Senate Passes Greenleaf Bill on Interstate Parole 

HARRISBURG—The State Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 775, a measure sponsored by Sen. Stewart J. Greenleaf to impose an application fee on offenders who apply to serve their parole out of state through the Interstate Compact for the Supervision of Adult Offenders

The Interstate Compact provides for the movement and supervision of parolees between states.  About half of all states in the compact currently impose an application fee.

The Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole has indicated that its initial fee would be about $75.  Also, the Board would have the discretion to reduce, waive, or defer the fee payment based on the applicant's ability to pay.

Senate Bill 775 would establish the Interstate Compact for the Supervision of Adult Offenders Fund as a restricted receipts account within the General Fund to accept the application fees.  Money from the fund would be used to offset or pay assessments on Pennsylvania for its participation in the Interstate Compact and all other expenses incurred by the state regarding the Interstate Compact.

Greenleaf said that the measure would help ensure that the commonwealth's participation in the Interstate Compact is as self-supporting as possible through the collection of application fees.