Restoration of voting rights by department of corrections.

ORIGINAL
House
Bill No
.
HB0015

ENROLLED ACT NO. 106,

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SIXTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WYOMING
2015 General Session

AN ACT relating to criminal procedure; amending and conforming provisions relating to restoration of voting rights to felons; providing an appropriation; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of
Wyoming
:

Section 1
.

W.S.
7
‑
13
‑
105(b)
(intro)
,
(
i
)
,
(ii)
,
(c),

by creating
a
new subsection
(d
) and
by
amending and

renumbering (d) as (e),
7
‑
13
‑
401(f), 7
‑
13
‑
402(f), 7
‑
19
‑
1
03(a)(ii),
18
‑
16
‑
102(a)(ix)
(
E
)
, 22
‑
3
‑
102(e)(iv)
and 25
‑
1
‑
104 by creating a new subsection (k
) are amended to read:

7
‑
13
‑
105
.

Certificate of restoration of rights; procedure for restoration in general; procedure for restoration of voting rights for nonviolent felonies; filing requirements.

(b)

The department of corrections shall i
ssue a certificate of
restoration of voting rights

as provided in this subsection
and subsection (c
)

of this section
.
Upon issuance of a
certificate
,
voting rights
lost pursuant to W.S. 6
‑
10
‑
106 shall be
deemed
restored
.
The department of corrections shall issue

a
person convicted of a nonviolent felony or nonviolent felonies arising out of the same occurrence or related

course of events

may apply in writing to the state board of parole for a certificate which restores the person
'
s voting rights lost pursuant to W.S. 6
‑
10
‑
106.

The application shall specifically state that the requirements of this subsection have been met and shall be on a form approved by the state board of parole. The state board of parole shall issue

a certificate
restoring
a

person
'
s voting rights

of restoration of voting rights
if:

(
i
)

The
applicant
person

has
never

not
been convicted of any other felony

other than convictions arising out of the same occurrence

or related course of events

for which restoration of rights is
sought

certified
;

(ii)

All of the applicant
'
s terms of

The
person has completed all of his
sentence
,

are expired, or in the case of probation, the applicant has completed all probation periods

including probation or parole
;
and

(
c
)

Upon receipt of
t
he written application under subsection (b) of this section, the board shall review the materials and make an initial determination of eligibility. Should the board deny the application at this initial determination, the applicant shall have the right to request a contested case hearing before the board as provided by and in accordance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act. The decision of the board after such hearing shall be deemed a final administrative determination, shall be in writing, and, shall in the case of a denial of the application, state the findings of the board and the reasons for the denial and shall not be subject to judicial review under W.S. 16
‑
3
‑
114.
The
department
of corrections
shall issue a certificate
of restoration of voting rights
to
eligible
p
ersons
as follows:

(
i
)

For persons convicted
within Wyoming
of a
nonviolent
felony or nonviolent felonies arising out of the same occurrence or related course of events
, t
he department shall
require an application for restoration before
issuing
a
certificate to eligible persons
who completed their
sentence

before J
anuary
1, 201
6
.
The department shall
not require an application for restoration before issuing
a
certificate
to
eligible
persons who complete their sent
ence after January 1, 2016
;

(ii)

For persons convicted
outside of Wyoming

or under federal law
of a
nonviolent
felony
or nonviolent felonies arising out of the same occurrence or related course of events
, the department shall require an application for restoration before issuing
a certificate to an eligible person
.

(d
)

The department
'
s
denial of
a certificate of restoration of voting
right
s
is
a
final
action
of the agency

subject to
judicial review.

The clerk of the district court and
the
division of criminal inv
estigation shall cooperate with
the department of corrections in providing information necessary for determining a person
'
s eligibility to
receive a certificate of restoration of voting rights
.
The department of corrections shall notify the secretary of state when any person
'
s voting
rights have been restored. If the
person was convicted in Wyoming, t
he department shall
submit
the
certificate of restoration of voting rights
to
the clerk of the district court
in
which the person was convicted and t
he clerk shall file the certificate in the criminal case in which the conviction was entered.

