Bill > H1501

This bill establishes sentencing guidelines for convictions of criminal offenses in the Commonwealth. The key provisions include: - Defining important terms like "conviction," "criminal history group," "offense seriousness levels," and "sentencing guidelines grid." - Creating a sentencing guidelines grid with three zones - incarceration, discretionary, and intermediate sanction - that judges must use to determine appropriate sentences based on the offense seriousness level and the offender's criminal history. - Outlining rules for departing from the sentencing guidelines range, including mitigating and aggravating factors that a judge can consider. - Providing specific sentencing guidelines for offenses with mandatory minimum sentences, such as firearms offenses and operating under the influence offenses. - Integrating sentencing to intermediate sanctions, like probation with various levels of supervision, into the guidelines grid. - Establishing procedures for determining criminal history, imposing concurrent or consecutive sentences, and handling probation revocation. - Allowing defendants or the commonwealth to appeal sentences imposed under the guidelines, to the extent permitted by law. - Setting an effective date of January 1, 2020 for the new sentencing guidelines.

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https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/H1501