This article shall be known and may be cited as "The West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority Act."
(1) That some existing jails, adult correctional facilities and juvenile detention and correctional facilities in this state serve neither the best interests of the incarcerated populations of the jails and facilities nor the citizens of West Virginia;
(2) That due to time constraints established and imposed by judicial decisions, it is imperative that the Legislature give immediate and diligent attention to the improvement of existing facilities and the construction and maintenance of new facilities, as well as to the development and implementation of new, innovative and effective programs dealing with incarcerated persons;
(3) That the physical condition of some existing jails, adult correctional facilities and juvenile facilities contribute to a frustration of efforts to provide rehabilitation, education, vocational training, and social and psychological adjustment and improvement for incarcerated persons, with the result that those existing facilities are utilized largely for the limited purposes of confinement;
(4) That there is a need to examine, understand and implement various new and innovative trends which are being advanced in the area of correctional institution design, and to explore the developing alternatives to incarceration which are being experimented with in other jurisdictions; and
(5) That the revenues of this state, insofar as they are currently used to maintain a traditional penal system, are not efficiently utilized to provide facilities or produce programs which could direct an adult or juvenile inmate's or detainee's time and effort to prepare him or her for life outside of confinement; nor do the revenues provide corrections officials with the resources necessary to address the issues and problems with which they are confronted.
(b) The purposes of this article are as follows:
(1) To provide a cost-efficient system within this state for the construction, maintenance and operation of adult jails and correctional facilities;
(2) To develop and implement plans for the renovation and improvement of existing facilities and the design and construction of new facilities to better serve the incarcerated and detained juvenile and adult populations and the citizens of this state;
(3) To provide an environment in which new and innovative corrections programs may be considered and undertaken, and in which opportunities may be offered to incarcerated persons to overcome personal deficiencies which are educational, vocational, social or psychological in nature; and
(4) To investigate the feasibility of individualizing and classifying adult inmates according to their psychological and physical conditions at the time they are incarcerated, and the feasibility of designing for each such inmate a plan for self-improvement and rehabilitation.
(a) "Adjacent regional juvenile detention facility" means a facility constructed or maintained on property owned or controlled by the regional jail authority and designed (1) for the short term preadjudicatory detention of juveniles, for the confinement of juveniles who are awaiting transportation to or placement at another juvenile detention facility or juvenile correctional facility or who are awaiting trial as an adult pursuant to section ten, article five, chapter forty-nine of this code; or (2) for the court-ordered, short term placement of juveniles in a facility that is characterized by programmatic intervention and by staff restrictions of the movements and activities of juveniles placed there, that limits the juveniles' access to the surrounding community and that is not characterized by construction fixtures designed to physically restrict the movements and activities of juveniles.
(b) "Authority" or "West Virginia Regional Jail Authority" means the West Virginia regional jail and correctional facility authority created by this article.
(c) "Board" means the governing body of the authority.
(d) "Bonds" means bonds of the authority issued under this article.
(e) "Cost of construction or renovation of a local jail facility, regional jail facility or juvenile facility" means the cost of all lands, water areas, property rights and easements, financing charges, interest prior to and during construction and for a period not exceeding six months following the completion of construction, equipment, engineering and legal services, plans, specifications and surveys, estimates of costs and other expenses necessary or incidental to determining the feasibility or practicability of any project, together with any other expenses necessary or incidental to the financing and the construction or renovation of the facilities and the placing of the facilities in operation.
(f) "County" means any county of this state.
(g) "Federal agency" means the United States of America and any department, corporation, agency or instrumentality created, designated or established by the United States of America.
(h) "Fund" or "funds" means a regional jail and correctional facility authority fund provided in section ten of this article, including those accounts that may be established by the authority for accurate accounting of the expenditure of public funds by that agency.
(i) "Government" means state and federal government, and any political subdivision, agency or instrumentality of the state or federal government, corporate or otherwise.
(j) "Inmate" means any adult person properly committed to a local or regional jail facility or a correctional facility.
(k) "Local jail facility" means any county facility for the confinement, custody, supervision or control of adult persons convicted of misdemeanors, awaiting trial or awaiting transportation to a state correctional facility.
(l) "Municipality" means any city, town or village in this state.
(m) "Notes" means any notes as defined in section one hundred four, article three, chapter forty-six of this code issued under this article by the authority.
(n) "Correctional facility" means any correctional facility, penitentiary or other correctional institution operated by the division of corrections for the incarceration of adults.
(o) "Regional jail facility" or "regional jail" means any facility operated by the authority and used jointly by two or more counties for the confinement, custody, supervision or control of adult persons convicted of misdemeanors or awaiting trial or awaiting transportation to a state correctional facility.
(p) "Revenues" means all fees, charges, moneys, profits, payments of principal of, or interest on, loans and other investments, grants, contributions and all other income received by the authority.
(q) "Security interest" means an interest in the loan portfolio of the authority which is secured by an underlying loan or loans and is evidenced by a note issued by the authority.
(r) "Work farm" has the same meaning as that term is used in section twelve, article eight, chapter seven of this code authorizing work farms for individual counties.
(s) "Juvenile detention facility" or "juvenile detention center" means a facility operated by the division of juvenile services (1) for the short term preadjudicatory detention of juveniles, for the confinement of juveniles who are awaiting transportation to or placement at another juvenile detention facility or juvenile correctional facility or who are awaiting trial as an adult pursuant to section ten, article five, chapter forty-nine of this code; or (2) for the court-ordered, short term placement of juveniles in a facility that is characterized by programmatic intervention and by staff restrictions of the movements and activities of juveniles placed there, that limits the juveniles' access to the surrounding community and that is not characterized by construction fixtures designed to physically restrict the movements and activities of juveniles.
(t) "Juvenile correctional facility" means a facility operated by the division of juvenile services (1) for the postdispositional confinement of juveniles adjudicated of offenses that would be criminal offenses if committed by an adult; or (2) for the court-ordered placement of juveniles in a facility that is characterized by programmatic intervention and by staff restrictions of the movements and activities of juveniles placed there, that limits the juveniles' access to the surrounding community and that is not characterized by construction fixtures designed to physically restrict the movements and activities of juveniles.
(u) "Juvenile facility" means an adjacent regional juvenile detention facility, a juvenile detention facility, a juvenile detention center or a juvenile correctional facility.
