Bill Text: AZ HB2652 | 2024 | Fifty-sixth Legislature 2nd Regular | Introduced
Bill Title: Study committee; justice involved veterans
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 4-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-30 - House read second time [HB2652 Detail]
Download: Arizona-2024-HB2652-Introduced.html
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REFERENCE TITLE: study committee; justice involved veterans |
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State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-sixth Legislature Second Regular Session 2024
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HB 2652 |
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Introduced by Representatives Marshall: Diaz, Hendrix, Jones
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An Act
establishing the justice-involved veterans study committee.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Justice-involved veterans study committee; membership; duties; report; delayed repeal
A. The justice-involved veterans study committee is established consisting of the following members:
1. Two members of the senate who are appointed by the president of the senate and who are from different political parties. One member shall serve as cochairperson.
2. Two members of the house of representatives who are appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives and who are from different political parties. One member shall serve as cochairperson.
3. One member from the Arizona department of veterans' services who is appointed by the director of the Arizona department of veterans' services and who has expertise in services and benefits for justice-involved veterans.
4. The director of the state department of corrections or the director's designee.
5. The director of the Arizona department of housing or the director's designee.
6. The director of the department of public safety or the director's designee.
7. The chief justice of the supreme court or the chief justice's designee.
8. The following members who are appointed by the president of the senate:
(a) One county constable who is from a county with a population of eight hundred fifty thousand persons or more.
(b) One member who is from a statewide housing advocacy organization and who has expertise in providing services to veterans.
(c) One member who has experience as a judge in a regional specialty treatment court designated as a veterans treatment court or another equivalent court.
(d) One member who is from a community-based organization that is focused on building this state's capacity to care for and support all service members and veterans and their families and communities.
(e) One member who is from a state university that is conducting research on the social determinants of health, resiliency and risk reduction of service members and veterans and their families.
9. The following members who are appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives:
(a) One member who is from a nonprofit organization and who has experience providing legal advocacy services to justice-involved veterans.
(b) One member who is from a nonprofit organization and who has experience providing mental health, substance use and primary care treatment, housing and recovery support services in metropolitan and rural areas.
(c) One member who is from a state university that is conducting research on service members and veterans and their families who are involved in the military or criminal justice system, recidivism and risk factors.
(d) One member who is from the community with lived experience as a justice-involved veteran or family member.
B. The study committee shall convene quarterly or more frequently as the cochairpersons deem necessary.
C. Committee members are not eligible to receive compensation.
D. The study committee shall:
1. Research, study and make recommendations regarding the following:
(a) Best practices for identifying and conducting outreach to justice-involved veterans and relevant stakeholders in the criminal justice community.
(b) The process and assistance available for justice-involved veterans in applying for federal and state veterans' benefits and legal aid, including challenges in rural, remote or underserved areas.
(c) An assessment of pre-release and postincarceration services that are available to justice-involved veterans in this state, including assessment, programming and interventions, discharge planning, housing, employment services and connections to community resources.
(d) Training that is available for federal, state, county and community-based organizations in identifying and effectively managing obstacles specific to veterans, such as traumatic brain injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder, military sexual trauma and mental health and substance abuse issues.
2. Identify federal, state, local and community resources to support veterans who are involved in the criminal justice system and develop a comprehensive statewide network of information and referral resources, including a re-entry resource guide and toolkit for justice-involved veterans and community stakeholders.
3. Develop a comprehensive roadmap to improve coordination between criminal justice agencies in this state, the Arizona department of veterans' services, the United States department of veterans affairs and community-based organizations that serve veterans who are involved in the criminal justice system.
4. Recommend improvements to the identification and assessment of veterans within the criminal justice system, standardized data collection protocols and best practices for cross-collaboration in data sharing among relevant stakeholders.
5. Review the availability and efficacy of veterans treatment courts in meeting the needs of justice-involved veterans and provide recommendations on program eligibility, operating policies and guidelines, funding needs, reliable methods of monitoring veterans treatment court activities and best practices for data collection and sharing.
6. Gather and analyze relevant data related to justice-involved veterans, including arrest rates, incarceration rates, the types of offenses committed, recidivism rates, the duration of incarceration, involvement with specialty courts, demographic information, mental health diagnoses, substance abuse issues and co-occurring disorders.
7. Propose policy revisions and appropriations recommendations to rectify data collection and programming gaps and barriers to services affecting veterans in the criminal justice system.
E. On or before December 1, 2024, the study committee shall submit a report regarding the study committee's activities and recommendations for administrative or legislative action to the governor, the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives and provide a copy of this report to the secretary of state.
F. This section is repealed from and after October 31, 2025.
