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commission"; eliminating position on commission for representative of the juvenile facilities review panel, now repealed; eliminating ex officio position for the commissioner of the department of human services; providing for ex officio membership on the commission of the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.