The authority shall be governed by a board of nine members, seven of whom are entitled to vote on matters coming before the authority. The complete governing board shall consist of the commissioner of the division of corrections; the director of the division of juvenile services; the secretary of the department of military affairs and public safety; the secretary of the department of administration, or his or her designated representative; three county officials appointed by the governor, no more than two of which may be of the same political party; and two citizens appointed by the governor to represent the areas of law and medicine. The commissioner of the division of corrections and the director of the division of juvenile services shall serve in an advisory capacity and are not entitled to vote on matters coming before the authority. Members of the Legislature are not eligible to serve on the board.
The governor shall nominate and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint the five appointed members of the authority for staggered terms of four years beginning the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-nine. Of the members of the board first appointed, one shall be appointed for a term ending the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred ninety-one, two shall be appointed for terms ending the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred ninety-two, and two shall be appointed for terms ending the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three. As these original appointments expire, each subsequent appointment shall be for a full four-year term.
Any appointed member whose term has expired shall serve until his or her successor has been duly appointed and qualified. Any person appointed to fill a vacancy shall serve only for the unexpired term. Any appointed member is eligible for reappointment. Members of the authority are not entitled to compensation for services performed as members but are entitled to reimbursement for all reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the performance of their duties.
All members of the board of the authority shall execute an official bond in a penalty of ten thousand dollars, conditioned as required by law. Premiums on the bond shall be paid from funds accruing to the authority. The bond shall be approved as to form by the attorney general and as to sufficiency by the governor and, when fully executed and approved, shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state.
(b) A majority of the members of the board constitute a quorum, and a quorum must be present for the board to conduct business. Unless the bylaws require a larger number, action may be taken by majority vote of the members present.
(c) The board shall prescribe, amend and repeal bylaws and rules governing the manner in which the business of the authority is conducted and shall review and approve the budget prepared by the executive director annually.
(d) On or before the first day of April, two thousand, the West Virginia regional jail and correctional facility authority board shall, with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint an executive director to act as its chief executive officer, to serve at the will and pleasure of the board. The compensation of the director shall be at the same rate as the commissioner of corrections. The appointment shall be for a term of five years to begin on the first day of April, two thousand. The executive director may employ any other personnel he or she determines necessary and may appoint counsel and legal staff for the authority and retain any temporary engineering, financial and other consultants or technicians that are required for any special study or survey consistent with the provisions of this article. The executive director may engage in negotiations and carry out plans to implement the provisions of this article and exercise those powers listed in section five of this article on behalf of the authority. The executive director shall prepare annually a budget to be submitted to the board for its review and approval.
(e) All costs incidental to the administration of the authority, including office expense, personal services expense and current expense, shall be paid from the regional jail and correctional facility development fund in accordance with guidelines issued by the board of the authority.
In addition to the hearing requirements above, before beginning construction of a new facility for use as a regional jail or correctional facility or before beginning renovation or acquisition of an existing facility for use as a regional jail facility, which existing facility is not already a jail, correctional facility or secure facility for the detention of juveniles or persons otherwise involuntarily committed or confined, the authority shall hold a hearing for comment by all members of the public on all aspects relating to the advisability of the use of the site for that regional jail facility. The authority shall promulgate legislative rules pursuant to chapter twenty-nine-a of this code for the requirements for notice and other procedures of said public hearings, which requirements shall be as similar as practicable to those hearings conducted regarding the construction of bridges by the West Virginia department of highways.
The authority, as a public corporation and governmental instrumentality exercising public powers of the state, may exercise all powers necessary or appropriate to carry out the purposes of this article, including, but not limited to, the power:
(a) To acquire, own, hold and dispose of property, real and personal, tangible and intangible.
(b) To lease property, whether as a lessee or lessor.
(c) To mortgage or otherwise grant security interests in its property.
(d) To conduct examinations and investigations and to hear testimony and take proof, under oath or affirmation at public or private hearings, on any matter relevant to this article and necessary for information on the construction or renovation of any adult correctional facility or juvenile facility or the establishment of any correctional facility industries project.
(e) To issue subpoenas requiring the attendance of witnesses and the production of books and papers relevant to any hearing before the authority or one or more members appointed by it to conduct any hearing.
(f) To apply to the circuit court having venue of the offense to have punished for contempt any witness who refuses to obey a subpoena, refuses to be sworn or affirmed, or refuses to testify, or who commits any contempt after being summoned to appear.
(g) To sue and be sued, implead and be impleaded, and complain and defend in any court.
(h) To adopt, use and alter at will a corporate seal.
(i) To make rules for the management and regulation of its affairs pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
(j) To appoint officers, agents and employees.
(k) To make contracts of every kind and nature and to execute all instruments necessary or convenient for carrying on its business, including contracts with any other governmental agency of this state or of the federal government or with any person, individual, partnership or corporation to effect any or all of the purposes of this article.
(l) Without in any way limiting any other subdivision of this section, to accept grants from and enter into contracts and other transactions with any federal agency.
(m) To borrow money and to issue its negotiable bonds, security interests or notes and to provide for and secure the payment thereof, and to provide for the rights of the holders thereof, and to purchase, hold and dispose of any of its bonds, security interests or notes: Provided, That no bond or other obligation may be issued or incurred unless and until the Legislature by concurrent resolution has approved the purpose and amount of each project for which proceeds from the issuance of the bond or other obligation will be used.
(n) To sell, at public or private sale, any bond or other negotiable instrument, security interest or obligation of the authority in a manner and upon terms that the authority considers would best serve the purposes of this article.
(o) To issue its bonds, security interests and notes payable solely from the revenues or other funds available to the authority therefor; and the authority may issue its bonds, security interests or notes in such principal amounts as it considers necessary to provide funds for any purposes under this article, including:
(1) The payment, funding or refunding of the principal of, interest on or redemption premiums on, any bonds, security interests or notes issued by it whether the bonds, security interests, notes or interest to be funded or refunded have or have not become due.
(2) The establishment or increase of reserves to secure or to pay bonds, security interests, notes or the interest thereon and all other costs or expenses of the authority incident to and necessary or convenient to carry out its corporate purposes and powers. Any bonds, security interests or notes may be additionally secured by a pledge of any revenues, funds, assets or moneys of the authority from any source whatsoever.
(p) To issue renewal notes or security interests, to issue bonds to pay notes or security interests and, whenever it considers refunding expedient, to refund any bonds by the issuance of new bonds, whether the bonds to be refunded have or have not matured except that no renewal notes shall be issued to mature more than ten years from date of issuance of the notes renewed and no refunding bonds may be issued to mature more than twenty-five years from the date of issuance.
(q) To apply the proceeds from the sale of renewal notes, security interests or refunding bonds to the purchase, redemption or payment of the notes, security interests or bonds to be refunded.
