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Committee adds second‑degree murder to crimes ineligible for meritorious furlough program
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Summary
Senate Bill 214 passed the House Judiciary Committee to add second‑degree murder to the list of offenses ineligible for the state's meritorious furlough program, a change the sponsor said was requested by a constituent.
The House Judiciary Committee voted to pass Senate Bill 214, which adds second‑degree murder to the list of convictions that make an incarcerated person ineligible for the meritorious furlough program.
Representative Kendon Underwood, state representative for District 16, presented the bill in Senator Bryant's absence and said the measure adds "second degree murder" to the list of crimes that disqualify prisoners from receiving furlough days awarded for meritorious behavior. Underwood told the committee the program can allow up to "5 days of furlough" for good behavior and that the change would prevent offenders convicted of that violent crime from participating.
Underwood said the bill was brought by a constituent whose family member was murdered; he described the constituent's concern that the offender had been seen in the community a few years after conviction and that the constituent found that upsetting. "That's how this came up," he said.
No members of the public signed up to speak for or against the bill in committee. Representative Underwood closed by asking for the committee's approval; the committee recorded "ayes" on a voice vote and passed the bill out of committee. The transcript does not show a roll‑call tally.
The committee explanation did not include a statutory citation for the furlough program in the transcript and did not provide a fiscal note during the committee presentation recorded in the transcript.
