Omnibus Penal Reform Act

Omnibus Penal Reform Act - Title I: Minimum Standards - States the findings of the Congress that the absence of minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners is conducive to disorder and violence in the Nation's correctional institutions.

Creates the National Prison Standards Administration. Provides that such Administration shall develop and promulgate rules on the record to assure the maintenance of specified standards including the following: (1) there shall be no discrimination on grounds of race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, or wealth; (2) different catagories of prisoners shall be kept in separate prisons or parts of prisons, taking into account their sexual preference, age, criminal record, the legal reason for their detention, and the necessities of their treatment; (3) all accommodations provided for the use of prisoners, and especially all sleeping accommodations, shall be sanitary and healthful, particularly with respect to cubic content of air, minimum floorspace, lighting, heating, and ventilation; (4) in all places where prisoners are required to live or work, there shall be sufficient light and ventilation, both natural and artificial; (5) the sanitary installations shall be adequate to enable every prisoner to comply with the needs of nature when necessary and in a clean and private manner; (6) adequate bathing and shower installations shall be provided; (7) all parts of a prison regularly used by prisoners shall be properly maintained and cleaned; (8) prisoners shall be required to keep their persons clean, and they shall be provided with water and with such toilet articles as are necessary for health and cleanliness; (9) no needs of personal hygiene shall be denied for punitive reasons; (10) in order that prisoners maintain a good appearance compatible with their self-respect, facilities shall be provided for the proper care of the hair and beard, and prisoners shall be enabled to shave regularly; and (11) discipline and order shall be maintained with firmness, but with no more restriction than that which is necessary for safe custody and well-ordered community life.

Title II: Minimum Wages - Provides that the wage rate for any employment of Federal prisoners shall be not less than the highest minimum wage rate in effect under section 6 of the Fair Labor Standards Act at the time of such employment.

Title III: Family Visitation - Provides that each prisoner, convicted of an offense against the United States and confined in a penal or correctional institution, shall, during each year of confinement, be entitled to not less than twelve, nor more than thirty, days of family and social visitation furlough if he is deemed to be of a trustworthy nature notwithstanding prior offenses.

Title IV: Commitment and Transfer - Directs the Attorney General to designate as the initial place of confinement the facility geographically nearest to the convicted person's residence.

Title V: Federal Prisoners in State Institutions; Employment - Provides that all persons held under the authority of Congress and who are placed in quarters under the authority of any State, Territory, or political subdivision thereof, for the imprisonment, subsistence, care, or proper employment of such persons, shall be subject to the same standards, privileges, rights, and regulations as those persons confined in federally operated institutions and facilities.

Title VI: Reenfranchisement - Provides that any citizen of the United States who has been convicted under the laws of the United States or of any State of having committed any crime, and who on account of such conviction has been or could have been denied the right to vote in any Federal election, may vote in any Federal election if otherwise qualified under the laws of the United States and of the State in which he resides: (1) on and after the date he completes every period of imprisonment imposed upon him as a result of each conviction on account of which such right was denied; (2) on and after the date he successfully completes every period of parole or probation granted him in connection with each such conviction; (3) on and after the date he pays all fines levied or otherwise satisfies any other penalties imposed upon him as a result of each such conviction; or (4) on and after the date he receives a pardon with respect to each such conviction; whichever last occurs.

Title VII: Board of Parole: Parole Procedures, Conditions, Etc. - Establishes the Board of Parole as an independent establishment in the executive branch. Sets forth the administrative powers of the Board, including the power to request probation officers and other individuals, organizations, and public or private agencies to perform such duties with respect to any person released on parole as the Board deems necessary for maintaining proper supervision of, and assistance to, such persons.

Provides that, whenever confined and serving a definite term or terms of over one hundred and eighty days, a prisoner shall be eligible for release on parole after serving one-third of such term or terms or after serving ten years of a life sentence or of a sentence of over thirty years.

Provides that the Board shall release a prisoner on parole upon the date of his eligibility unless there is substantial reason to believe that the prisoner will engage in further criminal conduct, or there is substantial reason to believe that the prisoner will not conform to such conditions of parole as may be established under this title. Provides that the Board shall release any prisoner who has served one-half of his sentence unless the Board determines that he should not be released because there is a high likelihood that he will engage in further criminal conduct. Sets forth the factors to be taken into account by the Board in determining eligibility for parole under the above provisions. Sets forth the procedure for a parole determination hearing.

Provides that the Board shall impose such conditions of parole as it deems reasonably necessary to insure that the parolee will lead a law-abiding life and to assist him in doing so. Provides that the period of time to be served on parole shall end upon the expiration of the maximum term for which he was sentenced, reduced by an amount of parole good time allowed based on the length of time remaining on a parolee's sentence. Provides that the Board may terminate the parole of any parolee or may release him from any condition of parole at any time after the expiration of one year of parole, if warranted by the conduct of the parolee and the ends of justice.

Provides that the Board may issue to the parolee a certificate removing any disqualification or disability of which he has been divested under any law of the United States by reason of his conviction. Prescribes a procedure for the revocation of parole, including a formal hearing and an appeal therefrom. Provides that, whenever the President shall have commuted the sentence of any prisoner with the stipulation that such prisoner shall not be eligible for parole, the Board shall, not later than five years from the date upon which the President commutes such sentence, assess the suitability of the prisoner for parole and report to the President its findings and recommendations with regard to such suitability. Provides that a prisoner or parolee suffering legal wrong because of Board action is entitled to judicial review thereof.

Authorizes to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this title.

Title VIII: State Plans - Provides for State programs which are community-oriented for the supervision of assistance to parolees. Defines elements required of State parolee programs.