(r) To accept gifts or grants of property, funds, security interests, money, materials, labor, supplies or services from the United States of America or from any governmental unit or any person, firm or corporation, and to carry out the terms or provisions of, or make agreements with respect to, or pledge, any gifts or grants, and to do any and all things necessary, useful, desirable or convenient in connection with the procuring, acceptance or disposition of gifts or grants.
(s) To the extent permitted under its contracts with the holders of bonds, security interests or notes of the authority, to consent to any modification of the rate of interest, time of payment of any installment of principal or interest, security or any other term of any bond, security interest, note or contract or agreement of any kind to which the authority is a party.
(t) To sell security interests in the loan portfolio of the authority. The security interests shall be evidenced by instruments issued by the authority. Proceeds from the sale of security interests may be issued in the same manner and for the same purposes as bond and note revenues.
(u) To propose legislative rules for promulgation, in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, to implement and make effective the powers, duties and responsibilities invested in the authority by the provisions of this article and otherwise by law.
(v) To assume the responsibility for operation and management of regional jail facilities under the jurisdiction of the state regional jail and correctional facility authority. The authority shall provide for the transportation of inmates between the regional jails and local holding facilities for court appearances.
(w) To exercise all power and authority provided in this article necessary and convenient to plan, finance, construct, renovate, maintain and operate or oversee the operation of regional jails and correctional facilities.
(x) To exercise all power and authority provided in this article necessary and convenient to plan, finance, construct, renovate, repair and replace juvenile detention facilities and juvenile correctional facilities.
(y) To cooperate with the commission for distribution of surplus foods and to authorize the executive director to exercise all power and authority provided in this section necessary to implement the pilot program for delivery of leftover prepared foods at the regional jail located in Marshall County, pursuant to section seventeen, article two, chapter eighteen of this code.
When the cost under any contract or agreement entered into by the authority other than compensation for personal services involves an expenditure of more than two thousand dollars, the authority shall make a written contract with the lowest responsible bidder after public notice published as a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, the publication area for such publication to be the county or counties wherein the work is to be performed or which is affected by the contract, which notice shall state the general character of the work and general character of the materials to be furnished, the place where plans and specifications therefor may be examined and the time and place of receiving bids, but a contract for lease of a correctional facility or regional or county jail project constructed and owned by the authority is not subject to the foregoing requirements and the authority may enter into such contract for lease pursuant to negotiation upon such terms and conditions and for such period as it finds to be reasonable and proper under the circumstances and in the best interests of proper operation or efficient acquisition or construction of such projects. The authority may reject any and all bids. A bond with good and sufficient surety, approved by the authority, shall be required of all contractors in an amount equal to at least fifty percent of the contract price, conditioned upon faithful performance of the contract.
Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, the authority shall prohibit the use or possession of tobacco products by inmates held in facilities operated solely by the authority. The authority may establish smoking cessation programs to facilitate the prohibition set forth in this section.
(b) The reduction of sentence or good time is to be deducted from the fixed term of determinate sentences. An inmate under two or more consecutive sentences is allowed good time as if the several sentences, when the maximum terms thereof are added together, were all one sentence.
(c) Every inmate sentenced to a regional jail for a term of confinement exceeding six months who, in the judgment of the administrator of the regional jail facility, faithfully complies with all rules of the regional jail during his or her term of confinement is entitled to a deduction of five days from each month of his or her sentence. No inmate may be granted any good time under the provisions of this section for time spent on bond or for time served on parole or in any other status in which he or she is not physically incarcerated.
(d) Each inmate sentenced to a term of confinement in a regional jail facility who participates in a general equivalency diploma program is to be granted three days of good time for the completion of each educational literacy level, as demonstrated by achieving a passing score on standardized tests required by the Department of Education, and ten days of good time for completion of the requirements for a general equivalency diploma or high school diploma.
(e) Each inmate sentenced to a term of confinement in a regional jail in excess of six months shall be granted one day of good time for successful completion of each of the following rehabilitation programs: Domestic violence, parenting, substance abuse, life skills, and anger management or any special rehabilitation or educational program designated by the executive director. A maximum of five days good time shall be granted for successful completion of five programs.
(f) The administrator of a regional jail facility may, with the approval of the Governor, allow extra good time for inmates who perform exceptional work or service.
(g) The Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority shall promulgate disciplinary rules for the regional jail facilities. The rules are to describe prohibited acts, procedures for charging individual inmates for violations of the rules and for determining the guilt or innocence of inmates charged with the violations, and sanctions that may be imposed for the violations. For each violation by an inmate, any part or all of the good time that has been granted to the inmate may be forfeited and revoked by the administrator of the regional jail facility. The administrator, when appropriate and with approval of the executive director may restore any good time forfeited for a violation of the rules promulgated or adopted pursuant to this subsection.
(h) Each inmate sentenced to a term of confinement in a regional jail in excess of six months shall, within seventy-two hours of being received into a regional jail, be given a copy of the disciplinary rules, a statement setting forth the term or length of his or her sentence or sentences, and the time of his or her minimum discharge.
(1) All inmates housed in regional jails shall be notified in writing that their telephone conversations may be monitored, intercepted, recorded and disclosed;
(2) Only the executive director and his or her designee shall have access to recordings of inmates' telephone calls unless disclosed pursuant to subdivision (4) of this subsection;
(3) Notice shall be prominently placed on or immediately near every telephone that may be monitored;
(4) The contents of inmates' telephone calls may be disclosed to the appropriate law-enforcement agency only if the disclosure is:
(A) Necessary to safeguard the orderly operation of the regional jails;
(B) Necessary for the investigation of a crime;
(C) Necessary for the prevention of a crime;
(D) Necessary for the prosecution of a crime;
(E) Required by an order of a court of competent jurisdiction; or
(F) Necessary to protect persons from physical harm or the threat of physical harm;
(5) Recordings of telephone calls may be destroyed after twelve months unless further retention is required for disclosure pursuant to subdivision (4) of this subsection or, in the discretion of the executive secretary, for other good cause; and
(6) To safeguard the sanctity of the attorney-client privilege, an adequate number of telephone lines that are not monitored shall be made available for telephone calls between inmates and their attorneys. Such calls shall not be monitored, intercepted, recorded or disclosed in any matter.
