Senate Bill No. 179
(By Senators Love, Mitchell, Hunter, Dawson, Ball and Ross)
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[Introduced January 24, 2000; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section fifteen, article one, chapter
twenty-five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to diagnostic and
classification divisions of the division of corrections; and
removing restrictions and obsolete language concerning the
location of the divisions.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section fifteen, article one, chapter twenty-five of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. ORGANIZATION AND INSTITUTIONS.
§25-1-15. Diagnostic and classification divisions.
The commissioner of corrections may establish a diagnostic and
classification division within Huttonsville correctional center,
West Virginia penitentiary at Moundsville and/or the Pruntytown
correctional center, formerly known as the West Virginia industrial
home for boys at Grafton divisions.
Notwithstanding any provision of the code to the contrary, all
persons committed to the custody of the commissioner of the
department division of corrections for presentence diagnosis and
classification and all persons sentenced to the West Virginia
penitentiary custody of the division of corrections shall, upon
imposition of such the commitment or sentence, undergo diagnosis
and classification. in a diagnostic and classification division
located at the Huttonsville correctional center, the West Virginia
penitentiary at Moundsville, or the Pruntytown correctional center
The diagnostic and classification divisions shall be maximum
security facilities: Provided, That the commissioner of the
department of corrections shall be authorized to provide, at his
option, classification and diagnostic services for female offenders
through contract with federal correctional institutions and to
provide diagnostic and classification services for youthful
offenders at a youth center operated under the authority of the department of corrections: Provided, however, That nothing
contained herein shall operate to conflict with or interfere with
predisposition diagnostic procedures for juveniles contained in
chapter forty-nine of this code
Nothing herein shall be construed to authorize the
establishment of a diagnostic and classification division upon the
grounds of the Weston state hospital or in a regional jail operated
by the regional jail and prison authority.
(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to give the division of
corrections flexibility in where it may test and classify state
sentenced inmates, which will help it in managing the overcrowding
problem. Additionally, since there is no longer a Weston state
hospital, the bill removes an obsolete language regarding the
hospital.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.)