs in areas where
there are no providers of such programs within several hundred
miles; and
Whereas, It has become necessary that steps be taken to ensure
equal justice for all residents of Nevada; and
Whereas, The Judicial Council of the State of Nevada
empaneled the Commission on Rural Courts which has worked
diligently to identify and propose solutions for the problems within
the criminal justice system in rural Nevada; and
Whereas, More than 2 million people are now incarcerated in
the United States, a four-fold increase over the past 25 years, and
statistics show that two-thirds of those released will be rearrested
within 3 years and that 40 percent will be returned to custody; and
Whereas, One of the greatest challenges facing American
society today is the reintegration of the more than 600,000 inmates
who leave state and federal prisons to return home each year, with
far-reaching consequences; and
Whereas, In the State of Nevada, the Department of
Corrections releases over 4,800 inmates every year to return to
communities that are ill-equipped to handle the many demands this
places on the limited resources available; and
Whereas, While states and the Federal Government have
allocated increasing shares of their budgets to building and
operating prisons, transitional housing is an alternative that has
proven to be more cost-effective and to have a positive impact on
the released offenders; and
Whereas, When an offender is released directly back into the
community from which he came, he is often returning to the friends
and environment that contributed to his criminal conduct and too
easily falls back into destructive patterns of behavior, which may
include alcohol or drug abuse, domestic violence and gang activity,
and he may not be welcomed back into his own home because of the
chaos he has caused in his family; and
Whereas, Many released offenders are uneducated, have poor
life-management skills, and have little or no job skills, resulting in
bleak futures upon their release; and
Whereas, Many of those released have infectious diseases,
such as tuberculosis, hepatitis, HIV and AIDS, and 16 percent of
offenders have some form of mental illness; and
Whereas, Studies have shown that offenders released into
transitional housing, which provides them with food and shelter, a
supportive environment, peer review, mentors, counseling, job skills
and education, have fewer problems reintegrating into their
communities and have a much lower rate of recidivism; and
Whereas, Since many released offenders have not had to make
their own decisions for years and may have feelings of rage,
hostility and shame, transitional housing provides the offender with
a controlled environment where he is held accountable for his
actions while learning how to adjust to a new living situation, thus
easing his transition from prison life to community life and allowing
him to become a productive member of society; and
Whereas, Since more than 1.5 million children in the United
States have a parent in prison and a child of an inmate is five times
more likely than the average child to serve time in prison as an
adult, it is essential that those offenders who are parents successfully
reintegrate back into their communities; and
Whereas, The State of Nevada recognizes the economic and
social importance of transitional housing and similar programs for
offenders who are released back into the community after
confinement; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of Nevada, the
Assembly Concurring, That the Legislative Commission is
hereby directed to appoint a committee to conduct an interim study
of:
1. The criminal justice system and associated services and
agencies in the rural areas of Nevada; and
2. The feasibility of implementing a program for transitional
housing for felony offenders released on probation or parole or
released after discharge from the Department of Corrections; and be
it further
Resolved, That the committee must be composed of six
Legislators as follows:
1. Two members appointed by the Majority Leader of the
Senate from the membership of the Senate Standing Committee on
Judiciary during the immediately preceding session of the
Legislature;
2. One member appointed by the Majority Leader of the Senate
from the membership of the Senate Standing Committee on Finance
during the immediately preceding session of the Legislature;
3. Two members appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly
from the membership of the Assembly Standing Committee on
Judiciary during the immediately preceding session of the
Legislature; and
4. One member appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly
from the membership of the Assembly Standing Committee on
Ways and Means during the immediately preceding session of the
Legislature;
And be it further
Resolved, That the members of the committee shall elect a
Chairman from one house of the Legislature and a Vice Chairman
from the other house; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislative Commission shall appoint an
advisory group of 13 nonvoting members to assist the committee
with that portion of the interim study which pertains to the criminal
justice system and associated services and agencies in the rural areas
of Nevada. The advisory group must consist of the Director of the
Administrative Office of the Courts and the following persons