(b) As used in this section, a "reasonable charge" may not exceed the sum of $5 for any billable service. Inmates shall be notified of the fee schedule, billable services and exempt services. Services initiated by the inmate shall be assessed a fee, except that no charge may be assessed for:
(1) A specific health care service required under the law of this state;
(2) An emergency service following a traumatic injury other than a self-induced injury, or necessary to prevent death or severe or permanent disability;
(3) Diagnosis and treatment of communicable diseases;
(4) Treatment of diagnosed severe mental illness;
(5) Treatment of specific chronic conditions identified by the executive director;
(6) Staff-initiated care, including follow-up and referral visits;
(7) Preventative services that the executive director determines are to be provided or made available to all inmates, including services related to disease prevention and promotion of proper health habits; or
(8) Other services as may be exempted by the rule of the authority.
No inmate may be denied any necessary billable medical service because of the inability to pay the charge.
(c) Each inmate shall be afforded an opportunity at least quarterly to review all deposits into, withdrawals from and balance remaining in the inmate's trustee account during the preceding three months.
(d) The executive director shall promulgate interpretive rules implementing this section pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code prior to making any assessment under this section. The rules may establish the fee schedule and list of billable services and further define services to be exempted.
Acts, 2001 Reg. Sess., Ch. 67.
Acts, 2001 Reg. Sess., Ch. 67.
(b) Members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed by the regional jail and correctional facility authority for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. The regional jail and correctional facility authority shall provide the commission with secretarial and other necessary services.
(c) A vacancy among the appointed members of the commission shall be filled, within thirty days, in the same manner as the original appointment. A quorum consists of four of the seven voting members.
(b) Members of the commission shall serve without compensation, but may be reimbursed by the division of juvenile services for reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. The division of juvenile services shall provide the commission with secretarial and other necessary services.
(c) A vacancy among the appointed members of the commission shall be filled, within thirty days, in the same manner as the original appointment. A quorum consists of four of the seven voting members.
(1) Prescribe standards for the maintenance and operation of county and regional jails. The standards shall include, but not be limited to, requirements assuring adequate space, lighting and ventilation; fire protection equipment and procedures; provision of specific personal hygiene articles; bedding, furnishings and clothing; food services; appropriate staffing and training; sanitation, safety and hygiene; isolation and suicide prevention; appropriate medical, dental and other health services; indoor and outdoor exercise; appropriate vocational and educational opportunities; classification; inmate rules and discipline; inmate money and property; religious services; inmate work programs; library services; visitation, mail and telephone privileges; and other standards necessary to assure proper operation: Provided, That the standards developed for the construction, operation and maintenance of jails apply only to jail facilities completed after April 5, 1988, and that the standards serve only as guidelines for any jail facility in operation prior to that date: Provided, however, That the commission shall establish standards and procedures permitting and implementing in those facilities the double bunking of inmates in all appropriate cases to the extent that this practice does not violate federal law;
(2) Propose legislative rules for promulgation pursuant to the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code that are necessary to implement the provisions of this article relating to jail facilities, including, without limitation, minimum jail and work farm standards which shall be proposed for promulgation on or before July 1, 1999: Provided, That rules filed by the jail and correctional facilities standards commission and authorized by the Legislature to be promulgated before the amendment to this section enacted in the regular session of the Legislature in the year 1998 remain in force except that such previously promulgated rules no longer apply to: (i) Correctional facilities; and (ii) jail facilities that were originally constructed for use as a jail which were completed and placed in operation before April 5, 1998: Provided, however, That such previously promulgated rules shall serve as guidelines for those facilities that fall within the specifications of (ii) herein;
(3) Develop a process for reviewing and updating the jail and work farm standards pursuant to the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code as necessary to assure that they conform to current law; and
(4) Report periodically to the regional jail and correctional facility authority and the appropriate county and municipal authorities to advise, recommend, and direct actions to be taken by the authority, the county or the municipality to implement proper minimum jail and work farm standards.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, any county commission providing and maintaining a jail on the effective date of this article may not be required to provide and maintain a jail after a regional jail becomes available pursuant to the provisions of article twenty, chapter thirty-one of this code, unless the county commission determines that a facility is necessary: Provided, That the county commission may provide and maintain a facility which complies with the standards set forth for holding facilities in legislative rules promulgated by the jail facilities standards commission or its predecessor, the jail and correctional facilities standards commission.
(1) Develop standards for the structure and physical plant, maintenance and operation of juvenile detention and correctional facilities. These standards shall include, but not be limited to, requirements assuring adequate space, lighting and ventilation; fire protection equipment and procedures; provision of specific personal hygiene articles; bedding, furnishings and clothing; food services; appropriate staffing and training; sanitation, safety and hygiene; isolation and suicide prevention; appropriate medical, dental, behavioral and other health services; indoor and outdoor exercise; appropriate vocational and educational opportunities; rules and discipline; religious services; vocational programs; library services; visitation, mail and telephone privileges; and other standards necessary to assure proper operation.
(2) Propose legislative rules for promulgation pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, including, without limitation, the minimum standards for juvenile detention and correctional facilities as provided in subdivision (1) of this section not later than the first day of December, two thousand one.
(3) Develop a process for reviewing and updating these rules and standards as necessary to assure that they conform to current law.
(4) Report periodically to the authority to advise and recommend actions to be taken by the authority, if necessary, to implement proper standards in the state's juvenile detention and correctional facilities.
The commission is hereby directed to promulgate an emergency rule, pursuant to the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, relating to licensing and accreditation for juvenile detention facilities and juvenile correctional facilities: Provided, That such emergency rule shall make provision for grandfathering existing juvenile detention facilities and juvenile correctional facilities into the licensing and accreditation scheme.
(b) Revenues deposited into these funds shall be used to make payments of interest and shall be pledged as security for bonds, security interests or notes issued or lease-purchase obligations entered into with another state entity by the authority pursuant to this article.
(c) Whenever the authority determines that the balance in these funds is in excess of the immediate requirements of this article, it may request that the excess be invested until needed. In this case, the excess shall be invested in a manner consistent with the investment of temporary state funds. Interest earned on any money invested pursuant to this section shall be credited to these funds.
(d) If the authority determines that moneys held in these funds are in excess of the amount needed to carry out the purposes of this article, it shall take any action that is necessary to release the excess and transfer it to the General Revenue Fund of the State Treasury.
(e) These funds consist of the following:
(1) Amounts raised by the authority by the sale of bonds or other borrowing authorized by this article;
(2) Moneys collected and deposited in the State Treasury which are specifically designated by Acts of the Legislature for inclusion in these funds;
(3) Contributions, grants and gifts from any source, both public and private, which may be used by the authority for any project or projects;
(4) All sums paid by the counties pursuant to subsection (h) of this section; and
(5) All interest earned on investments made by the state from moneys deposited in these funds.
