(a) Petition.--Upon the request of a victim who has notified the board in writing of the victim's desire to have input and make comment prior to a parole release decision, the victim advocate shall either petition the board as to the special conditions of release which may be imposed or that the offender not be paroled based upon the statement that the victim submitted under section 501.¹

(b) Appearance.--The victim or the victim's representative shall be permitted to appear in person and provide testimony before the panel or the majority of those board members charged with making the parole release decision or, in the alternative, the victim's or victim's representative's testimony may be presented by electronic means as provided by the board. The testimony of a victim or victim's representative shall be confidential. Records maintained by the department and the board pertaining to victims shall be kept separate from other records, and these victim records, including current address, telephone number and any other personal information of the victim and family members, shall be deemed confidential.

(c) Action.--The board, upon petition and after an interview, may do any of the following:

(d) Notice.--The board shall notify the victim of its decision prior to a release of the offender.

(e) District attorney.--Notwithstanding any other statutory provision, the office of the district attorney of the sentencing county may notify a crime victim of a pending release decision and act on the victim's behalf or on its own initiative to submit comments and represent the interests of a crime victim before the board prior to a release decision.