Governor Signs Corrections Bills

The state will now start charging parolees a monthly fee for their supervision. Governor Matt Blunt has signed into law a measure that allows the Board of Probation and Parole to collect the fees capped at $60 a month. Some estimates say the state could realize $3.5-Million in the coming year. Blunt says the amount assessed, if any, will be determined by the parolee’s ability to pay. But corrections officials stress the fees are collected after the parolees can make all of their other obligations, such as child support and care. Another provision of the legislation Blunt signed makes it a felony for a prisoner to spit on a guard or another prisoner or do even worse to intentionally spread a communicable disease.