serving in rural counties in this state:
1. Two district court judges;
2. One justice of the peace and one municipal court judge;
3. Two persons who serve in the capacity of court clerk to
courts;
4. Two district attorneys;
5. Two persons representing local law enforcement; and
6. Two county commissioners;
And be it further
Resolved, That at least one-half of the members of the
advisory group must be appointed from the current membership of
the Commission on Rural Courts; and be it further
Resolved, That the members of the committee and advisory
group shall comply with the provisions of chapter 241 of NRS; and
be it further
Resolved, That the interim study must include, without
limitation:
1. A comprehensive review and evaluation of the following
areas relating to the criminal justice system and judicial operations
in the rural counties of this state:
(a) The adequacy of present judicial facilities, including, without
limitation, courthouses, courtrooms, jails and juvenile detention
facilities, with respect to size, age, security, overcrowding and
number of facilities available;
(b) The shortage of staff, including, without limitation, circuit
court clerks and justices of the peace, and the need for additional
education and training for existing judicial staff;
(c) The shortage or lack of service providers, including, without
limitation, alcohol and drug abuse counselors, mental health
counselors and other professionals who provide specialized
treatment to persons with certain physical and mental disorders;
(d) The lack of attorneys and the lack of assistance for residents
who represent themselves in court, and the limited number of
available and eligible jurors because of sparse populations;
(e) Geographical constraints because of great distances between
population centers and adverse weather conditions at certain times;
(f) Inadequate technology, including, without limitation,
state-of-the-art telecommunications services and a user-friendly case
management system;
(g) The availability of interpreters, consular corps and other
persons or groups who can provide legal assistance to racial or
ethnic minorities; and
(h) The effect of unfunded mandates on rural courts;
2. The specific problems to be addressed while an offender is
living in transitional housing, such as employment, alcohol and drug
abuse, domestic violence and health issues, and the community
resources available to address these problems;
3. The evaluation of other programs for transitional housing
that have been successful, including, without limitation:
(a) Programs that require offenders to give back to their
communities by volunteering, such as building houses for Habitat
for Humanity or counseling young people in trouble with the law;
and
(b) Programs such as the Delancey Street Foundation and the
Altamont Program, where offenders are trained in such careers as
culinary arts, catering, building trades, and motel and restaurant
operations;
4. A cost comparison of keeping an offender in confinement
versus releasing him to transitional housing;
5. The development of reentry plans for offenders scheduled
for release and methods to be used to identify likely candidates for
transitional housing;
6. The costs of building and operating a transitional housing
facility, by size, by scope of service and by location;
7. The standards to be required of a transitional housing
facility, such as organization, house rules and consequences for
negative behavior, to ensure a structured, positive environment, and
the varying degrees of restrictions and monitoring required for
certain offenders;
8. Specific requirements that must be met by a transitional
housing facility to receive licensing, including a review of the
related requirements of state and federal agencies;
9. Identification of any unique or specific issues to be
addressed for youthful offenders, women and the mentally ill;
10. Solutions to best address transitional housing for sex
offenders because of the safety concerns of the community in
having these offenders living in their neighborhoods and the
hostility of persons in the community towards these offenders;
11. Methods to be used to ensure communication between
transitional housing facilities and the Division of Parole and
Probation of the Department of Public Safety, such as reports and
methods of monitoring facilities and offenders; and
12. A review of the practices and resources of the Department
of Corrections and the Division of Parole and Probation of the
Department of Public Safety concerning the release of offenders into
the community;
And be it further
Resolved, That, on or before February 1, 2004, the committee
shall submit a report of its progress on the study to the Legislative
Commission; and be it further
Resolved, That any recommended legislation proposed by the
committee must be approved by a majority of the members of the
Senate and a majority of the members of the Assembly appointed to
the committee; and be it further
Resolved, That, on or before September 1, 2004, the
committee shall submit a final report of the study to the Legislative
Commission; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislative Commission shall submit a
report of the results of the study and any recommendations for
legislation to the 73rd Session of the Nevada Legislature.
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