(f) The amounts deposited in these funds shall be accounted for and expended in the following manner:
(1) Amounts raised by the sale of bonds or other borrowing authorized by this article shall be deposited in a separate account within these funds and expended for the purpose of construction, renovation and repair of correctional facilities, regional jails and juvenile detention and correctional facilities for which need has been determined by the authority;
(2) Amounts deposited from all other sources shall be pledged first to the debt service on any bonded indebtedness, including lease-purchase obligations entered into by the authority with another state entity or other obligation incurred by borrowing of the authority;
(3) After any requirements of debt service have been satisfied, the authority shall requisition from these funds the amounts that are necessary to provide for payment of the administrative expenses of this article;
(4) The authority shall requisition from these funds, after any requirements of debt service have been satisfied, the amounts that are necessary for the maintenance and operation of regional jails that are constructed pursuant to the provisions of this article and shall expend those amounts for that purpose. These funds shall make an accounting of all amounts received from each county by virtue of any filing fees, court costs or fines required by law to be deposited in these funds and amounts from the jail improvement funds of the various counties. After the expenses of administration have been deducted, the amounts expended in the respective regions from those sources shall be in proportion to the percentage the amount contributed to these funds by the counties in each region bears to the total amount received by these funds from those sources;
(5) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article, sums paid into these funds by each county pursuant to subsection (h) of this section for each inmate shall be placed in a separate account and shall be requisitioned from these funds to pay for costs incurred at the regional jail facility at which each inmate was incarcerated; and
(6) Any amounts deposited in these funds from other sources permitted by this article shall be expended in the respective regions based on particular needs to be determined by the authority.
(g) (1) After a regional jail facility becomes available pursuant to this article for the incarceration of inmates, each county within the region shall incarcerate all persons whom the county would have incarcerated in any jail prior to the availability of the regional jail facility in the regional jail facility except those whose incarceration in a local jail facility used as a local holding facility is specified as appropriate under the standards and procedures developed pursuant to section nine of this article and who the sheriff or the circuit court elects to incarcerate therein.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (1) of this subsection, circuit and magistrate courts are authorized to:
(A) Detain persons who have been arrested or charged with a crime, in a county or municipal jail, specified as appropriate under the standards and procedures developed pursuant to section nine of this article, for a period not to exceed ninety-six hours; or
(B) Commit persons convicted of a crime in a county or municipal jail, specified as appropriate under the standards and procedures developed pursuant to section nine of this article, for a period not to exceed fourteen days.
(h) When inmates are placed in a regional jail facility pursuant to subsection (g) of this section, the county shall pay into the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority Fund a cost per day for each incarcerated inmate to be determined by the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority according to criteria and by procedures established by legislative rules proposed for promulgation pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code and as established in section ten-a of this article to cover the costs of operating the regional jail facilities of this state to maintain each inmate. The per diem costs for incarcerating inmates may not include the cost of construction, acquisition or renovation of the regional jail facilities: Provided, That each regional jail facility operating in this state shall keep a record of the date and time that an inmate is incarcerated and a county may not be charged for a second day of incarceration for an individual inmate until that inmate has remained incarcerated for more than twenty-four hours. After that, in cases of continuous incarceration, subsequent per diem charges shall be made upon a county only as subsequent intervals of twenty-four hours pass from the original time of incarceration.
(b)(1) The authority shall develop and approve a schedule of anticipated operational expenditures for each regional jail. The schedules shall include funds for personal services and fringe benefits for personnel necessary to the operation of the facilities, as well as allocations of funds for food, clothing, utilities, supplies, transportation and all other costs necessary to operate and maintain the facilities. The operational expenditure schedule shall include all costs, both direct and indirect, for operating and maintaining the regional jail. The authority shall develop and approve an operational expenditure schedule for each regional jail on an annual basis, consistent with the state fiscal year.
(2) If the actual operational costs exceed the approved schedule of operational expenditures by more than ten percent in a line item, the authority's executive director shall add a temporary surcharge to the cost per inmate day in an amount sufficient to cover the actual expenditures.
(c) The county is responsible for costs incurred by the authority for housing and maintaining inmates in its facilities who have not been committed to the custody of the commissioner of corrections.
(d) The county is responsible for the costs incurred by the authority for housing and maintaining inmates who, prior to sentencing, are awaiting transportation to a state correctional facility for a sixty-day evaluation period as provided in section seven, article twelve, chapter sixty-two of this code.
(e) The division of corrections is responsible for the costs incurred by the authority for housing and maintaining inmates who have been sentenced to the custody of the division of corrections beginning the calendar day following the day the commitment order was entered into the court record. The circuit clerk of the county from which the commitment order has been entered shall immediately transmit by facsimile machine an advance copy of the certified commitment order to the division of corrections and to the regional jail in which the inmate is confined.
(f) The division of corrections is responsible for the costs incurred by the authority for housing and maintaining inmates who have been held on a parole violation warrant.
(g) The division of corrections is responsible for the costs incurred by the authority for housing and maintaining inmates who have been returned to a regional jail under court order, except that the county from which the inmate was charged is responsible for the per diem costs in the event that a court of competent jurisdiction sets aside or vacates the order of commitment to the division of corrections, from the date of the order or the return of the inmate to a regional jail, whichever is later.
(h) The costs incurred by the authority for housing and maintaining inmates who are being held as fugitives from justice from another jurisdiction shall be billed to the fugitive's demanding jurisdiction, except the costs incurred by the authority for housing and maintaining any person who is arrested and confined in one of the authority's facilities on the basis of the commission of a new crime shall be billed to the arresting county until the pending West Virginia charges have been properly resolved.
(i) Any other entity or jurisdiction, unless otherwise stipulated in this section, is responsible for any and all costs associated with housing its inmates in a facility operated by the authority.
(b) Revenues deposited into this Fund shall be composed of fees collected by magistrate courts pursuant to subsection (g), section one and subdivision (3), subsection (a), section two, article three, chapter fifty of this code and by circuit courts pursuant to section eleven, article one, chapter fifty-nine of this code.
(c) Revenues deposited into this Fund shall be used to reimburse those counties and municipalities participating in the regional jail system for the cost of incarceration.
(d) The State Treasurer shall, in cooperation with the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority, administer the Fund. The State Treasurer shall determine the amount of funds available for reimbursement and, upon receiving a report from the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority which presents the total number of inmate days in the fiscal year immediately concluded, the State Treasurer shall calculate the reimbursement to each participant based upon a pro rata share formula.
