The commission has the following duties and responsibilities:
(1) recommend advisory sentencing guidelines for the general sessions court for all offenses for which a term of imprisonment of more than one year is allowed.
(a) The guidelines must establish:
(i) the circumstances under which imprisonment of an offender is proper;
(ii) a range of fixed sentences for offenders for whom imprisonment is proper, based on each appropriate combination of reasonable offense and offender characteristics;
(iii) a determination whether multiple sentences to terms of imprisonment must be ordered to run concurrently or consecutively.
(b) In establishing the advisory sentencing guidelines, the commission shall take into consideration current sentence and release practices and correctional resources including, but not limited to, the capacities of local and state correctional facilities;
(2) recommend appropriate advisory sentencing guidelines for the general sessions courts for all offenses for which a term of imprisonment of one year or less is allowed;
(3) recommend appropriate advisory guidelines for offenders for whom traditional imprisonment is not considered proper. Advisory guidelines promulgated by the commission for offenders for whom traditional imprisonment is not considered proper must make specific reference to noninstitutional sanctions;
(4) develop and recommend policies for preventing prison and jail overcrowding;
(5) examine the impact of statutory provisions and current administrative policies on prison and jail overcrowding;
(6) before January sixteenth of each year, prepare and submit to the Governor, the General Assembly, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court a comprehensive state criminal justice ten-year, five-year, and one-year plan for preventing prison and jail overcrowding. This plan must include, but is not limited to, the number of persons currently involved in pretrial and postsentencing options predominantly provided through community-based agencies which minimize the number of persons requiring incarceration consistent with protection of public safety, including mediation, restitution, supervisory release, and community service plans and the impact on prison populations, local communities, and court caseloads. The commission shall take into account state plans in the related areas of mental health and drug and alcohol abuse in the development of the plan;
(7) research and gather relevant statistical data and other information concerning the impact of efforts to prevent prison and jail overcrowding and make the information available to criminal justice agencies and members of the General Assembly;
(8) serve as a clearing house and information center for the collection, preparation, analysis, and dissemination of information on state and local sentencing practices and conduct ongoing research regarding sentencing guidelines, use of imprisonment and alternatives to imprisonment, plea bargaining, and other matters relating to the improvement of the criminal justice system;
(9) make recommendations to the General Assembly regarding changes in the criminal code, criminal procedures, and other aspects of sentencing.
HISTORY: 1989 Act No. 152, Section 2; 1990 Act No. 433, Section 1; 1995 Act No. 7, Part II, Section 46.