SB1747 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB099 07934 RLC 28074 b

99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
SB1747

Introduced 2/20/2015, by Sen. John G. Mulroe

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

730 ILCS 130/3.1

from Ch. 75, par. 32.1

Amends the County Jail Good Behavior Allowance Act. Provides that if a lawsuit is filed by a person confined in a county jail, whether serving a term of imprisonment or confined pending trial or sentencing, against the sheriff or county, or against any of their officers or employees, and the court makes a specific finding that a pleading, motion, or other paper filed by the prisoner is frivolous, the warden may revoke up to 180 days of good behavior allowance under the Act. Provides that if the person has not accumulated 180 days of good behavior allowance at the time of the finding, then the warden may revoke all of the good behavior allowance accumulated by the prisoner. Defines "frivolous" and "lawsuit".

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning criminal law.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The County Jail Good Behavior Allowance Act is amended by changing Section 3.1 as follows:

(730 ILCS 130/3.1) (from Ch. 75, par. 32.1)

Sec. 3.1. (a) Within 3 months after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1986, the wardens who supervise institutions under this Act shall meet and agree upon uniform rules and regulations for behavior and conduct, penalties, and the awarding, denying and revocation of good behavior allowance, in such institutions; and such rules and regulations shall be immediately promulgated and consistent with the provisions of this Act. Interim rules shall be provided by each warden consistent with the provision of this Act and shall be effective until the promulgation of uniform rules. All disciplinary action shall be consistent with the provisions of this Act. Committed persons shall be informed of rules of behavior and conduct, the penalties for violation thereof, and the disciplinary procedure by which such penalties may be imposed. Any rules, penalties and procedures shall be posted and made available to the committed persons.

(b) Whenever a person is alleged to have violated a rule of behavior, a written report of the infraction shall be filed with the warden within 72 hours of the occurrence of the infraction or the discovery of it, and such report shall be placed in the file of the institution or facility. No disciplinary proceeding shall be commenced more than 8 days after the infraction or the discovery of it, unless the committed person is unable or unavailable for any reason to participate in the disciplinary proceeding.

(c) All or any of the good behavior allowance earned may be revoked by the warden, unless he initiates the charge, and in that case by the disciplinary board, for violations of rules of behavior at any time prior to discharge from the institution, consistent with the provisions of this Act.

(d) In disciplinary cases that may involve the loss of good behavior allowance or eligibility to earn good behavior allowance, the warden shall establish disciplinary procedures consistent with the following principles:

(1) The warden may establish one or more disciplinary boards, made up of one or more persons, to hear and determine charges. Any person who initiates a disciplinary charge against a committed person shall not serve on the disciplinary board that will determine the disposition of the charge. In those cases in which the charge was initiated by the warden, he shall establish a disciplinary board which will have the authority to impose any appropriate discipline.

(2) Any committed person charged with a violation of rules of behavior shall be given notice of the charge, including a statement of the misconduct alleged and of the rules this conduct is alleged to violate, no less than 24 hours before the disciplinary hearing.

(3) Any committed person charged with a violation of rules is entitled to a hearing on that charge, at which time he shall have an opportunity to appear before and address the warden or disciplinary board deciding the charge.

(4) The person or persons determining the disposition of the charge may also summon to testify any witnesses or other persons with relevant knowledge of the incident. The person charged may be permitted to question any person so summoned.

(5) If the charge is sustained, the person charged is entitled to a written statement, within 14 days after the hearing, of the decision by the warden or the disciplinary board which determined the disposition of the charge, and the statement shall include the basis for the decision and the disciplinary action, if any, to be imposed.

(6) The warden may impose the discipline recommended by the disciplinary board, or may reduce the discipline recommended; however, no committed person may be penalized more than 30 days of good behavior allowance for any one infraction.

(7) The warden, in appropriate cases, may restore good behavior allowance that has been revoked, suspended or reduced.

(e) The warden, or his or her designee, may revoke the good behavior allowance specified in Section 3 of this Act of an inmate who is sentenced to the Illinois Department of Corrections for misconduct committed by the inmate while in custody of the warden. If an inmate while in custody of the warden is convicted of assault or battery on a peace officer, correctional employee, or another inmate, or for criminal damage to property or for bringing into or possessing contraband in the penal institution in violation of Section 31A-1.1 of the Criminal Code of 1961 or the Criminal Code of 2012, his or her day for day good behavior allowance shall be revoked for each day such allowance was earned while the inmate was in custody of the warden.

(f) If a lawsuit is filed by a person confined in a county jail, whether serving a term of imprisonment or confined pending trial or sentencing, against the sheriff or county, or against any of their officers or employees, and the court makes a specific finding that a pleading, motion, or other paper filed by the prisoner is frivolous, the warden may revoke up to 180 days of good behavior allowance under this Act. If the person has not accumulated 180 days of good behavior allowance at the time of the finding, then the warden may revoke all of the good behavior allowance accumulated by the prisoner. For purposes of this subsection (f):

"Frivolous" means that a pleading, motion, or other filing which purports to be a legal document filed by a confined person in his or her lawsuit meets any or all of the following criteria:

(A) it lacks an arguable basis either in law or in fact;

(B) it is being presented for any improper purpose, such as to harass or to cause unnecessary delay or needless increase in the cost of litigation;

(C) the claims, defenses, and other legal contentions in it are not warranted by existing law or by a nonfrivolous argument for the extension, modification, or reversal of existing law or the establishment of new law;

(D) the allegations and other factual contentions do not have evidentiary support or, if specifically so identified, are not likely to have evidentiary support after a reasonable opportunity for further investigation or discovery; or

(E) the denials of factual contentions are not warranted on the evidence, or if specifically so identified, are not reasonably based on a lack of information or belief.

"Lawsuit" means a motion under Section 116-3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963, a habeas corpus action under Article X of the Code of Civil Procedure or under federal law (28 U.S.C. 2254), an action under the federal Civil Rights Act (42 U.S.C. 1983), a second or subsequent petition for post-conviction relief under Article 122 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of 1963 whether filed with or without leave of court, or a second or subsequent petition for relief from judgment under Section 2-1401 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

(Source: P.A. 96-495, eff. 1-1-10; 97-1150, eff. 1-25-13.)