Mutual participation program.

(1) SHORT TITLE.—This act shall be known and may be cited as the “Mutual Participation Program Act of 1976.”

(2) LEGISLATIVE INTENT.—It is the intent of the Legislature to:

(a) Involve the department and the commission in program planning with the offender while the offender is incarcerated, leading to the establishment of certain criteria affecting the grant of parole and release from parole.

(b) Involve the offender in developing her or his individual rehabilitation program for the period of incarceration and parole with the department and the commission.

(c) Require establishment of criteria to be used in determining which offenders are eligible for this program.

(d) Encourage, through department and commission action, youthful offenders who are housed within institutions of the department to participate in the program.

However, no offender shall be eligible to participate in this program who was sentenced as an habitual felony offender pursuant to s. 775.084 or who was convicted of a capital or life felony as provided by s. 775.081, s. 775.082, or s. 775.083. Offenders meeting eligibility criteria may be offered the opportunity to participate in the program which will include a parole date.

(3) MUTUAL PARTICIPATION PROGRAM; DEVELOPMENT; CRITERIA; DEPARTMENT AND COMMISSION RULES.—

(a) The department and the commission shall jointly develop a mutual participation program which sets forth for each eligible offender the terms of her or his institutional confinement, a parole date, and terms of parole supervision and release, provided such offender meets the criteria set forth in this act and any additional criteria established by the department and the commission.

1. The department and the commission, as a portion of the mutual participation program, shall require that each eligible offender satisfactorily work at a job within the institution or as a part of a correctional industries program or satisfactorily participate in a vocational training or educational program offered by the department. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to exclude eligible offenders from meeting both the work requirements and training and educational requirements when deemed appropriate by the department and commission.

2. Additional criteria shall be established and required by the commission and the department for participation in the program, including, but not limited to, vocational counseling and work-release programs; however, criteria for satisfactory participation in the program shall not include academic classroom instruction at the college level.

3. A panel of at least two members of the commission shall establish a parole date for each eligible offender, based on the satisfactory completion of the program. In no case shall such date fall after the date which would have been established under s. 947.172.

(b) The commission shall promulgate rules on criteria used to establish parole dates, conditions precedent to the granting of parole, terms of parole, and release from parole. The department and the commission shall establish such criteria relating to parole supervision, which criteria shall include, but not be limited to, the requirements for participation in vocational or counseling programs available in the community, stipulations related to employment, and other criteria considered necessary for the successful reintegration of the offender into society.

(c) Periodic written reports of the offender’s progress in the program shall be submitted to the department and the commission.