(a) This section applies only in Calvert County.
(b) (1) At the time of sentencing or on a hearing of a motion for reconsideration of sentence, the court may sentence an individual who has been convicted of a crime to participate for a fixed period in the work release program at the Calvert County Detention Center.
(2) After an inmate enters the work release program, the sentencing judge or, if the sentencing judge is unable to act, the judge of any court in the County may:
(i) order the release of the inmate from custody; and
(ii) consider the supervisor’s recommendations and report of the inmate’s performance in making a determination to release the inmate.
(3) Subject to the directives and orders of the courts in the County, the supervisor of the County work release program shall establish and administer the work release program.
(4) During reasonable hours, an inmate in the work release program may leave confinement to:
(i) work at gainful employment;
(ii) participate in an outside counseling or rehabilitative program; or
(iii) obtain other services that the supervisor of the program considers necessary.
(5) (i) An inmate who is employed in accordance with this subsection shall surrender to the supervisor of the program the inmate’s total earnings, less payroll deductions required by law.
(ii) From the earnings of the inmate, the supervisor shall deduct and disburse in the following order of priority:
1. food costs to the County;
2. lodging costs to the County;
3. travel costs to the County;
4. fines and costs imposed by the court;
5. amounts that the inmate is obligated to pay for support of a dependent; and
6. court-ordered payments for restitution.
(iii) The supervisor of the program may assist in the financial management of the inmate’s other bills and debts.
(iv) The supervisor of the program shall:
1. credit to the inmate’s account any remaining balance; and
2. pay the balance in the inmate’s account to the inmate on final release from confinement.
(6) An inmate employed in the community under this subsection is not an agent or employee of the County, the Sheriff, any judicial officer, or any public officer of the County.
(7) An inmate who violates a trust or a condition that the supervisor establishes for conduct and employment is subject to:
(i) removal from the program; and
(ii) cancellation of any earned diminution of the inmate’s term of confinement.
(c) (1) In this subsection, “Program” means the Community Services Alternative Sentencing Program.
(2) There is a Community Services Alternative Sentencing Program in the County Department of Public Safety.
(3) The Program shall administer community service projects for individuals who are convicted of an offense and are referred to the Program by a court.
(4) The County Commissioners may charge a reasonable fee to individuals who participate in the Program to help defray Program expenses.
(d) (1) (i) An individual who is sentenced to participate in the substance abuse treatment program at the County treatment facility shall pay a per diem fee in an amount that the court determines to cover food, lodging, clothing, and other expenses incidental to participation in the treatment program.
(ii) A court may waive part or all of the fee based on an individual’s ability to pay.
(2) The County attorney may bring a civil action to collect any arrearage incidental to the per diem charge that remains unpaid 30 days after the individual’s discharge from the County treatment facility.
(e) (1) The Sheriff may:
(i) establish a pretrial release program that offers alternatives to pretrial detention; and
(ii) adopt regulations to administer the program.
(2) A court may order an individual to participate in the pretrial release program if the individual:
(i) appears before the court after being charged and detained on bond; and
(ii) meets the eligibility requirements of paragraph (4) of this subsection.
(3) The court may make the order at the imposition of bond, on review of bond, or any other time during the individual’s pretrial detention.
(4) An individual is eligible for the pretrial release program if the individual:
(i) is recommended to the court for placement in the program by the program staff;
(ii) has no other charges for a felony or a violation of a crime of violence as defined in § 14–101 of the Criminal Law Article pending in any jurisdiction; and
(iii) is not in detention for or been previously convicted of:
1. a crime of violence listed in § 14–101 of the Criminal Law Article;
2. the crime of escape under § 9–404 of the Criminal Law Article; or
3. a crime under § 5–612, § 5–613, or § 5–614 of the Criminal Law Article.