SB 994

Bill Subjects

Commonwealth Public Safety Criminal Procedure Prisons And Other Methods Of Correction

Abstract

Establishes procedures to be used by courts to monitor the payment of restitution by defendants. The bill requires that a probation agency ordered to monitor the restitution payments of a defendant placed on supervised probation notify the court and the attorney for the Commonwealth of the amount of unsatisfied restitution (i) 60 days prior to the defendant's release from supervision or (ii) if the agency requests that the defendant be released from supervision, at the time the agency submits its request for the defendant's release. The bill requires that the court conduct a hearing prior to the defendant's release from supervision to review the defendant's compliance with the restitution order. The bill also requires that in the case of a defendant who was not placed on supervised probation, the court must schedule a hearing within two years of the date of the restitution order or release from incarceration to review the defendant's compliance with the restitution order. The bill requires that the court continue to conduct hearings to monitor a defendant's compliance with the restitution order for a period of 10 years from the date of the first review hearing or the period of probation, whichever is longer. The bill provides that a court may discontinue hearings to review a defendant's compliance with the restitution order if the court determines that the defendant is unable to pay and will remain unable to pay restitution for the duration of the review period. The bill also sets forth the remedies available to the court, including contempt, in the case of a defendant who fails to comply with a restitution order. This bill is identical to