Act 81 of 2008 required the Commission to adopt parole guidelines to be considered by the Pennsylvania Parole Board or any other paroling authority.  Guidelines must give primary consideration to the protection of the public and victim safety; provide for due consideration of victim input, encourage good conduct and program participation by inmates, prioritize criminal justice resources, and use validated risk assessment tools.

The Act also mandates that the Commission adopt state parole recommitment ranges to be considered by the Board.  Recommitment ranges take into account the seriousness of the initial conviction offense, the level of seriousness of the violation, and the rehabilitative needs of the defendant.  Upon revocation of state parole for technical or conviction violations, the Board may recommit the parolee to serve an additional part of the term which he/she would have been compelled to serve had he/she not been paroled. 

Initial proposals were approved by the Commission, and public hearings were held in 2020. Action was suspended from late 2020 through early 2022 while the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections worked to develop and implement a new risk assessment instrument. The Commission approved revised proposals and held public hearings in 2022. The Commission adopted the state parole guidelines in June 2022 and submitted the guidelines to the General Assembly on October 1, 2022 through publication in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.