H. B. 4266
(By Delegates Smirl, Givens, Hunt, Coleman, Underwood,
Tillis and Thomas)
(Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary)
[February 4, 1998]
A BILL to amend and reenact section eight, article twenty, chapter
thirty-one of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the jail and
correctional facility standards commission; removing
correctional facilities from jurisdiction of same;
redesignating same as the "jail facilities standards
commission"; eliminating position on commission for
representative of the juvenile facilities review panel, now
repealed; eliminating ex officio position for the commissioner
of the department of human services; providing for ex officio
membership on the commission of the executive director of the
regional jail and correctional facility authority; updating
titles of certain ex officio members to reflect reorganization
or redesignation of government agencies; and adjusting the
number of members required for a quorum to reflect the reduced
number of voting members on the commission.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section eight, article twenty, chapter thirty-one of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
§31-20-8. Jail and facilities standards commission; appointment;
compensation; vacancies; quorum.
(a) A jail and correctional facility facilities standards
commission of eleven members is hereby created. The governor shall
appoint two county sheriffs, to be chosen from a list of three
names provided by the president of the West Virginia sheriff's
association, and three county commissioners, to be chosen from a
list of five names provided by the president of the West Virginia
county commissioner's association. The chief justice of the
Supreme Court shall appoint a representative from the juvenile
facilities review panel. Each of the members so appointed shall
serve for a term of three years, and be eligible for reappointment,
and be entitled to vote on matters that come before the
commission. The executive director of the regional jail and
correctional facility authority, the commissioner of the department
division of corrections, the director of the department of health
commissioner of the bureau of public health, the state fire marshal
the commissioner of the department of human services and the
director of the division of vocational education of the state
department of education or their designees shall be members ex officio in an advisory capacity.
(b) Members of the commission shall serve without
compensation, but may be reimbursed for reasonable and necessary
expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. The regional
jail and correctional facility authority shall provide the
commission with secretarial and other necessary services.
(c) A vacancy among the appointed members of the commission
shall be filled within thirty days in the same manner as the
original appointment. A quorum consists of four of the six three
of the five voting members. Members of the commission shall select
a chairman from among their membership.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to remove correctional
facilities from the jurisdiction of the Jail and Correctional
Facility Standards Commission and change its name accordingly;
eliminate the voting position on the commission for a
representative of the Juvenile Facilities Review Panel, now
repealed; remove the commissioner of the Department of Human
Services from the commission's membership (because the Department
of Health and Human Resources no longer has responsibility for
secure juvenile facilities); add the executive director of the
Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority as a member ex
officio; update ex officio members' titles to reflect governmental
reorganizations and redesignations; and to adjust the number of
members required for a quorum to reflect the reduced number of
voting members.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.