Senate Bill No. 392
(By Senator Wiedebusch)
____________
[Introduced March 17, 1993; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
____________
A BILL to amend and reenact section three, article one, chapter
twenty-five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended; and to amend and reenact
section five, article twenty, chapter thirty-one of said
code, all relating to the transfer of inmate management and
inmate programs from the West Virginia regional jail and
correctional facility authority to the commissioner of
corrections.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section three, article one, chapter twenty-five of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted; and that section five, article
twenty, chapter thirty-one of said code be amended and reenacted,
all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 25. DIVISION OF CORRECTIONS.
ARTICLE 1. ORGANIZATION AND INSTITUTIONS.
§25-1-3. Institutions managed by commissioner of corrections;
certain institutions transferred to department of health and
welfare and state board of health; establishment of work and
study release units; civil service coverage.
The commissioner of corrections shall manage, direct,
control and govern the following penal or correctional
institutions and any others placed under his jurisdiction or
control:
West Virginia Penitentiary at Moundsville;
West Virginia State Prison for Women at Pence Springs;
West Virginia Medium Security Prison at Huttonsville;
West Virginia Industrial Home for Girls at Salem;
West Virginia Industrial Home for Boys at Grafton;
Davis Center (formerly the West Virginia Forestry Camp for
Boys at Davis);
Leckie Center (formerly the West Virginia Forestry Camp for
Boys at Leckie); and
Anthony Center (formerly the Anthony Correctional Center).
All inmates incarcerated at any regional jail. Further, the
commissioner shall assume all duties and responsibilities
heretofore assigned to the West Virginia regional jail authority
insofar as the management, control, supervision and
implementation of inmate programs is concerned.
Jurisdiction of and title to the West Virginia Children's
Home at Elkins are hereby transferred to the department of
welfare, health and human services which shall be the custodian
of all deeds and other muniments of title to such property andshall cause such as are susceptible of recordation to be recorded
in the proper offices. Notwithstanding any provision of this
code to the contrary, the West Virginia Children's Home shall be
managed and controlled by a superintendent appointed by the
commissioner of welfare secretary of the department of health and
human services.
Jurisdiction of and title to the following institutions
formerly under the jurisdiction of the commissioner of public
institutions are hereby transferred to and vested in the state
board of health or its successor: The Andrew S. Rowan Memorial
Home, Denmar State Hospital, Hopemont State Hospital, Pinecrest
Hospital, Fairmont Emergency Hospital and Welch Emergency
Hospital. The board of health or its successor shall be the
custodian of all deeds and other muniments of title to such
property and shall cause such as are susceptible of recordation
to be recorded in the proper offices. Notwithstanding any
provision of this code to the contrary, each such institution
shall be managed and controlled by a superintendent appointed by
the director of health.
The commissioner is hereby authorized to establish work and
study release units as extensions and subsidiaries of those state
institutions under his control and authority. Such work and
study release units may be coeducational and shall be managed,
directed and controlled as provided for in this article.
Any person employed by the office of public institutions who
on the effective date of this article is a classified civilservice employee shall, within the limits contained in section
two, article six, chapter twenty-nine of this code, remain in the
civil service system as a covered employee.
CHAPTER 31. CORPORATIONS.
ARTICLE 20. WEST VIRGINIA REGIONAL JAIL AND CORRECTIONAL
FACILITY AUTHORITY.
§31-20-5. Powers and duties of the authority; bidding
procedures.
The regional jail and correctional facility authority shall
complete a comprehensive study of all correctional facilities and
jail facilities in the state of West Virginia no later than the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-six. This
study shall include an assessment of the physical conditions of
confinement within the institutions and the relative need for the
institutions when considering other available institutions of
confinement located within the state.
After completing this study, the authority shall submit a
plan to the governor on the establishment of regional jails in
this state and the acquisition, construction or renovation of
facilities for correctional facilities. The authority shall
specify groups of counties within the state to be formed into
regions for the establishment of such regional jails. Within
each region a local jail commission shall be established and have
the powers and duties as set forth in section six of this
article.
