Senate Bill No. 403
(By Senators Bailey, Hunter, McKenzie, Love and Rowe)
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[Introduced March 6, 2001; referred to the Committee on
Government Organization; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend chapter twenty-five of the code of West Virginia,
one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, by adding
thereto a new article, designated article seven, relating to
the creation of a correctional facility advisory board; and
providing for its membership, powers and duties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That chapter twenty-five of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended by adding
thereto a new article, designated article seven, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 7. CORRECTIONAL FACILITY ADVISORY BOARD.
§25-7-1. Correctional facility advisory board.
(a) There is created a correctional facility advisory board. The board consists of at least sixteen persons appointed by the
governor, with the advice and consent of the Senate.
(b) The appointees shall, at a minimum, include the following
persons:
(1) Two victims of violent crime;
(2) Two former inmates of state correctional facilities
operated by the division of corrections;
(3) Two members of an inmate advocate organization;
(4) One medical doctor or other licensed health care
professional who is not an employee or contractor of the division
of corrections;
(5) Four family members of inmates;
(6) Two employees of the division of corrections;
(7) One member of the clergy who is not an employee of the
division of corrections;
(8) One prosecuting attorney; and
(9) One public defender.
(c) The term of the members is three years, except of the
members first appointed at least four serve terms of one year and
at least four serve terms of two years. No member may be appointed
to serve more than two consecutive three-year terms. The board shall elect a chairperson each year.
(d) Each member of the board, except members who are employees
of the division of corrections, a prosecuting attorney or a public
defender, is entitled to receive the same compensation and expense
reimbursement as is paid to members of the Legislature for their
interim duties, as recommended by the citizens legislative
compensation commission and authorized by law for each day or
portion of a day engaged in the discharge of their official duties.
All expenses incurred by the board shall be paid from funds
available to the department of military affairs and public safety.
(e) The secretary of the department of military affairs and
public safety shall provide sufficient space for the board to
conduct meetings and clerical support for the board, as needed.
(f) Two inmates at each facility operated by the division of
corrections shall be chosen from inmate applicants by the board to
act as liaisons to the board.
§25-7-2. Powers and duties of the board.
The advisory board has the following powers and duties:
(1) The board, minus any members who are employees of the
division of corrections, may by resolution designate a specific
member and groups of members which shall be granted access to a specified institution or all institutions and any inmate under the
control of the division of corrections within a specified period of
at least thirty days. The designated member or members shall be
granted access without prior approval of the secretary or the
division of corrections upon furnishing a photo identification
given to the member or members, by the secretary and a copy of the
board's resolution authorizing the access. Access may be denied by
the division of corrections only when the safety of the member or
members would be endangered due to an institutional emergency.
(2) It shall investigate and shall study all aspects of, and
the sufficiency and availability of:
(A) The medical, psychiatric and counseling services available
to inmates and report on the health and safety of inmates;
(B) The quality of inmate educational, vocational, employment
and rehabilitation programs;
(C) Healthy and nutritious meals, food service and dietetic
needs;
(D) Regular visiting hours;
(E) Telephones;
(F) Religious clergy and religious programs;
(G) Attorneys, legal services and legal materials;
(H) Sanitation services;
(I) Mail; and
(J) Inmate benefit funds.
(3) It shall investigate and study the treatment of visiting
family, friends, attorneys and program volunteers, and the
availability of transportation for visiting family members.
(4) It may advise and inform the community-at-large of current
needs and trends in the division of corrections' policies and
practices.
(5) Board members may on their own initiative or at the
request of any prisoner, meet with the prisoner within the facility
in which the inmate is housed to interview or assist the inmate
with problems of a personal nature in relation to the facility. At
the request of the board, it may meet with any prisoner out of
sight and hearing of any officer or employee of the division.
(6) The board, with the written permission of an inmate, may
have access to any and all of the inmate's records, including, but
not limited to, records of conviction, probation, parole,
discipline, grievance, administrative and classification. The
board and its members may not disclose the record or any of the
information contained in the records.
(7) The board may advise the division of corrections on
implementation, improvements and general modifications to policies
and practices relative to inmate education, commissary sales,
employment and rehabilitation programs, visitation, medical,
psychiatric and counseling programs and religious and volunteer
programs.
(8) The board shall review the annual plans and the proposed
budget of the division and shall make recommendations to the
governor, secretary and commissioner of the division of corrections
in regard to the proposed budget.
(9) The board shall report on the general state of
correctional facilities, the administration of correctional policy
and practices and the living conditions of inmates in the
facilities.
(10) The board shall hold quarterly meetings and shall convene
special meetings at the call of the chairperson, the governor or
five members.
(11) The board shall advise the secretary and commissioner on
policy development and priorities of need for correctional
facilities.
(12) The board shall issue reports at least annually, to the governor, the legislative oversight committee on regional jail and
correctional facility authority and the joint committee on
government and finance.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a Correctional
Facility Advisory Board and provide for its membership, powers and
duties.
This article is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.