| This legislation creates the Board of Community Supervision to oversee the newly created Department of Community Supervision (DCS) and the Governor's Office of Transition, Support, and Reentry. All offender supervision activities will transfer from the Board of Pardons and Parole and the Department of Corrections to the new DCS. This legislation also transfers the County and Municipal Probation Advisory Council, the agency tasked with registration and oversight of private misdemeanor probation providers and governmental misdemeanor probation providers to DCS. The bill also includes requirements for increased transparency and financial reporting by the misdemeanor probation providers to the counties of fine collections, which was an ACCG priority. A county commissioner or manager is included as a mandatory board member for the new department. The Board will adopt rules and regulations governing the management and treatment of probationers and parolees, and the operation of misdemeanor probation supervision. Probation and Parole Offices will combine, some counties currently provide space to these entities, and these offices collect fine revenue from probationers to be processed and sent back to local governments. Misdemeanor probation providers (county and private) will be required to submit an annual report to the county commission that contains the amount of fines and fees collected and the nature of such fees, including probation supervision fees, rehabilitation programming fees, electronic monitoring fees, drug and alcohol detection device fees, substance abuse or mental health evaluation or treatment fees, and drug testing fees; the number of community service hours performed by probationer under supervision; and, a listing of any other service for which a probationer is required to pay to attend. |