The authority shall consider, but not be limited to, thefollowing when creating the plan establishing regions:
(1) The relative physical condition of the correctional
facilities and jail facilities located within the state;
(2) The transportation costs associated with the
establishment of centralized jail services including, but not
limited to, the costs of transporting persons incarcerated in
regional jails to court appearances, to interviews with their
attorneys, and to have visitation with their families and
friends, all in any county seat of a county served by the
regional facility: Provided, That consideration of such costs in
the creation of the plan shall not be construed to require the
transportation of inmates to interviews with their attorneys or
to have visitation with their families and friends when
visitation facilities and schedules are established in regional
jails;
(3) The availability of medical services and educational and
recreational opportunities;
(4) Information received from public hearings;
(5) The relative efficiency in the cost of jail services
caused by establishment of regional jail facilities;
(6) Available facilities which may be used as regional jails
or correctional facilities including, but not limited to,
existing county and state owned properties: Provided, That if
the authority determines that an existing facility meets the
standards or could reasonably be made to meet the standards for
a regional jail or other correctional facility, the authority mayproceed to acquire such existing facility and compensate the
owner thereof in an amount not less than any local share expended
by the owner as matching moneys for the receipt of federal funds:
Provided, however, That if the authority determines that an
existing facility does not meet the standards or could not
reasonably be made to meet the standards for a regional jail or
other correctional facility, the authority shall provide the
owner with a written statement setting forth the reasons
supporting such determination;
(7) The cost of acquiring, constructing, renovating,
operating and maintaining local jail facilities for use as local
holding facilities in each county and regional jail facilities
for each county and the financing provided by this article;
(8) The leasing of any available portion of any regional
jail space and the leasing of available facilities of any
regional jail to the West Virginia department of corrections for
the keeping and detaining of prisoners sentenced to serve terms
of incarceration under the custody of the West Virginia
department of corrections for nonviolent crimes and to contract
with the department of corrections for the providing of food,
clothing, shelter and any and all incidental costs in the care,
control and maintenance of such prisoners: Provided, That such
leasing does not restrict space or facilities needed for the
detention of county prisoners;
(9) The advisability and cost effectiveness of acquiring,
constructing, renovating, operating and maintaining work farmsserving one or more counties or regions; and
(10) The proximity of possible sites for the regional jail
facilities to residential areas, schools, churches and other
public buildings and facilities.
Public hearings pursuant to this section shall be held by
the authority in convenient locations throughout the state. No
less than ten public hearings shall be held for public comment on
the establishment of regional jails. The authority shall cause
to be published at least two weeks in advance of a hearing a
Class II-0 legal advertisement, as provided in section two,
article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, setting forth the
reason for the hearing and the time, place and date thereof. The
publication area shall be each county which may be included in a
region for the purposes of a regional jail with the county in
which the public hearing is held.
In addition to the hearing requirements above, before
beginning construction of a new facility for use as a regional
jail or correctional facility or before beginning renovation or
acquisition of an existing facility for use as a regional jail
facility, which existing facility is not already a jail,
correctional facility or secure facility for the detention of
juveniles or persons otherwise involuntarily committed or
confined, the authority shall hold a hearing for comment by all
members of the public on all aspects relating to the advisability
of the use of the site for that regional jail facility. The
authority shall promulgate legislative rules pursuant to chaptertwenty-nine-a of this code for the requirements for notice and
other procedures of said public hearings, which requirements
shall be as similar as practicable to those hearings conducted
regarding the construction of bridges by the West Virginia
department of highways.
The authority, as a public corporation and governmental
instrumentality exercising public powers of the state, may
exercise all powers necessary or appropriate to carry out the
purposes of this article, including, but not limited to, the
power:
(a) To acquire, own, hold and dispose of property, real and
personal, tangible and intangible.
(b) To lease property, whether as lessee or lessor.
(c) To mortgage or otherwise grant security interests in its
property.
(d) To conduct examinations and investigations and to hear
testimony and take proof, under oath or affirmation at public or
private hearings, on any matter relevant to this article and
necessary for information on the construction or renovation of
any correctional facility or the establishment of any
correctional facility industries project.
(e) To issue subpoenas requiring the attendance of witnesses
and the production of books and papers relevant to any hearing
before such authority or one or more members appointed by it to
conduct any hearing.
(f) To apply to the circuit court having venue of suchoffense to have punished for contempt any witness who refuses to
obey a subpoena, refuses to be sworn or affirmed, or refuses to
testify, or who commits any contempt after being summoned to
appear.
(g) To sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, and
complain and defend in any court.
(h) To adopt, use and alter at will a corporate seal.