(e) A participant's share shall be comparable with its total of inmate days, which shall consist of the number of inmates it contributed to the regional jail system and the number of days those inmates remained incarcerated.
(f) Within ninety days of the first day of July, two thousand six, and annually thereafter, each participant shall receive its reimbursement from this Fund.
(1) Pledging all or part of the revenues of the authority to secure the payment of the notes, security interests or bonds or any issue thereof, subject to such agreements with noteholders, holders of security interests or bondholders as may then exist;
(2) Pledging all or any part of the assets of the authority to secure the payment of the notes, security interests or bonds or any issue thereof, subject to such agreements with noteholders, holders of security interests or bondholders as may then exist;
(3) The setting aside of reserves or sinking funds and the regulation and disposition thereof;
(4) Limitations on the purposes to which proceeds of sale of notes, security interests or bonds may be applied and pledging such proceeds to secure the payment on the notes, security interests or bonds or of any issue thereof;
(5) Limitations on the issuance of additional notes, security interests or bonds; the terms upon which additional notes, security interests or bonds may be issued and secured; and the refunding of outstanding or other notes, security interests or bonds;
(6) The procedure, if any, by which the terms of any contract with noteholders, holders of security interests or bondholders may be amended or abrogated, the amount of notes, security interests or bonds the holders of which must consent thereto, and the manner in which such consent may be given;
(7) Limitations on the amount of moneys to be expended by the authority for operating, administrative or other expenses of the authority;
(8) Vesting in a trustee or trustees the property, rights, powers and duties of a trustee appointed by the bondholders pursuant to section thirteen of this article, and limiting or abrogating the right of the bondholders to appoint a trustee under section thirteen of this article or limiting the rights, powers and duties of such trustees; and
(9) Any other matters, of like or different character, which in any way affect the security or protection of the notes, security interests or bonds.
If the notes, security interests or bonds are then redeemable, the price of such purchase shall not exceed the redemption price then applicable plus accrued interest to the next interest payment date thereon. If the notes, security interests or bonds are not then redeemable, the price of such purchase shall not exceed the redemption price applicable on the first date after such purchase upon which the notes, security interests or bonds become subject to redemption plus accrued interest to such date. Upon such purchase, such notes, security interests or bonds shall be canceled.
(a) Any such trustee, upon the written request of the holders of twenty-five percent in the principal amount of such notes, security interests or bonds of the authority then outstanding, shall, in his or its own name, do any one or more of the following:
(1) By civil action or other proceeding, enforce all rights of the noteholders, holders of security interests or bondholders, including the right to require the authority to perform its duties under this article;
(2) Bring a civil action upon such notes, security interests or bonds;
(3) By civil action or other proceeding, require the authority to account as if it were the trustee of an express trust for the holders of such notes, security interests or bonds;
(4) By civil action or other proceeding, enjoin any acts or things which may be unlawful or in violation of the rights of the holders of such notes, security interests or bonds; or
(5) Declare all such notes, security interests or bonds due and payable, and, if all defaults are made good, then annul such declaration and its consequences.
(b) In addition to the foregoing, such trustee shall have and possess all of the powers necessary or appropriate for the exercise of any functions specifically set forth herein or incident to the general representation of holders of notes, security interests or bonds of the authority in the enforcement and protection of their rights.
(c) Before declaring the principal of any notes, security interests or bonds due and payable, the trustee shall first give thirty days' notice in writing to the authority.
The exercise of the powers granted to the authority by this article will be in all respects for the benefit of the people of the state for the improvement of their safety, convenience and welfare. Since the operation and maintenance of correctional facilities and correctional facility industries projects will constitute the performance of essential governmental functions, the authority is not required to pay any taxes or assessments upon any such facilities or projects or upon any property acquired or used by the authority or upon the income therefrom. Such bonds, security interests and notes and all interest and income thereon are exempt from all taxation by this state, or any county, municipality, political subdivision or agency thereof, except inheritance taxes.
The state hereby pledges to and agrees with each federal agency that, if such agency constructs or loans or contributes any funds for the acquisition, construction, extension, improvement or enlargement of any correctional facility or correctional facility industries project, the state will not alter or limit the rights and powers of the authority in any manner which would be inconsistent with the due performance of any agreement between the authority and such federal agency and that the authority shall continue to have and exercise all powers granted for carrying out the purposes of this article for so long as necessary.
Acts, 2001 Reg. Sess., Ch. 67.
The committee shall further study and inform the state judiciary of the impact of sentencing on the composition of the prison population in proportion to the use of facilities. It shall recommend alternatives to long-term sentencing, and shall recommend measures to improve the quality of correctional staff and facilitate nonconfrontational contacts with inmates. The committee shall investigate means to structure inmates' time to ensure genuine and willing reaccommodations to societal norms; shall probe and coordinate all available means for funding state, regional and county correctional facilities; and shall contract with penal experts to study these issues in appropriate depth and perspective. Annually, to predict a prudent use of available funds, the committee shall study the profile of the inmate population with regard to its age and social background and needs.
The committee shall recommend to the Legislature the funding required to execute these functions. It shall meet regularly with the governing body of the authority established in this article to determine what may be required for full and timely compliance with all federal mandates and court-ordered changes in the correctional system and shall recommend funding for these changes.
(a) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, the authority, when hiring employees to complete the approved staffing plan of a regional jail shall do so 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 persons employed under this subsection shall be placed in the civil service system as covered employees. On and after the first day of January, two thousand eight, the executive director, of the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority; all employees within the office of the executive director and all regional jail administrators are exempt from coverage under the classified service.
(b) Persons 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 persons employed under this subsection shall also be covered by the policies and procedures of the West Virginia Public Employees Grievance Board created under section one, article three, chapter six-c of this code.
(c) Not withstanding the provisions of section ten, article six, chapter twenty-nine of this code, and any rule promulgated thereunder, on and after the first day of July, two thousand seven, any person applying for employment with the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority shall be hired based on passage of the correctional officer examination without regard to his or her position on the correctional officer register and shall be placed in the civil service system as covered employees: Provided, That no such person shall be hired before an otherwise qualified person on a preference register.
(b) Persons employed by the Regional Jail Authority as correctional officers are hereby authorized and empowered to make arrests of persons already charged with a violation of law who surrender themselves to such correctional officer, to arrest persons already in the custody of the Regional Jail Authority for violations of law occurring in the officer's presence, to detain persons for violations of state law committed on the property of any regional jail, and to conduct investigations, pursue and apprehend escapees from the custody of regional jail.
