The commission shall ask the Chief Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court to serve or name a designee to serve as a voting member of the commission and to appoint 2 trial judges or their designees to serve as voting members of the commission.

2. Appointments; chairs; meetings. All appointments must be made no later than 30 days following the effective date of this Act. The Governor shall appoint a chair from among the membership of the commission, who shall call and convene the first meeting of the commission no later than 15 days after appointments of all members. The commission may hold a total of 6 meetings, one of which may be a public hearing.

3. Duties. Duties of the commission are as follows.

A. The commission shall conduct its research and prepare its recommendations with the express purpose of:

(1) Reducing the overall prison population in both state and county facilities, with a focus on lowering the population of nonviolent offenders;

(2) Reducing the overall cost of the corrections system;

(3) Accomplishing policy, program and structural improvements that reduce recidivism and improve the transition of prisoners back into the community;

(4) Preserving community safety;

(5) Respecting the needs of victims and communities in the process of holding offenders accountable for their actions; and

(6) Developing recommendations that address the factors leading to prison overcrowding, the impact of current sentencing laws, the use of alternate sentences and means to reduce recidivism, in particular that caused by mental illness and substance abuse.

B. To accomplish its purpose, the commission shall examine multiple strategies for addressing issues related to the continually and rapidly increasing prison populations at both the county jail and state prison levels, including diversion from jail or prison, programming to improve