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Committee approves amendment and advances bill to credit jail inmates for high-school diplomas
Summary
Senate Bill 690, amended to standardize language with the Department of Corrections, would allow county jail inmates who complete a high-school diploma or equivalency while in continuous custody to receive achievement-earned credits toward their sentence; the committee advanced the bill unanimously.
Senator Bergstrom explained that Senate Bill 690 extends achievement-earned credits to inmates who complete a high-school diploma or equivalency while in continuous custody in a county jail and transfers to the Department of Corrections. The amendment at the desk was described as language negotiated with DOC to standardize wording on qualifying language, documentation, and sentence forms.
"This is language that was worked out with DOC and others to make sure that it's perfectly clear what we're trying to accomplish," Bergstrom said when asked to explain the amendment. The committee adopted the amendment by voice vote and later recorded a unanimous committee vote; clerk announced 7 ayes and 0 nays and declared the bill to have advanced.
The amendment requires the county jail to document completion, including the certification date on the official jail sentence form, which must accompany the inmate upon transfer to the Department of Corrections. Committee members did not raise a fiscal note during the hearing; the sponsor said the language was intended to align county and DOC processes.
