Section 42-9-60. Overcrowding of prison system as creating state of emergency; paroling inmates to reduce prison system population to capacity; annual report of inmates paroled

   (a) As used in this Code section, the term:

   (1) "Capacity" shall mean the actual bed space in the prison system of the State of Georgia now or in the future, as certified by the commissioner of corrections and approved by the director of the Office of Planning and Budget.

   (2) "Dangerous offender" means a state prison inmate who is imprisoned for conviction of any one or more of the following crimes as defined by Title 16, the "Criminal Code of Georgia": murder, voluntary manslaughter, kidnapping, armed robbery, rape, aircraft hijacking, aggravated sodomy, aggravated battery, aggravated assault, incest, child molestation, child abuse, or enticing a child for indecent purposes, or any felony punishable under Code Section 16-13-31, relating to prohibited acts regarding marijuana, cocaine, and illegal drugs. The term "dangerous offender" shall also include an inmate who is incarcerated for a second or subsequent time for the commission of a crime for which the inmate could have been sentenced to life imprisonment.

   (3) "Population" shall mean the actual number of inmates present in the correctional institutions of the state prison system and shall not include state inmates assigned to county operated correctional institutions.

(b) The Governor, upon certification by the commissioner of corrections and approval by the director of the Office of Planning and Budget that the population of the prison system of the State of Georgia has exceeded the capacity for 30 consecutive days, may, within five days of receipt of the commissioner's certification, declare a state of emergency with regard to jail and prison overcrowding.

(c) Upon the declaration of a state of emergency with regard to the jail and prison overcrowding by the Governor, the board shall select sufficient state prison inmates to reduce the state prison population to 100 percent of its capacity and issue such selected inmates a parole, but no dangerous offender shall be eligible for selection by the board. The board shall give special consideration for early release under this Code section to inmates who have participated in educational programs and who have achieved a fifth-grade level or higher on standardized reading tests. The selection of state prison inmates to be released under the authority contained in this Code section may be made without regard to limitations placed upon the service of a portion of the prison sentence provided by Code Section 42-9-45.

(d) It shall be the duty of the director of the Office of Planning and Budget to prepare an annual report on prison inmates who are paroled pursuant to this Code section. Such report shall summarize each such former inmate's behavior since parole and generally evaluate the former inmate's success or lack of success in becoming a law-abiding member of society. The annual report shall be filed with the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate on or before December 31, with the first such report submitted by December 31 of the first year that prison inmates are paroled pursuant to this Code section. A notice of the filing of this report shall be submitted to each member of the General Assembly when the annual report is filed with the Clerk of the House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate. Copies of this report shall be made available to members of the General Assembly upon their request. The board, the Department of Corrections, and other departments and agencies of the state government shall cooperate with and assist the director of the Office of Planning and Budget in developing the information necessary to prepare the annual reports required by this subsection.

Ga. L. 1982, p. 1356, §§ 2-5; Code 1981, § 42-9-60, enacted by Ga. L. 1982, p. 1356, § 6; Ga. L. 1983, p. 3, § 31; Ga. L. 1984, p. 22, § 42; Ga. L. 1985, p. 149, § 42; Ga. L. 1985, p. 283, § 1; Ga. L. 1986, p. 1596, § 5; Ga. L. 1997, p. 143, § 42.