It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

SECTION 1. Chapter 12-19 of the General Laws entitled "Sentence and Execution" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

{ADD 12-19-2.2. Alternative confinement. -- ADD} {ADD (a) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, whenever a defendant is convicted of a nonviolent criminal offense and is between the ages of eighteen (18) and twenty eight (28) and receives a maximum sentence of three (3) years or less to serve and the department of corrections is satisfied that the ends of justice and the best interests of the public as well as the offender will be served thereby, the director of the department of corrections may make application to the sentencing judge for an order that the convicted offender be placed in a well structured highly disciplined shock incarceration program administered by the department of corrections. Said program shall include extensive physical regimentation, drug and alcohol abuse counseling, behavioral counseling and mandatory education courses and community services. This program will be open only to first time offenders. For the purpose of this section, a first time offender shall be defined as an individual who has not been incarcerated pursuant to a conviction.

The written application by the director to the sentencing judge for an order directing that a sentenced person be confined in the shock incarceration program shall set forth his/her reason for seeking said order. The hearing on said application shall be held within ten (10) business days following the filing of said application. If the sentencing judge is unavailable to hear and consider the application the presiding justice of the superior court shall designate another judge to do so.

(b) The program shall be not less than one hundred eighty (180) days nor more than two hundred (200) days in duration and shall be operated in accordance with rules and regulations promulgated by the department of corrections and as otherwise provided for by law.

(c) The director or his or her designee shall report to the sentencing court whether the convicted offender completes or does not complete the program together with any additional information the director shall deem appropriate with respect to the offender's conduct during the course of the program. Upon receipt of this report, the original sentencing judge may, upon his or her own order, in the event of successful completion, suspend but not vacate the remainder of the offender's sentence and place the offender on probation as provided by this chapter; or upon his or her own order, in the event of unsuccessful completion, will confine the offender to the adult correctional institution for the balance of the original sentence still remaining with credit being given for such time as may have been spent in the program. In the event said unsuccessful completion of the program is the result of an additional criminal offense, then the additional sentence imposed for the new offense shall be in addition to and not concurrent with the original sentence.

(d) Defendants convicted of a violent felony or previously convicted of a crime of violence shall not be eligible for this program.

A violent felony as used herein shall mean any one of the following crimes or an attempt to commit such crime: murder, manslaughter, sexual assault, mayhem, robbery, burglary, assault with a dangerous weapon and assault or battery resulting in serious bodily injury.

(e) The director of the department of corrections shall annually review the operation of the program and report his findings to the general assembly.

(f) There shall be created within the department of probation a special division which shall supervise those convicted offenders who were placed on probation as a result of completing this program.

(g) The supervision of persons confined under the provisions of this section shall be conducted by the director or his designee.

The director shall have full power and authority to enforce any of the provisions of this section by regulation, subject to the provisions of the administrative procedures act, chapter 35 of title 42. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the department of corrections may contract with private agencies to carry out the provisions of this section. The civil liability of such agencies and their employees, acting within the scope of their employment, and carrying out the provisions of this section, shall be limited in the same manner and dollar amount as if they were agencies or employees of the state.

(h) The state planning council established pursuant to the provisions of section 42-11-10, is hereby authorized and directed to determine the most appropriate location for the program. ADD}

{ADD (i) Alternative confinement pursuant to this section shall commence upon the approval by the general assembly of funding sufficient to carry out the purposes of this section. ADD}

SECTION 2. Section 12-19-23.2 of the General Laws in Chapter 12-19 entitled "Sentence and Executive" is hereby amended to read as follows:

{ADD 12-19-23.2. Intermediate punishments. -- ADD} (a) As a part of or in lieu of the sentences otherwise provided by law, the court may, unless specifically restricted or authorized by law, sentence any person who shall have been adjudged guilty of any crime after trial before a judge, a judge and jury or before a judge accepting the person's plea of nolo contendere or guilty to such offense in the following manner:

(1) By placement of the offender on unsupervised probation with or without special conditions;

(2) By imposition of a sentence involving placement of the offender in supervised probation with field supervision rather than intensive supervision, with or without special conditions;

(3) By imposition of a sentence of probation involving placement of the offender in intensive supervision {ADD , or placement in an alternative confinement program established pursuant to section 12-19-2.2 without the necessity of an application of the director of the department of corrections ADD} or placement of the offender in community service, with or without special conditions;

(4) By imposition of a sentence involving placement of the offender in community confinement pursuant to section 42-56-20.2;

(5) By imposition of a sentence involving placement of the offender in a minimum security facility which houses offenders who are preparing for their reintegration into the community;

(6) By imposition of a fine as provided by law;

(7) By imposition of any combination of the above enumerated intermediate punishments that justice requires, and which the court in its discretion deems appropriate under the circumstances.

(b) The director of corrections shall establish appropriate eligibility criteria and conditions for offenders sentenced to intermediate punishments as identified in subsections (a)(2) through (a)(5) and may assign these functions to such subordinate employees and officers as may to him or her seem feasible or desirable.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.