H. B. 2081
(By Delegate Michael)
[Introduced February 14, 2001; 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; and
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for the periodic replacement of outdated, obsolete or inoperable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.