Senate Bill No. 552
(By Senators Love, Helmick, Schoonover, Hunter and Ross)
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[Introduced February 17, 1999;
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.]
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A BILL to repeal sections three, four and five, article five,
chapter twenty-eight of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; to repeal
section six, article thirteen, chapter sixty-two of said
code; to amend and reenact section eleven, article one,
chapter twenty-five of said code; and to further amend said
article by adding thereto four new sections, designated
sections eleven-a, eleven-b, eleven-c and eleven-d, all
relating to the administration and personnel of the division
of corrections; requiring preemployment drug testing;
allowing designated employees to carry concealed deadly
weapons; and allowing the commissioner to designate
employees as correctional peace officers.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections three, four and five, article five, chapter
twenty-eight of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, be repealed; that section six,
article thirteen, chapter sixty-two of said code be repealed;
that section eleven, article one, chapter twenty-five of said
code be amended and reenacted; and that said article be further
amended by adding thereto four new sections, designated sections
eleven-a, eleven-b, eleven-c and eleven-d, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 1. ORGANIZATION AND INSTITUTIONS.
§25-1-11. Officers and employees of corrections institutions.
The commissioner of corrections shall appoint a
superintendent or warden for each institution under the control
of the department division of corrections. The commissioner of
corrections, or his or her designee, has the authority to manage
and administer the finances, business, operations, security and
personnel affairs of correctional units under the jurisdiction of
the division of corrections. All persons employed at a state- operated correctional institution or correctional unit are
subject to the supervision and approval of the chief executive
officer and the authority of the commissioner of corrections, or
his or her designee.
The superintendent or warden or administrator of each institution shall have or correctional unit has the power to
appoint hire all assistants and employees required for the
management of the institution in his or her charge; but the
number of such the assistants and employees, and their
compensation, shall first be approved by the state commissioner
of corrections. All prospective correctional employees shall
pass a preemployment drug screening prior to being hired. It
shall be is the duty of the commissioner of corrections to
investigate any complaint made against the superintendent warden
or administrator of any institution, and also against any other
officer or employee thereof, if the same has not been
investigated.
The commissioner shall fix the salaries or compensation of
the officers and employees of the institutions named in section
three of this article. The salaries or compensation of all
officers and employees of the several institutions under the
control of the commissioner of corrections shall be paid monthly,
to include the last day of each month. The superintendents and
other officers and employees of each of such institutions shall
be paid salaries commensurate with their duties and
responsibilities, but no meals or other emoluments of any kind
shall be furnished, given or paid to such superintendents,
officers or employees as all or part of their salary; however, such superintendents, officers and employees may be provided
meals, household facilities and supplies as may be necessary for
them to perform their duties, if such superintendents, officers
and employees agree to pay the reasonable cost thereof as
established by the commissioner of corrections.
§25-1-11a. Duties of wardens and administrators; bond; residence.
The warden or administrator is the chief executive officer
of his or her assigned correctional institution and has the
responsibility for the overall management of all operations
within his or her assigned institution. He or she is in charge
of its internal police and management, and shall provide for
feeding, clothing, working and taking care of the inmates,
subject to the control of the state commissioner of corrections.
The warden or administrator shall promptly enforce all orders and
rules made by the commissioner. He or she shall protect and
preserve the property of the state and may for that purpose
punish the inmates in the manner authorized by the commissioner
of corrections. The warden or administrator shall have the
custody and control of all the real and personal property at the
correctional institution, subject to the orders of the
commissioner of corrections. The warden or administrator shall
be bonded by the board of risk and insurance management. The
warden shall reside in the warden's residence at the correctional institution or in another residence approved by the commissioner
of corrections.
§25-1-11b. Appointment of deputy warden; duties; bond.
The warden of a correctional institution, with the approval
of the commissioner, shall hire a deputy warden. The deputy
warden's duties shall be fixed by the warden, as approved by the
commissioner. In the absence of the warden the deputy warden
shall perform all the duties required of the warden. The deputy
warden shall be bonded by the board of risk and insurance
management.
§25-1-11c. Hiring of other assistants and employees; duties of
correctional employees; right to carry weapons;
powers of correctional peace officers.
(a) The warden or administrator of the correctional
institutions or units shall, in the manner provided in section
eleven of this article, hire all assistants and employees
required for the management of the correctional institutions or
units, including a sufficient number of correctional employees to
preserve order and enforce discipline among the inmates, to
prevent escapes, and to remove all persons convicted and
sentenced to the custody of the division of corrections, from the
place confined to a correctional institution, all of whom shall
be under the control of the warden. The commissioner may issue a certificate authorizing any correctional employee to carry
firearms and concealed weapons while on duty. Any correctional
employee authorized by the commissioner has the right, without a
state license, to carry firearms and concealed weapons while on
duty. Each correctional employee, authorized by the
commissioner, shall carry with him or her a certificate,
authorizing him or her to carry a firearm or concealed weapon
when performing his or her official duties as a correctional
employee, bearing the official signature of the commissioner and
warden or administrator. The right is extended to a correctional
employee during the time the employee travels from place to place
within the state for the purpose of removing prisoners from jails
to a correctional institution of the division of corrections, and
during the time the employee is pursuing and apprehending escaped
inmates, and during any other time the employee is performing
official duties as a correctional employee. A correctional
employee does not have the right to carry a firearm or concealed
weapon for any other purpose or during any other time, including
when traveling to and from the employee's residence and a
correctional institution, unless the employee has obtained a
state license in the manner prescribed in article seven, chapter
sixty-one of this code.
(b) The commissioner of corrections may designate correctional employees as correctional peace officers who have
the following powers:
(1) To enforce rules and laws necessary for the control and
management of correctional units and the maintenance of public
safety that is within the scope of responsibilities of the
division of corrections;
(2) To detain or arrest, for violations of state law
committed on the property of, or related to, any state
correctional institution;
(3) To conduct investigations, pursue, apprehend and make
arrests with or without a warrant, in connection with escapes
from the custody of the commissioner or any state correctional
institution; and
(4) To execute criminal process on persons in the custody of
the commissioner, or who surrender themselves at any state
correctional institution.
§25-1-11d. Compensation of employees approved by commissioner;
traveling and other expenses; payment of salaries.
The commissioner of corrections shall approve the salaries
of all employees of the division of corrections. Salaries shall
be commensurate with their duties and responsibilities, but no
meals or other emoluments of any kind shall be furnished, given
or paid to the employee as all or part of their salary. The employees may be provided meals, household facilities and
supplies as may be necessary for them to perform their duties, if
the employees agree to pay the reasonable cost as established by
the commissioner of corrections. In the event of an emergency,
such as a riot or other disturbance, the commissioner may
authorize meals be provided to employees at no cost.
Additionally, the commissioner may establish a procedure to
reimburse employees reasonable costs in the event the employee's
personal property is stolen or damaged by an inmate. All persons
employed under this article are entitled to be reimbursed for
necessary traveling and other expenses. The salaries, expenses
and appropriations provided for the employees under the
commissioner's jurisdiction shall be paid in the same manner as
are those of other state employees and agencies and on a payment
schedule set forth by the state auditor.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to update language
addressing the administration and personnel of the division of
corrections. It also requires preemployment drug testing,
authorizes the Commissioner to designate any employees to carry
concealed deadly weapons and allows the Commissioner to designate
employees as correctional peace officers.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.
§§25-1-11a, 11b, 11c and 11d are new; therefore,
strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.