Pardons and Parole Board, to create the Criminal Justice Policy Development Council, membership, duties, require the board to use parole release guidelines, parole proceedings revised, provide for appellate review

HB 40 proposes to create the Criminal Justice Policy Development Council, a new body tasked with developing validated risk and needs assessments for offenders, inmate classification guidelines, and specific parole release guidelines. The bill would require the Board of Pardons and Paroles to use these new parole release guidelines in their decisions regarding inmates. If the Board deviates from these guidelines, they would be mandated to provide a written explanation for their reasons. The legislation also provides for appellate review for inmates negatively affected by the Board's deviation from the established guidelines.