TO AMEND SECTION 24-13-150, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO EARLY RELEASE, DISCHARGE, AND COMMUNITY SUPERVISION ELIGIBILITY FOR AN INMATE CONVICTED OF A "NO PAROLE OFFENSE", SO AS TO PROVIDE ELIGIBILITY FOR AN INMATE WHO HAS COMPLETED SIXTY-FIVE PERCENT OF HIS SENTENCE UNDER CERTAIN CIRCUMSTANCES AND TO PROVIDE THAT AN INMATE'S WORK CREDITS, EDUCATION CREDITS, AND GOOD CONDUCT CREDITS MUST BE USED TO CALCULATE HIS DATE OF ELIGIBILITY FOR THESE PROGRAMS.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION    1.    Section 24-13-150(A) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"(A)    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, except in a case in which the death penalty or a term of life imprisonment is imposed, an inmate convicted of a 'no parole offense' as defined in Section 24-13-100 and sentenced to the custody of the Department of Corrections, including an inmate serving time in a local facility pursuant to a designated facility agreement authorized by Section 24-3-20 or Section 24-3-30, is not eligible for early release, discharge, or community supervision as provided in Section 24-21-560, until the inmate has served at least eighty-five percent of the actual term of imprisonment imposed. However, after serving fifty-percent of his sentence, an inmate convicted of a 'no parole offense' who has been determined by the department's inmate records office to have had no substantial or major disciplinary infractions and has substantially completed a rehabilitation program and the department's reentry program is eligible for early release, discharge, and community supervision as provided in Section 24-21-560 once the inmate has served at least sixty-five percent of the term of imprisonment imposed. The inmate shall remain under community supervision for a period no less than what equals eighty-five percent of the inmate's original sentence. This percentage These percentages must be calculated without with the application of earned work credits, education credits, or good conduct credits, and is to be applied to the actual term of imprisonment imposed, not including any portion of the sentence which has been suspended. Nothing in this section may be construed to allow an inmate convicted of murder or an inmate prohibited from participating in work release, early release, discharge, or community supervision by another provision of law to be eligible for work release, early release, discharge, or community supervision."

SECTION    2.    This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.