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed as to make a correctional officer employed by the Regional Jail Authority a law-enforcement officer as defined in section one, article twenty-nine, chapter thirty of this code.
(a) When issuing its bonds or other securities pursuant to the provisions of this article, the regional jail and correctional facility authority shall not employ or contract with any person or business entity acting as an investment adviser, underwriter, broker, dealer, government securities broker, government securities dealer, transfer agent, attorney, bond counsel, trustee or accountant, if the authority finds, on the record after notice and opportunity for hearing, that employing or contracting with such person or business entity would be contrary to the public interest, and that such person or business entity, or any person associated with such person or entity, whether prior to or subsequent to becoming so associated, has been convicted, within the five years preceding the date when such bonds or other securities are proposed to be issued, of a felony or misdemeanor under the laws of this state, a sister state or the United States of America, involving the sale or purchase of any government security, and if the authority further finds that the offense committed involves:
(1) The bribery of a public officer or employee or a member of the immediate family of a public officer or employee;
(2) Perjury;
(3) Larceny;
(4) Any substantially equivalent activity, however denominated by the laws of the relevant jurisdiction; or
(5) The conspiracy to commit any such offense.
(b) When issuing its bonds or other securities, the regional jail and correctional facility authority shall not employ or contract with any person or business entity acting as an investment adviser, underwriter, broker, dealer, government securities broker, government securities dealer, transfer agent, attorney, bond counsel, trustee or accountant, if the authority finds, on the record after notice and opportunity for hearing, that employing or contracting with such person or business entity would be contrary to the public interest, and that such person or business entity, or any person associated with such person or entity, whether prior to or subsequent to becoming so associated, has, within the five years preceding the date when such bonds or other securities are proposed to be issued:
(1) Directly or indirectly given, offered or promised money, services, or any other thing of value having a value of greater than one hundred dollars to a public officer or employee or a member of the immediate family of a public officer or employee when the money, service or other thing of value constituted a material part of the factual basis upon which the public officer or employee or a member of the immediate family of the public officer or employee was convicted of a felony or misdemeanor under the laws of this state, a sister state or the United States of America, involving the sale or purchase of any government security; or
(2) Willfully aided, abetted, counseled, commanded, induced, or procured a violation which constitutes the basis for a misdemeanor or felony conviction as described in subsection (a) of this section or subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(c) When issuing its bonds or other securities pursuant to the provisions of this article, the regional jail and correctional facility authority shall not employ or contract with any person or business entity acting as an investment adviser, underwriter, broker, dealer, government securities broker, government securities dealer, transfer agent, attorney, bond counsel, trustee or accountant, if the authority finds, on the record after notice and opportunity for hearing, that employing or contracting with such person or business entity would be contrary to the public interest, and that such person or business entity, or any person associated with such person or entity, whether prior to or subsequent to becoming so associated, has conducted or is conducting any business or transaction in which a financial interest is held by a public officer or employee, agent or attorney of the government of this state, or a member of the immediate family of such persons, if the public officer or employee, agent or attorney is in a positionwhereby he or she may personally and substantially influence the discretionary actions of the authority in connection with the issuance of bonds or other securities, through decision, approval, disapproval, recommendation, the rendering of advice, investigation, or otherwise: Provided, That the ethics commission shall, on or before the fifteenth day of December, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three, promulgate an emergency rule to establish guidelines and standards for the implementation of this subsection by the authority.
(d) For purposes of this section, the term "immediate family" means a spouse and any unemancipated child of a person.
(e) The regional jail and correctional facility authority may declare void and rescind any contract with any person or business entity acting as an investment adviser, underwriter, broker, dealer, government securities broker, government securities dealer, transfer agent, attorney, bond counsel, trustee or accountant, if the authority finds, on the record after notice and opportunity for hearing, that continuing to employ or contract with such person or business entity would be contrary to the public interest, and that such person or business entity, or any person associated with such person or entity, whether prior to or subsequent to becoming so associated, has engaged in conduct which would prohibit the authority, under the provisions of this section, from entering into a contract with such person or business entity if the contract was yet to be executed.
(1) The program may include, but is not limited to, granting furloughs or special escorts for specified inmates under the Authority's control and custody to attend funerals or make hospital visits to terminally ill family members.
(2) The Executive Director shall establish criteria to be used in determining which inmates are not likely to jeopardize public safety and should be granted a furlough or a special escort through this program.
(3) The Executive Director is authorized to establish any other guidelines he or she considers necessary to administer the program and to ensure public safety, including, but not limited to:
(A) Guidelines relating to eligibility for consideration, restrictions, conditions and procedures; and
(B) The family relationship an inmate must have with the deceased or terminally ill individual in order to qualify for consideration for a furlough.
(b)(1) The Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority, its members, Executive Director and employees of the Authority are immune from suit and liability, either personally or in their official capacity, for any claim for damage to or loss of property or personal injury or other civil liability caused or arising out of any actual or alleged act of an inmate while on a furlough granted under this section.
(2) The immunity from suit and liability provided in this subsection does not extend to liability for any damage, loss, injury or liability caused by the intentional or willful and wanton misconduct of any person identified in subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(b) Effective the first day of July, two thousand eight, the authority, or its contracted medical providers, may not pay an amount to an outside provider of a medical service for a person residing in a regional jail greater than the reimbursement rate applicable to service providers established by legislative rule of the Bureau for Medical Service within the Department of Health and Human Resources: Provided, That critical access hospitals shall be reimbursed at seventy-five percent of the billed charges. This limitation applies to all medical care services, goods, prescription drugs and medications provided to a person who is in the custody of a regional jail and is provided these services outside of a regional jail: Provided, however, That the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety and the Department of Health and Human Resources effectuate an interagency agreement for the electronic processing and payment of medical services.
(b) The administrator or designee of each regional jail facility shall receive and take charge of the money of all inmates in his or her regional jail and all money sent to the inmates or earned by the inmates as compensation for work performed under this section. The administrator or designee shall credit the money and earnings to the inmate entitled to it and shall keep an accurate account of all the money so received, which account is subject to examination by the executive director or designee. The administrator or designee shall deposit the moneys in one or more responsible banks in accounts to be designated inmate trustee account.
(c) For each inmate sentenced to the Division of Corrections participating in a work program authorized by this section, the administrator or designee of the regional jail facility shall keep in an account at least ten percent of all money earned during the inmate's incarceration and pay the money to the inmate at the time of the inmate's release. The administrator may authorize the inmate to withdraw money from his or her mandatory savings for the purpose of preparing the inmate for reentry into society.
