Pennsylvania Consolidated & Unconsolidated Statutes
Chapter 97 - Sentencing
Section 9762 - Sentencing proceeding; place of confinement

(a) Sentences or terms of incarceration imposed before a certain date.--For the three-year period beginning on the effective date of this subsection, all persons sentenced to total or partial confinement for the following terms shall be committed as follows:
(1) Maximum terms of five or more years shall be committed to the Department of Corrections for confinement.
(2) Maximum terms of two years or more but less than five years may be committed to the Department of Corrections for confinement or may be committed to a county prison within the jurisdiction of the court.
(3) Maximum terms of less than two years shall be committed to a county prison within the jurisdiction of the court.
(b) Sentences or terms of incarceration imposed after a certain date.--All persons sentenced three or more years after the effective date of this subsection to total or partial confinement shall be committed as follows:
(1) Maximum terms of five or more years shall be committed to the Department of Corrections for confinement.
(2) Maximum terms of two years or more but less than five years shall be committed to the Department of Corrections for confinement, except upon a finding of all of the following:
(i) The chief administrator of the county prison, or the administrator's designee, has certified that the county prison is available for the commitment of persons sentenced to maximum terms of two or more years but less than five years.
(ii) The attorney for the Commonwealth has consented to the confinement of the person in the county prison.
(iii) The sentencing court has approved the confinement of the person in the county prison within the jurisdiction of the court.
(3) Maximum terms of less than two years shall be committed to a county prison within the jurisdiction of the court.
(c) Certification.--The chief administrator of the county prison, or the administrator's designee, may issue a certification under subsection (b)(2)(i) if the county prison population is less than 110% of the rated capacity of the county prison. The chief administrator shall revoke any previously issued certification if the prison population exceed 110% of the rated capacity. The president judge of the court, the district attorney and the chief public defender of the county shall be served with a written copy of any certification or revocation.
(d) County intermediate punishment.--Nothing in this section shall prevent a judge from sentencing an offender to county intermediate punishment which does not require confinement within county prison if otherwise authorized by law.
(e) Reimbursement.--Beginning three years after the effective date of this subsection:
(1) The Department of Corrections shall reimburse to the counties the reasonable cost of confinement of every Level 4 or 5 offender as identified in the Basic Sentencing Matrix promulgated by the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing who is participating in an approved work release program. The reimbursement per prisoner shall not exceed the average per-prisoner cost of confinement paid by the Commonwealth for the confinement of prisoners in the Department of Corrections. No more than $2,500,000 shall be expended annually for this purpose. Reimbursement shall be made on a pro rata basis if the total dollar amount of eligible confinement costs exceeds $2,500,000. Nothing in this paragraph shall prevent more than $2,500,000 being appropriated for this purpose. Reimbursement shall be made on a pro rata basis if the total dollar amount of eligible confinement costs exceeds any additional appropriation. A county shall not be reimbursed under this section for any offender participating in an approved work release program for whom the county is being or has been reimbursed from any other State funds regardless of their source.
(2) County prisons may require reimbursements from other county prisons or the Department of Corrections for inmates voluntarily accepted for incarceration at mutually agreeable rates. The Department of Corrections shall maintain a list of those counties willing to accept voluntary placement of out-of-county inmates.
(f) Aggregation.--For purposes of this section, the sentences or terms of incarceration shall mean the entire continuous term of incarceration to which a person is subject, notwithstanding whether the sentence is the result of any of the following:
(1) One or more sentences.
(2) Sentences imposed for violations of probation or intermediate punishment.
(3) Sentences to be served upon recommitment for violations of parole.
(4) Any other manner of sentence.
(g) Date of imposition.--For purposes of this section, if a person is subject to multiple sentences or terms of incarceration or any combination of sentences or terms, the date of the last sentence imposed or the date of recommitment, whichever is later, shall determine the place of incarceration and whether reimbursement is required.
(h) Transfer of prisoners.--Nothing in this section shall prohibit the transfer of prisoners otherwise authorized by law or prevent a judge from changing the place of confinement between State and county facilities to the extent that the judge would have such discretion at the time of imposition of sentence or recommitment.
(i) Prohibition.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person sentenced to total or partial confinement after the effective date of this subsection shall be committed to the Department of Corrections unless:
(1) the aggregate sentence consists of a conviction for an offense graded as a misdemeanor of the second degree or higher; or
(2) the Secretary of Corrections or the secretary's designee has consented to the commitment.
(j) Applicability.--18 Pa.C.S. § 106(b)(8) and (9) (relating to classes of offenses) applies to subsection (i).
(Sept. 25, 2008, P.L.1026, No.81, eff. 60 days; July 5, 2012, P.L.1050, No.122, eff. 30 days)

2012 Amendment. Act 122 added subsecs. (i) and (j).
Cross References. Section 9762 is referred to in section 9756 of this title; sections 4505, 6132, 6134.1, 6171 of Title 61 (Prisons and Parole); sections 3804, 3815 of Title 75 (Vehicles).

Structure Pennsylvania Consolidated & Unconsolidated Statutes