SB 971

Present law generally requires a prisoner of a county workhouse or jail who is released from custody on work release or otherwise allowed to leave the grounds of the county workhouse or jail for employment or to perform work in the community, whether the work is paid or unpaid, to use an electronic monitoring device at all times when the prisoner is not on the grounds of the county workhouse or jail. The entity employing the prisoner or utilizing the priso ner for work must pay the costs of the electronic monitoring device. However, these provisions do not apply if either of the following circumstances exist:  The prisoner, at all times while not on the grounds of the county workhouse or jail (i) i s supervised by an armed law enforcement or corrections officer and (ii) remains in the direct eyesight of an armed law enforcement or corrections officer .  The judge of the sentencing court and the sheriff of the county where the workhouse or jail is located approve in writing an exemption to allow the prisoner to be released from custody on work release or otherwise be allowed to leave the grounds of the county workhouse or jail for employment or to perform work in the community without an electronic monitoring device. This bill adds that those provisions also do not apply in the circumstance where the prisoner was convicted of a non-violent crime, and the sheriff determines that the prisoner poses a low risk to the public and for escape.