SB366

Senate Bill 366 clarifies the definition of a violent felony offense for the purposes of parole eligibility in Arkansas. The bill explicitly defines residential burglary as a violent felony for offenses committed on or after April 1, 2015. It amends existing statute § 16-93-609 to ensure that individuals with prior convictions for violent felonies or sex offenses who commit a subsequent violent felony are ineligible for parole. The legislation includes legislative findings stating that the act is intended to apply only to the recalculation of parole eligibility and does not provide grounds for resentencing or new trials. It establishes specific criteria regarding when residential burglary is excluded from the classification of a violent felony in relation to sentencing dates. The primary objective is to restrict parole access for repeat offenders convicted of residential burglary.