§ 818. Earned good time; reduction of term

(a) On or before July 1, 2020, the Department of Corrections shall file a proposed rule pursuant to 3 V.S.A. chapter 25 implementing an earned good time program.

(b) The earned good time program implemented pursuant to this section shall comply with the following standards:

(1) The program shall be available for all sentenced offenders, including furloughed offenders, provided that the program shall not be available to offenders on probation or parole, to offenders eligible for a reduction of term pursuant to section 811 of this title, or to offenders sentenced to life without parole.

(2) Offenders shall earn a reduction of five days in the minimum and maximum sentence for each month during which the offender:

(A) is not adjudicated of a major disciplinary rule violation;

(B) is not reincarcerated from the community for a violation of release conditions, provided that an offender who loses a residence for a reason other than fault on the part of the offender shall not be deemed reincarcerated under this subdivision; and

(C) complies with a merit-based system designed to incentivize offenders to meet milestones identified by the Department that prepare offenders for reentry, if the offender has received a sentence of greater than one year.

(3) An offender who receives post-adjudication treatment in a residential setting for a substance use disorder shall earn a reduction of one day in the minimum and maximum sentence for each day that the offender receives the inpatient treatment. While a person is in residential substance abuse treatment, he or she shall not be eligible for good time except as provided in this subsection.

(4) The Department shall provide timely notice no less frequently than every 90 days to the offender and to any victim of record any time the offender receives a reduction in his or her term of supervision pursuant to this section, and the Department shall maintain a system that documents and records all such reductions in each offender's permanent record.

(5) The program shall become effective upon the Department's adoption of final proposed rules pursuant to 3 V.S.A. § 843. (Added 2019, No. 56, § 2, eff. June 10, 2019.)