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Alabama parole board votes to begin rulemaking to replace parole-guideline form ABPP-2
Summary
On May 14, 2025, the Alabama Board of Pardons & Paroles voted to propose repealing and replacing Form ABPP-2 (Parole Guidelines) and authorized Director Cam Ward to sign a Notice of Intended Action under Alabama Code § 15-22-37 and the Alabama Administrative Procedures Act.
The Alabama Board of Pardons & Paroles voted May 14 to propose repealing and replacing Form ABPP-2, the agency’s Parole Guidelines, and authorized Director Cam Ward to sign the Notice of Intended Action required to begin rulemaking.
The action, taken at the board’s open public meeting in Montgomery, instructs the agency’s legal department to complete procedures required by Alabama Code § 15-22-37 and the Alabama Administrative Procedures Act and to post the proposed changes and any subsequent amendments on the agency website until they become effective or are withdrawn. The motion was presented at the board’s recommendation and recorded by Board Secretary Nicole Lewis.
The materials attached to the meeting record describe ABPP-2 as a structured checklist that produces a baseline parole guideline score using factors the board considers relevant to parole decisions: severity of offense, actuarial risk assessments (for example ORAS and, for sex offenders, Static-99), institutional behavior (disciplinaries), participation in risk-reducing programming, the completeness of a reentry plan, and stakeholder/community input. Under the stated system, higher baseline scores are described in the draft form as suggesting parole denial; lower scores suggest a grant. The draft form also sets out how particular elements are scored and how the board is to apply professional judgment alongside the guideline total.
Board members did not announce an effective implementation date at the meeting. The board order in the minutes directs that the proposed replacement form be published and that the Legal Department complete the administrative steps required by statute and the Alabama Administrative Procedures Act. Director Cam Ward’s May 14 memorandum accompanying the order (included in the meeting materials) repeats the recommendation and states the replacement form is attached to the memorandum.
Next steps under the board’s action: the director will sign the Notice of Intended Action, the legal office will pursue the statutory notice-and-comment requirements, and the agency will post proposed changes online while rulemaking proceeds.
