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FISCAL NOTE
2024 regular session
Introduced
House Bill 4671
By Delegate Gearheart
[Introduced January 12, 2024; Referred
to the Committee on Jails and Prisons then the Judiciary]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new article, designated §62-11G-1, §62-11G-2, §62-11G-3, §62-11G-4, §62-11G-5, §62-11G-6, and §62-11G-7, all relating to creating a pilot work/incarceration prison; providing a short title; specifying offenders who are eligible to participate; establishing one work/incarceration prison; authorizing the Division of Corrections to propose rules for the operation and reporting of the work/incarceration prison; allowing a reduction in the sentence of an offender sentenced to the work/incarceration prison; providing that a serious violation of the rules result in an additional sentence; specifying a suggested appropriation; allowing the admittance of offenders from other counties; and requiring the evaluation of the work/incarceration prison.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
This article may be cited as the "Work/Incarceration Act."
This article applies to adult offenders that have not been convicted of a crime of violence or sex-related offense. The article also applies only to offenders sentenced to two years' incarceration or less.
This article allows one county to receive approval to establish a work/incarceration prison. Those counties interested in establishing such a facility shall develop a plan and submit the plan to the Division of Corrections for review and approval. The Division of Corrections shall propose rules of operation and reporting for this work/incarceration prison for legislative approval in accordance with §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code.
(a) An eligible offender is any person meeting the application standards set forth in §62-11G-2 of this code, who is sentenced to the work/incarceration prison by a magistrate or a circuit judge. Offenders are eligible for a 20 percent reduction in sentence for participation in the work/incarceration program but shall maintain complete adherence to rules of conduct as established by the Division of Corrections.
(b) An offender sentenced to the work/incarceration prison by a magistrate or circuit judge, who commits any serious violation of the rules of conduct as established by the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation, shall be transferred to a correctional facility with an additional year added to that offender's original sentence.
(c) The work/incarceration prison superintendent may reject any offender from admittance and may remove any offender from the work/incarceration prison population for cause, as established by rules established by the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation. If admittance is disallowed or if the offender is removed, alternative sentencing shall be provided by the proper judicial authority.
The Legislature may appropriate $500,000 to the county establishing the initial work/incarceration prison for the initial expense of establishment of the work/incarceration prison. The plan submitted to the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation for approval, as provided in §62-11G-3 of this code, shall include means and methods of making the work/incarceration prison self-sustaining using work product and service from the offenders in the work/incarceration prison.
The county establishing the work/incarceration prison may allow at its option offenders from other counties to be incarcerated and may charge a fee equal to 50 percent of that charged by the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority to house prisoners.
The Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall monitor and evaluate the work/incarceration prison to determine effectiveness, efficiency, and potential for expansion into other counties and report to the Legislature annually.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a Work/Incarceration Prison pilot program; to establish guidelines for eligibility; creates one prison; authorizes the Division of Corrections to propose rules; provides sentence reduction to an offender sentenced to the work/incarceration prison; provides that an offender who commits a violation of the rules be sent to a correctional facility and have an additional year added on to their original sentence; provides guideline for appropriation; allows offenders from other counties be accepted to the work/incarceration prison; and provides for an annual evaluation of the work/incarceration prison to be submitted to the Legislature.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
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