H.F. 199 Section 1. Section 902.1, Code 2011, is amended to read as 1 follows: 2 902.1 Class “A” felony. 3 1. Upon a plea of guilty, a verdict of guilty, or a special 4 verdict upon which a judgment of conviction of a class “A” 5 felony may be rendered, the court shall enter a judgment of 6 conviction and shall commit the defendant into the custody of 7 the director of the Iowa department of corrections for the rest 8 of the defendant’s life. Nothing in the Iowa corrections code 9 pertaining to deferred judgment, deferred sentence, suspended 10 sentence, or reconsideration of sentence applies to a class “A” 11 felony, and a person convicted of a class “A” felony shall not 12 be released on parole unless the governor commutes the sentence 13 to a term of years. 14 2. Notwithstanding subsection 1, a person may be released on 15 parole or work release pursuant to the procedures in section 16 902.1A if the person was under the age of eighteen at the time 17 the class “A” felony offense was committed. 18 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION . 902.1A Class “A” felony —— application 19 for review of sentence. 20 1. As used in this section: 21 a. “Board” means the board of parole. 22 b. “Director” means the director of the department of 23 corrections. 24 2. After serving a period of incarceration of fifteen 25 years of a class “A” felony sentence, a person who was under 26 the age of eighteen at the time the offense was committed may 27 submit an application for review of sentence with the person’s 28 counselor who shall then file the application with the director 29 or the director’s designee within thirty days of receiving the 30 application. 31 3. Earned time accrued pursuant to chapter 903A shall not 32 be used to reduce the fifteen-year period-of-incarceration 33 requirement pursuant to subsection 2. 34 4. The applicant may use the assistance of an attorney in 35 -1- LSB 1607YH (6) 84 jm/rj 1/ 5

H.F. 199 preparing the application, at the applicant’s expense. 1 5. The counselor may attach comments to the application and 2 shall ensure that the application filed with the director or 3 the director’s designee contains the following information: 4 a. Criminal history. 5 b. Disciplinary history. 6 c. Supplementary treatment program record. 7 d. Mental health evaluations. 8 e. Social evaluations. 9 f. Evidence of physical or drug abuse prior to the offense. 10 g. Any other information considered relevant to the 11 application. 12 6. The applicant shall have access to all information 13 contained in the application. 14 7. The director or the director’s designee shall conduct 15 a review of the application within sixty days of receiving 16 the application. The director or the director’s designee 17 shall make written findings and recommendations based upon 18 the application. The findings and recommendations shall be 19 clearly stated and supported by evidence in the application. 20 The applicant shall be provided a copy of the findings and 21 recommendations of the director or the director’s designee. 22 8. The board shall review the application and the written 23 findings and recommendations of the director or the director’s 24 designee. 25 9. When making a determination to grant or deny parole or 26 work release, the board shall consider the following factors: 27 a. The age and level of maturity of the applicant at the 28 time the offense was committed. 29 b. The applicant’s susceptibility to outside pressures at 30 the time the offense was committed. 31 c. The potential for rehabilitation at the time of the 32 application. 33 d. The nature and severity of the offense. 34 e. Prior juvenile and criminal history. 35 -2- LSB 1607YH (6) 84 jm/rj 2/ 5

H.F. 199 f. Overall behavioral record while incarcerated including 1 participation in prison programming and cooperation with prison 2 staff. 3 g. The likelihood that the applicant will commit other 4 offenses if released. 5 10. If a majority of the members of the board consider the 6 applicant eligible for parole or work release, the board shall 7 set a hearing on the application. The board shall provide 8 at least fifteen days’ notice of the hearing to the attorney 9 general and to any victim of the class “A” felony offense. 10 11. At the hearing and after review of any information 11 provided by the attorney general and any victim, the board may 12 grant parole or work release to an applicant pursuant to the 13 procedures under chapter 906. The board shall establish the 14 term of the parole or work release at the time of granting 15 parole or work release. 16 12. The decision to grant or deny parole or work release 17 shall be in writing and shall be supported by findings and 18 reasons for granting or denying parole or work release based 19 upon the factors enumerated in subsection 9. 20 13. A decision of the board granting or denying parole or 21 work release pursuant to this section constitutes a contested 22 case subject to judicial review pursuant to chapter 17A. 23 14. A person is eligible to submit a new application every 24 two years to the person’s counselor pursuant to subsection 2. 25 15. An application filed pursuant to this section shall not 26 affect any other proceedings or procedures available to the 27 applicant. 28 16. The board shall prescribe the application form to be 29 used pursuant to this section, and shall prescribe the form for 30 counselor comments and for the findings and recommendations of 31 the director or director’s designee. 32 EXPLANATION 33 This bill establishes a parole procedure for certain class 34 “A” felons. 35 -3- LSB 1607YH (6) 84 jm/rj 3/ 5

H.F. 199 The bill provides that a person serving a class “A” felony 1 sentence who committed the offense when under 18 years of 2 age may file an application for review of the sentence after 3 serving 15 years of the sentence. Earned time accrued pursuant 4 to Code chapter 903A shall not be used to reduce the 15-year 5 period-of-incarceration requirement under the bill. 6 The bill provides that the person shall submit the 7 application to the person’s counselor, who then is required to 8 file the application with the director of the department of 9 corrections or the director’s designee within 30 days. 10 Under the bill, the counselor may attach comments to the 11 application and is required to ensure the application contains 12 all the relevant histories of the applicant and any other 13 information considered relevant. 14 The bill requires the director of the department of 15 corrections or the director’s designee to make written findings 16 and recommendations based upon the application within 60 days 17 of receiving the application. The findings and recommendations 18 shall be clearly stated and supported by evidence in the 19 application. The applicant shall be provided a copy of the 20 written findings and recommendations. 21 Under the bill, the board of parole shall review the 22 application and written findings and recommendations of 23 the director or the director’s designee. The bill requires 24 that the board of parole consider the following factors when 25 determining whether to grant or deny parole or work release to 26 the applicant: the age and maturity level of the applicant 27 at the time the offense was committed; the applicant’s 28 susceptibility to outside pressures at the time the offense was 29 committed; the potential for rehabilitation; the nature and 30 severity of the offense; prior juvenile and criminal history; 31 the overall behavioral record while incarcerated; and the 32 likelihood to commit other offenses if released. 33 The bill provides that if a majority of board of parole 34 members consider the applicant parole or work release eligible, 35 -4- LSB 1607YH (6) 84 jm/rj 4/ 5

H.F. 199 the board shall set a parole hearing on the application. The 1 bill requires the board to provide a minimum of 15 days’ notice 2 of any hearing to the attorney general and any victim of the 3 offense. 4 The bill provides that at the parole hearing and after 5 review of any information provided by the attorney general and 6 any victim, the board may grant parole or work release to an 7 applicant pursuant to the procedures under Code chapter 906. 8 The bill also requires the board of parole to establish the 9 parole or work release term at the time of granting parole or 10 work release. 11 The bill provides that the decision to grant or deny parole 12 or work release shall be in writing, setting forth the findings 13 and reasons for granting or denying parole or work release 14 based upon the factors enumerated in the bill. 15 The bill provides that a decision of the board granting or 16 denying parole or work release is a contested case subject 17 to judicial review pursuant to Code chapter 17A. Current law 18 provides that parole decisions are not a contested case and are 19 not subject to judicial review pursuant to Code chapter 17A. 20 The bill provides that a person is eligible to submit an 21 application every two years to the person’s counselor. 22 -5- LSB 1607YH (6) 84 jm/rj 5/ 5