For the purposes of this chapter, these definitions apply:

(1) "Board" means the board of pardons and parole as authorized in 2-15-2302 and 46-23-104 , MCA.

(2) "Controlling sentence" means the sentence(s) that, based on a district court judgment, requires the longest period of time served to parole eligibility.

(3) "Dead time" means the time from the issuance of a parole violation warrant to the date a violator is arrested on that warrant, or the time a parole violator serves in a correctional facility for a separate felony offense committed on parole. The board has sole discretion to determine whether this time will be counted as time served under the term.

(4) "Department" means the department of corrections as authorized in 2-15-230 , MCA.

(5) "Hearing" means the personal appearance of an inmate before the board for release consideration, executive clemency, or revocation.

(6) "Inmate/offender" means any person sentenced by a state district court to a term of confinement in a state correctional institution or program.

(7) "Parole" means the release of an inmate into the community prior to the completion of sentence subject to the orders of the board and the supervision of the department.

(8) "Parole certificate" means the document signed by the board chairman and executive director authorizing the release from confinement to parole.

(9) "Parole eligibility" means the earliest possible date a person may be released from confinement to parole supervision.

(10) "Rescission" means an action of the board that annuls or voids a prior release disposition.

(11) "Review" means the informal administrative process of considering the conduct and progress of an inmate to determine if a reappearance or parole is desirable.

(12) "Rules" means the conditions, limitations, and restrictions upon which parole is based.

(13) "Sentence" means the penalty imposed by a particular district court for a specific felony offense.

(14) "Sentence commencement" means to begin service of a consecutive sentence which was imposed after reception and for crimes committed in prison or while on parole, furlough, or supervised release without the granting of parole. Commencement of a consecutive sentence is for parole eligibility purposes only.

(15) "Term" means the total period of time for which an inmate was ordered to serve in a state correctional institution or program.

(16) "Victim" means a person or family members of a person upon whom a crime has been committed.