(d)
(
e
)

As used in this section
:
,

(
i
)

"
Same occurrence or related course of events
"
means the same transaction or occurrence or a series of events close
ly related
in time or location;

(ii)

"
V
iolent felony
"
means as defined by W.S. 6
‑
1
‑
104(
a)(xii), including offenses committed in another jurisdiction which if committed in this state would
constitute a violent felony under W.S. 6
‑
1
‑
104(a)(xii).
As used in this section,

"
N
onviolent felony
"
includes all felony offenses not otherwise defined as violent felonies.

7
‑
13
‑
401
.

Definitions; creation of board; officers; compensation; hearing panels; meetings.

(
f
)

Three (3) or more members of the board may constitute a hearing panel empowered to review applications for parole, grant paroles or revoke paroles. Fewer than three (3) members of the board, as may be provided by rule of the board, may withdraw or revoke good time, restore or reinstate good time,
make initial determinations of eligibility and restore voting rights pursuant to W.S. 7
‑
13
‑
105(
b) and (c),
make recommendations to the governor to grant commutations of sentences and review inmate matters, other than the grant or denial of parole, brought before the board. A decision by a majority of the members of a panel under this subsection is the decision of the board.

7
‑
13
‑
402
.

General
powers
and duties of board; eligibility for parole; immunity.

(f)

The promulgation of substantive rules by the board, the conduct of its hearings and its final decisions are specifically exempt from all provisions of the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act including the provisions for judicial review under W.S. 16
‑
3
‑
114 and 16
‑
3
‑
115.
This exception shall not apply to the provisions authorizing a contested case hearing under W.S. 7
‑
13
‑
105(c).
The board
'
s rules and regulations shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state.

7
‑
19
‑
103
.

Definitions.

(a)

As used in this act:

(ii)

"
Criminal history record information
"
means information, records and data compiled by criminal justice agencies on individuals for the purpose of identifying criminal offenders consisting of identifiable descriptions of the offenders and notations or a summary of arrests, detentions, indictments, information, pre
‑
trial proceedings, nature and disposition of criminal charges, sentencing, rehabilitation, incarceration, correctional supervision and release. Criminal history record information is limited to information recorded as the result of the initiation of criminal proceedings. It does not include intelligence data, analytical prosecutorial files, investigative reports and files or statistical records and reports in which individual identities are not ascertainable,

any document relating to restoration of voting rights,
or any document signed by the governor granting a pardon, commutation of sentence, reprieve, remission of fine or forfeiture
,
or a restoration of civil rights
;
by the governor or restoration of voting rights

by the state board of parole;

18
‑
16
‑
102
.

Definitions.

(a)

As used in this act:

(ix)

"
Qualified elector
"
means a natural person who:

(E)

Has not been convicted of a felony or if convicted has had his civil rights
or voting rights
restored; and

22
‑
3
‑
102
.

Qualifications; temporary registration.

(e)

The secretary of state is authorized to provide for the verification of certain voter registration data in accordance with the following:

(iv)

The secretary of state
,

and
the state board of parole
and the department of corrections
shall enter into an agreement to match information in the voter registration system with records regarding restoration of voting rights maintained by the state board of parole
or
the department of corrections
in order to verify voter qualifications;

25
‑
1
‑
104
.

Creation of department of corrections; duties; inspections of state institutions; regulation of prisoner produced goods.

(k
)

The
department of corrections
shall issue
certificate
s
of restoration of voting rights
pursuant to W.S. 7
‑
13
‑
105(
b)
and (c
)
.

Section
2
.

W.S.
7
‑
13
‑
402(
h)
is
repealed.

Section 3
.

This act shall not affect the validity of voting rights restored prior to the effective date of this act.

Section 4
.

There is appropriated from the general fund to the secretary of state twenty
‑
five thousand eight hundred dollars ($25,800.00) for the period beginning March 15, 2015 and ending June 30, 2016.

Section 5.

(a)

Section 4 of this act is effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.

(b)

Except as provided by subsection (a) of this section, this act is effective January 1, 2016.

(END)

Speaker of the House

President of the Senate

Governor

TIME APPROVED: _________

DATE APPROVED: _________

I hereby certify that this act originated in the
House
.

Chief Clerk

1