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WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2024 REGULAR SESSION
Introduced
House Bill 5337
By Delegates Kelly, Hott, Ward, Kump, Fehrenbacher, Mallow, Pinson, Shamblin, Kirby, and Westfall
[Introduced January 29, 2024; Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated §15A-3-19, and to repeal §31-20-26 of said code, all relating to establishing the legislative oversight committee of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation; clarifying that the legislative oversight committee shall be charged with the immediate and ongoing oversight of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s juvenile detention facilities and adult correctional facilities; and providing for executive sessions of the committee in certain circumstances.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
(a) The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Delegates shall each designate five members of their respective houses, at least one of whom shall be a member of the minority party, to serve on a Legislative Oversight committee charged with immediate and ongoing oversight of the division, and functions and duties of the division created by this article.
(b) This committee shall report on the implementation of the purposes set forth in §15A-3-1 of this code.
(1) Specifically, the committee shall study and make recommendations to the Legislature as to the revision of the system of classifying adult inmates, with a view variously to decreasing the prison population confined in "maximum security" facilities and to designating and meeting the needs of inmates classified as elderly, disabled or otherwise handicapped.
(2) The committee may study and make recommendations to the Legislature relating to the system of juvenile detention and juvenile corrections.
(3) The committee shall regularly investigate all matters relating to integrity, probity and foresight in funding, operating and planning the correctional system on state, regional and county levels, and may include the planning, funding, constructing and operating of juvenile detention and correctional facilities.
(4) The committee may call upon the division for any information the committee considers advisable, and the division shall promptly provide the committee with any information or document requested for the purposes of carrying out the duties set forth in this section.
(5) The committee shall study and inform the state judiciary of the impact of sentencing on the composition of the prison population in proportion to the use of facilities.
(6) It shall recommend alternatives to long-term sentencing and shall recommend measures to improve the quality of correctional staff and facilitate nonconfrontational contacts with inmates.
(7) The committee shall investigate means to structure inmates' time to ensure genuine and willing reaccommodations to societal norms; shall probe and coordinate all available means for funding state, regional and county correctional facilities; and shall contract with penal experts to study these issues in appropriate depth and perspective.
(8) Annually, to predict a prudent use of available funds, the committee shall study the profile of the inmate population with regard to its age and social background and needs.
(c) The committee shall recommend to the Legislature the funding required to execute these functions. It shall meet regularly with the division to determine what may be required for full and timely compliance with all federal mandates and court-ordered changes in the correctional system and shall recommend funding for these changes.
(d) The committee may conduct proceedings in a confidential executive session for the purpose of reviewing an official internal investigation of a correctional or juvenile facility, reviewing nonpublic operational procedures relating to the safe and secure management of inmates and residents, or questioning a witness or witnesses in the scope of any such reviews.
[Repealed.]
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to establish the legislative oversight committee of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation; clarify that the legislative oversight committee shall be charged with the immediate and ongoing oversight of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s juvenile detention facilities and adult correctional facilities; and provide for executive sessions of the committee in certain circumstances.
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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