(d) An inmate who works in work programs established under this section shall make reimbursement to the authority toward the cost of his or her incarceration to be credited to the agency billed for that incarceration: Provided, That prior to directing a qualified inmate to make reimbursement under this section, the executive director or designee shall consider the following:
(1) The inmate's ability to pay;
(2) The nature and extent of the inmate's responsibilities to his or her dependents, if any;
(3) The length of probable incarceration under the court's sentence; and
(4) The effect, if any, that reimbursement might have on the inmate's rehabilitation.
(e)(1) The administrator shall deduct from the earnings of each qualified inmate legitimate court-ordered financial obligations including, but not limited to, child support payments, liens and any other court-ordered financial obligation. The executive director shall develop a policy that outlines the formula for the distribution of the qualified inmate's income and the formula shall include a percentage deduction, not to exceed forty percent in the aggregate, for any court ordered victim restitution, court fees and child support obligations owed under a support order, including an administrative fee not to exceed one dollar, consistent with the provisions of subsection (c), section four hundred six, article fourteen, chapter forty-eight of this code, to support the authority's administration of this financial service.
(2) In the event that the qualified inmate's income is subject to garnishment for child support enforcement deductions, it shall be calculated on the net wages after taxes, legal financial obligations and garnishment: Provided, That nothing in this section limits the authority of the Bureau for Child Support Enforcement of the Department of Health and Human Resources from taking collection action against an inmate's moneys, assets or property.
(f) The administrator or designee of a regional jail facility, upon request of an inmate to release funds, on behalf of the family of the inmate, may authorize the release of funds up to one half of the money earned by the inmate participating in a work program as authorized by this section: Provided, That the court-ordered financial obligations provided in subsection (e) of this section and other fees owed by the inmate including, but not limited to, the costs of incarceration and any restitution for facility rule infractions, have been paid. The remainder of the money earned, after deducting amounts expended as authorized, shall be accumulated to the credit of the inmate and be paid to the inmate at times as may be prescribed by rules. The funds so accumulated on behalf of inmates shall be held by the administrator or designee of each institution under a bond approved by the Attorney General.
(g) The administrator or designee shall deliver to the inmate at the time he or she leaves the regional jail facility, or as soon as practicable after departure, moneys and earnings then credited to the inmate: Provided, That if an inmate is transferred to the physical custody of the Commissioner of the Division of Corrections, as defined in section two of this article, at the time he or she leaves the regional jail facility, the administrator or designee shall deliver moneys and earnings then credited to the inmate to the Commissioner of the Division of Corrections for administration in accordance with the provisions of section three-a, article one, chapter twenty-five of this code. In case of the death of the inmate before authorized release from the regional jail facility, the administrator or designee shall deliver the property to the inmate's lawful representative. In case a conservator is appointed for the inmate while he or she is domiciled at the regional jail facility, the administrator shall deliver to the conservator, upon proper demand, all moneys and personal property belonging to the inmate that are in the custody of the administrator.
(h) The executive director shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to administer and establish the work programs authorized by this section.
(i) Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, the county commission, its members and agents, the Executive Director of the West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority or designee its members or agents, the sheriff, his or her deputies, correctional officers and agents shall be immune from all liability of any kind except for accident, injury or death resulting directly from gross negligence or malfeasance.
(1) the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority's operating budget if the person is committed to and housed in a regional jail;
(2) to the county commission if the person is committed to and housed in a county jail; or
(3) to the municipality if the person is committed to and housed in a municipal jail. The fee should be paid prior to the offender being released.
(b) A refund of a fee collected under this section shall be made to a person who has paid the fee if the person is not convicted of the offense for which the person was booked and the person provides documentation from the court showing that all charges for which the person was booked were dismissed, accurate current name and address and a valid photographic identification. In the case of multiple offenses, if the person is convicted of any of the offenses the fee may not be refunded. If the person is convicted of a lesser included offense or a related offense, no refund may be made.
(b) The reduction of sentence or good time is to be deducted from the fixed term of determinate sentences. An inmate under two or more consecutive sentences is allowed good time as if the several sentences, when the maximum terms thereof are added together, were all one sentence.
(c) Every inmate sentenced to a regional jail for a term of confinement exceeding six months who, in the judgment of the administrator of the regional jail facility, faithfully complies with all rules of the regional jail during his or her term of confinement is entitled to a deduction of five days from each month of his or her sentence. No inmate may be granted any good time under the provisions of this section for time spent on bond or for time served on parole or in any other status in which he or she is not physically incarcerated.
(d) Each inmate sentenced to a term of confinement in a regional jail facility who participates in a general equivalency diploma program is to be granted three days of good time for the completion of each educational literacy level, as demonstrated by achieving a passing score on standardized tests required by the department of education, and ten days of good time for completion of the requirements for a general equivalency diploma or high school diploma.
(e) Each inmate sentenced to a term of confinement in a regional jail in excess of six months shall be granted five days of good time for successful completion for each of the following rehabilitation programs: Domestic violence, parenting, substance abuse, life skills, alcohol abuse, and anger management or any special rehabilitation or educational program designated by the executive director. A maximum of thirty days good time shall be granted for successful completion of all six programs. The fee for each class is $25 which is due upon enrollment. If an inmate is unable to pay a fee or fees in full at the time of enrollment, it may be paid by deductions from his or her inmate trust account, subject to the provisions of subsection (f), section thirty-one of this article. No more than one half of the amount in the inmate trust account during any one week period may be so deducted.
(f) The administrator of a regional jail facility may, with the approval of the Governor, allow extra good time for inmates who perform exceptional work or service.
(g) The Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority shall promulgate disciplinary rules for the regional jail facilities. The rules are to describe prohibited acts, procedures for charging individual inmates for violations of the rules and for determining the guilt or innocence of inmates charged with the violations, and sanctions that may be imposed for the violations. For each violation by an inmate, any part or all of the good time that has been granted to the inmate may be forfeited and revoked by the administrator of the regional jail facility. The administrator, when appropriate and with approval of the executive director may restore any good time forfeited for a violation of the rules promulgated or adopted pursuant to this subsection.
(h) Each inmate sentenced to a term of confinement in a regional jail in excess of six months shall, within seventy-two hours of being received into a regional jail, be given a copy of the disciplinary rules, a statement setting forth the term or length of his or her sentence or sentences, and the time of his or her minimum discharge. Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2012 1st Special Session
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