HB 2676
Initials NM Page 1 Judiciary
ARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Fifty-seventh Legislature
First Regular Session
HB 2676: parole eligibility; classifications
Sponsor: Representative Powell, LD 14
Committee on Judiciary
Overview
Broadens parole eligibility to include all persons sentenced to life imprisonment for felonies
committed on or after January 1, 1994.
History
By and large, Arizona does not use parole in its sentencing of convicts. Laws 1993, Chapter
255 (SB 1049, commonly called truth-in-sentencing) abolished parole for nearly all offenses
committed on or after January 1, 1994, replacing it with a new set of release and supervision
mechanisms. Offenders are eligible for earned release credits based on good behavior; these
credits can reduce the amount of time spent in prison by a maximum of one-sixth (16.6%) of
the sentence length. Upon release, offenders are then placed under community supervision,
for a time period equal to one-seventh (14.2%) of the imposed prison sentence; during
community supervision, the offender is supervised by the Department of Corrections (DOC)
and must abide by all of DOC's conditions of supervision. In short, earned release credits
reduce time in prison, and community supervision is a post-release oversight period (A.R.S.
§§ 13-603; Title 31, Chapter 3; Title 41, Chapter 11, Article 1).
However, a small number of convicts sentenced after 1993 are still eligible for parole.
Specifically, some of those who are sentenced to life imprisonment — not to be confused with
natural life imprisonment (commonly called life without parole) — may be eligible for parole.
Pursuant to A.R.S. § 13-716, a person sentenced to life imprisonment for a crime committed
before he was 18 years old is eligible for parole after completing a minimum prison sentence
length; the person will remain subject to parole for the remainder of his life. Similarly, A.R.S.
§ 13-718 provides that a first-degree murderer, who entered into a plea agreement prior to
August 3, 2018 that stipulated parole eligibility, is eligible for parole after completing a
minimum sentence.
Provisions
1. Repeals parole eligibility statutes for juvenile offenders and first-degree murder convicts
who entered into a plea agreement. (Sec. 1)
2. Creates a new qualification for parole eligibility to include all those who committed a
felony on or after January 1, 1994, and who received a life sentence. (Sec. 3)
3. Makes conforming changes. (Sec. 2)
☐ Prop 105 (45 votes) ☐ Prop 108 (40 votes) ☐ Emergency (40 votes) ☐ Fiscal Note