2006 Ohio Revised Code - 2967.11. Bad time added to prison term for violation; rules infraction board at each institution.

§ 2967.11. Bad time added to prison term for violation; rules infraction board at each institution.
 

(A)  As used in this section, "violation" means an act that is a criminal offense under the law of this state or the United States, whether or not a person is prosecuted for the commission of the offense. 

(B)  As part of a prisoner's sentence, the parole board may punish a violation committed by the prisoner by extending the prisoner's stated prison term for a period of fifteen, thirty, sixty, or ninety days in accordance with this section. The parole board may not extend a prisoner's stated prison term for a period longer than one-half of the stated prison term's duration for all violations occurring during the course of the prisoner's stated prison term, including violations occurring while the offender is serving extended time under this section or serving a prison term imposed for a failure to meet the conditions of a post-release control sanction imposed under section 2967.28 of the Revised Code. If a prisoner's stated prison term is extended under this section, the time by which it is so extended shall be referred to as "bad time." 

(C)  The department of rehabilitation and correction shall establish a rules infraction board in each state correctional institution. When a prisoner in an institution is alleged by any person to have committed a violation, the institutional investigator or other appropriate official promptly shall investigate the alleged violation and promptly shall report the investigator's or other appropriate official's findings to the rules infraction board in that institution. The rules infraction board in that institution shall hold a hearing on the allegation to determine, for purposes of the parole board's possible extension of the prisoner's stated prison term under this section, whether there is evidence of a violation. At the hearing, the accused prisoner shall have the right to testify and be assisted by a member of the staff of the institution who is designated pursuant to rules adopted by the department to assist the prisoner in presenting a defense before the board in the hearing. The rules infraction board shall make an audio tape of the hearing. The board shall report its finding to the head of the institution within ten days after the date of the hearing. If the board finds any evidence of a violation, it also shall include with its finding a recommendation regarding a period of time, as specified in division (B) of this section, by which the prisoner's stated prison term should be extended as a result of the violation. If the board does not so find, the board shall terminate the matter. 

(D)  Within ten days after receiving from the rules infraction board a finding and a recommendation that the prisoner's stated prison term be extended, the head of the institution shall review the finding and determine whether the prisoner committed a violation. If the head of the institution determines by clear and convincing evidence that the prisoner committed a violation and concludes that the prisoner's stated prison term should be extended as a result of the violation, the head of the institution shall report the determination in a finding to the parole board within ten days after making the determination and shall include with the finding a recommendation regarding the length of the extension of the stated prison term. If the head of the institution does not determine by clear and convincing evidence that the prisoner committed the violation or does not conclude that the prisoner's stated prison term should be extended, the head of the institution shall terminate the matter. 

(E)  Within thirty days after receiving a report from the head of an institution pursuant to division (D) of this section containing a finding and recommendation, the parole board shall review the findings of the rules infraction board and the head of the institution to determine whether there is clear and convincing evidence that the prisoner committed the violation and, if so, to determine whether the stated prison term should be extended and the length of time by which to extend it. If the parole board determines that there is clear and convincing evidence that the prisoner committed the violation and that the prisoner's stated prison term should be extended, the board shall consider the nature of the violation, other conduct of the prisoner while in prison, and any other evidence relevant to maintaining order in the institution. After considering these factors, the board shall extend the stated prison term by either fifteen, thirty, sixty, or ninety days for the violation, subject to the maximum extension authorized by division (B) of this section. The board shall act to extend a stated prison term no later than sixty days from the date of the finding by the rules infraction board pursuant to division (C) of this section. 

(F)  If an accusation of a violation is made within sixty days before the end of a prisoner's stated prison term, the rules infraction board, head of the institution, and parole board shall attempt to complete the procedures required by divisions (C) to (E) of this section before the prisoner's stated prison term ends. If necessary, the accused prisoner may be held in the institution for not more than ten days after the end of the prisoner's stated prison term pending review of the violation and a determination regarding an extension of the stated prison term. 

(G)  This section does not preclude the department of rehabilitation and correction from referring a criminal offense allegedly committed by a prisoner to the appropriate prosecuting authority or from disciplining a prisoner through the use of disciplinary processes other than the extension of the prisoner's stated prison term. 

(H)  Pursuant to section 111.15 of the Revised Code, the department of rehabilitation and correction shall adopt rules establishing standards and procedures for implementing the requirements of this section and for designating state correctional institution staff members to assist prisoners in hearings conducted under division (C) of this section. 
 

HISTORY: 146 v S 2 (Eff 7-1-96); 146 v S 269. Eff 7-1-96.
 

The effective date is set by section 5 of SB 269.