(i) To make bylaws for the management and regulation of its
affairs pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this
code.
(j) To appoint officers, agents and employees.
(k) To make contracts of every kind and nature and to
execute all instruments necessary or convenient for carrying on
its business, including contracts with any other governmental
agency of this state or of the federal government or with any
person, individual, partnership or corporation to effect any or
all of the purposes of this article.
(l) Without in any way limiting any other subdivision of
this section, to accept grants from and enter into contracts and
other transactions with any federal agency.
(m) To borrow money and to issue its negotiable bonds,
security interests or notes and to provide for and secure the
payment thereof, and to provide for the rights of the holders
thereof, and to purchase, hold and dispose of any of its bonds,
security interests or notes: Provided, That no bond or other
obligation may be issued or incurred unless and until theLegislature by concurrent resolution has approved the purpose and
amount of each project for which proceeds from the issuance of
such bond or other obligation will be used.
(n) To sell, at public or private sale, any bond or other
negotiable instrument, security interest or obligation of the
authority in such manner and upon such terms as the authority
considers would best serve the purposes of this article.
(o) To issue its bonds, security interests and notes payable
solely from the revenues or other funds available to the
authority therefor; and the authority may issue its bonds,
security interests or notes in such principal amounts as it
considers necessary to provide funds for any purposes under this
article, including:
(1) The payment, funding or refunding of the principal of,
interest on or redemption premiums on, any bonds, security
interests or notes issued by it whether the bonds, security
interests, notes or interest to be funded or refunded have or
have not become due.
(2) The establishment or increase of reserves to secure or
to pay bonds, security interests, notes or the interest thereon
and all other costs or expenses of the authority incident to and
necessary or convenient to carry out its corporate purposes and
powers. Any bonds, security interests or notes may be
additionally secured by a pledge of any revenues, funds, assets
or moneys of the authority from any source whatsoever.
(p) To issue renewal notes or security interests, to issuebonds to pay notes or security interests and, whenever it
considers refunding expedient, to refund any bonds by the
issuance of new bonds, whether the bonds to be refunded have or
have not matured except that no such renewal notes shall be
issued to mature more than ten years from date of issuance of the
notes renewed and no such refunding bonds may be issued to mature
more than twenty-five years from the date of issuance.
(q) To apply the proceeds from the sale of renewal notes,
security interests or refunding bonds to the purchase, redemption
or payment of the notes, security interests or bonds to be
refunded.
(r) To accept gifts or grants of property, funds, security
interests, money, materials, labor, supplies or services from the
United States of America or from any governmental unit or any
person, firm or corporation, and to carry out the terms or
provisions of, or make agreements with respect to, or pledge, any
gifts or grants, and to do any and all things necessary, useful,
desirable or convenient in connection with the procuring,
acceptance or disposition of gifts or grants.
(s) To the extent permitted under its contracts with the
holders of bonds, security interests or notes of the authority,
to consent to any modification of the rate of interest, time of
payment of any installment of principal or interest, security or
any other term of any bond, security interest, note or contract
or agreement of any kind to which the authority is a party.
(t) To sell security interests in the loan portfolio of theauthority. Such security interests shall be evidenced by
instruments issued by the authority. Proceeds from the sale of
security interests may be issued in the same manner and for the
same purposes as bond and note revenues.
(u) To promulgate rules, and regulations in accordance with
the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, to
implement and make effective the powers, duties and
responsibilities invested in the authority by the provisions of
this article and otherwise by law.
(v) To assume the responsibility for operation and
management of regional jail facilities under the jurisdiction of
the state regional jail and correctional facility authority. The
authority shall provide for the transportation of inmates between
the regional jails and local holding facilities for court
appearances.
(w) (v) To exercise all power and authority provided in this
article necessary and convenient to plan, finance, construct,
renovate and maintain and operate or oversee the operation of
regional jails and correctional facilities.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the
regional jail and correctional facility authority shall no later
than the first day of November, one thousand nine hundred eighty-
nine, submit a plan to the joint committee on government and
finance of the Legislature detailing the means by which the
authority will comply with the mandates of the supreme court of
appeals as to the structural and internal conditions and programsof the correctional facilities in this state. In preparing such
plan, the authority is to allow for and consider any input from
the public.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to transfer the duties of
inmate management and inmate programs from the West Virginia
regional jail and correctional facility authority to the division
of corrections.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.