PRINTER'S NO. 233
No. 225 Session of 2003
INTRODUCED BY EARLL, M. WHITE, RHOADES, LAVALLE AND COSTA,
FEBRUARY 6, 2003
REFERRED TO JUDICIARY, FEBRUARY 6, 2003
AN ACT
1 Amending Title 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the
2 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, further providing for
3 sentencing proceeding.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Section 9762 of Title 42 of the Pennsylvania
7 Consolidated Statutes is amended to read:
8 § 9762. Sentencing proceeding; place of confinement.
9 [All persons sentenced to total or partial confinement for:
10 (1) maximum terms of five or more years shall be
11 committed to the Bureau of Correction for confinement;
12 (2) maximum terms of two years or more but less than
13 five years may be committed to the Bureau of Correction for
14 confinement or may be committed to a county prison within the
15 jurisdiction of the court;
16 (3) maximum terms of less than two years shall be
17 committed to a county prison within the jurisdiction of the
18 court except that as facilities become available on dates and
1 in areas designated by the Governor in proclamations
2 declaring the availability of State correctional facilities,
3 such persons may be committed to the Bureau of Correction for
4 confinement.]
5 (a) Place of confinement.--All persons convicted of a crime
6 on or after January 1, 2004, and sentenced to total confinement
7 for:
8 (1) Maximum terms of two or more years shall be
9 committed to the Department of Corrections for confinement.
10 (2) Maximum terms of less than two years shall be
11 committed to a county prison within the jurisdiction of the
12 court.
13 (b) County option.--Persons sentenced to total or partial
14 confinement by a court to a maximum term of imprisonment of two
15 or more but less than five years may be committed to the county
16 jail or prison if the county prison board or other equivalent
17 county prison policymaking entity, with the written consent of
18 the county commissioners, or the equivalent governing authority
19 of the county correctional facility, or the mayor, in cities of
20 the first class, certifies that there is available capacity in
21 the county jail or prison for such sentenced prisoners. The
22 Department of Corrections shall develop guidelines to be made
23 available to counties for their use in determining available
24 capacity for offenders sentenced under this section. Such
25 guidelines shall consider available physical space and
26 availability of programs. Nothing in this section shall be
27 construed to give any person or entity any legal right to compel
28 county imprisonment of any prisoner sentenced to a maximum
29 sentence of two or more but less than five years' imprisonment.
30 The term of imprisonment referred to herein shall be in
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1 accordance with the aggregation provisions of this section.
2 (c) Aggregation of consecutive sentences.--Under this
3 section, aggregation of consecutive sentences is automatic and
4 mandatory with regard to the place of confinement regardless of
5 whether the sentences were imposed on the same day or on
6 different days.
7 Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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