H. B. 4017
(By Delegate Michael)
[Introduced January 12, 2000; referred to the
Committee on Finance.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section fifteen, article five-b,
chapter twenty-eight of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to
the distribution of the profit from prison-made goods,
directing that a certain amount of the profit be directed
towards the regional jails rather than the crime victims'
compensation fund.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section fifteen, article five-b, chapter twenty-eight
of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 5B. PRISON-MADE GOODS.
§28-5B-15. Sale of prison-made goods on open market prohibited;
penalty; exceptions.
(a) Subject to the provisions of subsections (b) and (c) of
this section, it is unlawful to sell or offer for sale on the
open market of this state any articles or products manufactured
or produced, wholly or in part, in this or any other state, by
convicts or prisoners of this state, or any other state, except
convicts or prisoners on parole or probation. This provision
does not apply to the sale of products made with waste tires:
Provided, That any use of waste tires shall comply with
applicable laws and rules of the division of environmental
protection: Provided, however, That any products made by inmates
from waste tires and sold on the open market must be
competitively priced with privately produced goods of the same
nature and may not be sold at a loss: Provided further, That any
profits earned from the sale of products made by inmates from
waste tires shall be distributed as follows: First, to the prison
industries fund to reimburse all moneys expended in the
collection of waste tires and the production of waste tire
products, including a reasonable amount to be set aside for the
periodic replacement of outdated, obsolete or inoperable
machinery or equipment used in collection or production, and
second, any moneys remaining shall be divided equally between the
prison industries fund and the crime victims compensation fund
established by the provisions of section two, article two-a,
chapter fourteen of this code regional jail and correctional facility authority: And provided further, That the regional jail
and correctional facility authority use the funds only for the
operations of regional jails.
(b) Any person violating the provisions of this section is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be punished
by a fine of not less than two hundred dollars nor more than five
thousand dollars, or by imprisonment in jail not less than three
months nor more than one year, or by both fine and imprisonment.
Each sale or offer for sale shall constitute a separate offense
under this section.
(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this
section, any articles or products manufactured or produced,
wholly or in part, by inmates of West Virginia penal and
correctional institutions and facilities which are designed and
intended to be used solely by blind and handicapped persons,
including, but not limited to, braille books and reading
materials, may be sold or offered for sale or distributed on the
open market by the department of corrections or other state
department or agency.
(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this
section, arts and crafts produced by inmates may be sold to the
general public by the department of corrections or by other
agencies or departments of state government as the commissioner
of corrections may designate. The arts and crafts shall be sold only on a consignment basis so that inmates whose arts and crafts
products are sold shall receive payment for the products. The
payments shall be deposited in the accounts or funds and managed
in a manner as provided by section six, article five of this
chapter: Provided, That where the state department of
corrections or any other agency or department of state government
provides any materials used in the production of an arts and
crafts product, the fair market value of the materials may be
deducted from the account of the individual inmate after the sale
of the product.
(e) For purposes of this section, "arts and crafts" means
articles produced individually by artistic or craft skill such
as, but not limited to, painting, sculpture, pottery and jewelry.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide that certain
profits generated by prison industries be directed towards the
regional jails rather than the crime victims' compensation fund.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.