H. B. 2589


(By Delegates Manuel, Pino, Warner and Faircloth)

[Introduced February 28, 2001 ; referred to the

Committee on Finance.]





A BILL to amend article one, chapter twenty-five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section twelve; to amend article six, chapter twenty-nine of said code by adding thereto a new section, designated section ten-b; to amend and reenact section twenty-seven, article twenty, chapter thirty-one of said code; and to amend article five-e, chapter forty-nine of said code by adding thereto a new section, designated section five-b, all relating to the salaries and classifications of certain employees of the divisions of corrections and juvenile services and the regional jail and correctional facility authority.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That article one, chapter twenty-five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section twelve; that article six, chapter twenty-nine of said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section ten-b; that section twenty-seven, article twenty, chapter thirty-one of said code be amended and reenacted; and that article five-e, chapter forty-nine of said code be amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section five-b, all to read as follows:

CHAPTER 25. DIVISION OF CORRECTIONS.

ARTICLE 1. ORGANIZATION AND INSTITUTIONS.

§25-1-12. Salary increase for certain employees.
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, the commissioner shall increase the annual salary of every division employee, employed by the division on the first day of July, two thousand one, whose:
(1) Duty station is in the confines of a correctional facility that houses inmates; or
(2) Job duties require the employee to have contact with inmates or parolees.
(b) The increase shall be equal to an amount so that when combined with any increase an employee is provided as a result of the increase in the pay plan, as required by section ten-b, article six, chapter twenty-nine of this code, the employee's annual salary is increased four thousand dollars.
CHAPTER 29. MISCELLANEOUS BOARDS AND OFFICERS.

ARTICLE 6. CIVIL SERVICE SYSTEM.

§29-6-10b. Modification in pay plan for certain correctional employees.

Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, before the first day of July, two thousand one, the board shall increase, by four thousand dollars, every step in the pay plan adopted under the provisions of section ten of this article, as the plan applies to each employee of the:
(1) Division of corrections whose duty station is in the confines of a correctional facility that houses inmates or whose job duties require the employee to have contact with inmates or parolees; and
(2) Division of juvenile services whose duty station is in the confines of a juvenile detention facility or juvenile correctional facility or whose job duties require the employee to have contact with juveniles in the custody of the division of juvenile services.
CHAPTER 31. CORPORATIONS.

ARTICLE 20. WEST VIRGINIA REGIONAL JAIL AND CORRECTIONAL FACILITY AUTHORITY.

§31-20-27. Correctional officers; regional jails; priority of hiring.

(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, the authority, when employing correctional officers to complete the approved staffing plan of a regional jail completed after the effective date of this section shall employ any correctional officer applying for a position as a correctional officer at a regional jail who was employed in good standing at a county jail facility in the region at the time of its closing or at a prison facility operated by the division of corrections: Provided, That the regional jail is located within the same region as the prison facility that was closed due to relocation of the prison facility to a site outside the region. Only those correctional officers, who are employees in good standing at the time the prison facility is closed, are eligible for transfer under the provisions of this subsection. Correctional officers, employed under the provisions of this subsection, shall be employed at a salary and with benefits consistent with the approved plan of compensation of the division of personnel, created under section five, article six, chapter twenty-nine of this code. All correctional officers employed under this subsection shall also be covered by the policies and procedures of the education and state employees grievance board, created under section five, article six-a, chapter twenty-nine of this code and the classified-exempt service protection policies of the division of personnel.
(b) The authority shall, when employing correctional officers to fill positions within the approved staffing plan of any regional jail, employ any correctional officer applying for a position as a correctional officer at a regional jail who was previously employed as a correctional officer in good standing at any local jail facility: Provided, That the local jail facility is located within the same region as the regional jail at the time of the local jail facility's closing or reduction in size and was reduced in size or closed prior to or due to the completion of the regional jail within the region. Correctional officers, employed under the provisions of this subsection, shall be employed at a salary and with benefits consistent with the approved plan of compensation of the division of personnel, created under section five, article six, chapter twenty-nine of this code. Only those county correctional officers who are employees in good standing at the time the local jail facility is closed are eligible for transfer under the provisions of this subsection. All correctional officers employed under this subsection shall also be covered by the policies and procedures of the education and state employees grievance board created under section five, article six-a, chapter twenty-nine of this code and the classified-exempt service protection of the division of personnel.
(c) The base salary for each classification of employee of the authority whose duty station is in the confines of a regional jail or whose job duties require the employee to have contact with inmates housed in a regional jail shall be substantially the same as the base salary for each similar classification of employee within the division of corrections.
CHAPTER 49. CHILD WELFARE.

ARTICLE 5E. DIVISION OF JUVENILE SERVICES.
§49-5E-5b. Salary increase for certain employees.
Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, the director shall increase the annual salary of each employee of the division on the first day of July, two thousand one, whose duty station is in the confines of a juvenile detention facility or juvenile correctional facility or whose job duties require the employee to have contact with juveniles in the custody of the division of juvenile services. The increase shall be equal to an amount so that when combined with any increase an employee is provided as a result of the increase in the pay plan, as required by section ten-c, article six, chapter twenty-nine of this code, the employee's annual salary is increased four thousand dollars.




NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to increase the salaries of certain employees of the Division of Corrections, the Division of Juvenile Services and the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.

§§25-1-12, 29-6-10b and 49-5E-5b are new; therefore, strike-throughs and underscoring have been omitted.

This bill is recommended for passage during the 2001 regular legislative session by the Legislative Oversight Committee on Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority.