HB0015

Official summary

Summary for LSO115 Bill No.: HB0015 Effective : 3/9/2015 LSO No.: 15LSO-0007 Enrolled Act No.: HEA 106 Chapter No.: 163 Prime Sponsor: Joint Judiciary Interim Committee Catch Title: Restoration of voting rights by department of corrections. Subject: Amendments to the procedures and re quirements f or restoring a non-violent felon’ s voting rights Summary/Major Elements: This bill generally amends the procedures and requirements for the restoration of voting rights to non - violent felons . This bill provides for the D epartment of C orrections to issue a certificate of restoration of voting rights rather than the B oard of P arole. The bill clarifies the D epartment of C orrections shall issue a certification of restoration of voting rights if the following requirements have been satisfied: The person has not bee n convicted of any other felonies other than those arising out of the same occurrence or related course of events; and The person has completed his entire sentence, including probation or parole. F or persons convicted in Wyoming : Those who complete their sentence before January 1, 2016, must submit an application for restoration of their voting rights. The application must state the requirements for restoration have been satisfied. Those who complete their sentence after January 1, 2016, the department shall not require an application before issuing a certificate to eligible person. P ersons convicted outside of Wyoming or under federal law must apply for restoration of voting rights. The application must state the requirements for restoration have been satisfied. This bill provides that a denial of a certificate of restoration of voting rights is subject to judicial review. Previously, a denial was not subject to judicial review. The bill requires the clerk of the district court and the D ivision of C riminal I nvestigation to cooperate with the D epartment of C orrections in providing information nec essary for determining a person’ s eligibility to receive a certificate of restoration of voting rights. The D epartment of C orrections must notify the S ecretary of State when any person’ s voting rights have been restored. If the person was convicted in Wyoming, the department must submit the certificate of restoration of voting rights to the clerk of the district court where the person was convict ed and the clerk must file the certificate in the crimin al case in which the conviction was entered. Comments: Except for the appropriation to the S ecretary of S tate in the amount of $25,000, which is effective immediately, this bill has a delayed effective date of January 1, 2016. The above summary is not an official publication of the Wyoming Legislature and is not an official statement of legislative intent. While the Legislative Service Office endeavored to provide accurate information in this summary, it should not be relied upon as a comprehensive abstract of the bill.