COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 552
(By Senators Love, Helmick, Schoonover, Hunter and Ross)
____________
[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported February 24, 1999.]
____________
A BILL to repeal sections three, four and five, article five,
chapter twenty-eight of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended; to repeal
section six, article thirteen, chapter sixty-two of said code;
to amend and reenact section eleven, article one, chapter
twenty-five of said code; and to further amend said article by
adding thereto four new sections, designated sections eleven- a, eleven-b, eleven-c and eleven-d, all relating to the
administration and personnel of the division of corrections;
requiring preemployment drug testing; allowing designated
employees to carry concealed deadly weapons; and allowing the
commissioner to designate employees as correctional peace
officers.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections three, four and five, article five, chapter
twenty-eight of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, be repealed; that section six,
article thirteen, chapter sixty-two of said code be repealed; that
section eleven, article one, chapter twenty-five of said code be
amended and reenacted; and that said article be further amended by
adding thereto four new sections, designated sections eleven-a,
eleven-b, eleven-c and eleven-d, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 1. ORGANIZATION AND INSTITUTIONS.
§25-1-11. Officers and employees of corrections institutions.
The commissioner of corrections shall appoint a
superintendent
or warden for each institution under the control of the
department
division of corrections.
The commissioner of corrections, or his
or her designee, has the authority to manage and administer the
finances, business, operations, security and personnel affairs of
correctional units under the jurisdiction of the division of
corrections. All persons employed at a state-operated correctional
institution or correctional unit are subject to the supervision and
approval of the chief executive officer and the authority of the
commissioner of corrections, or his or her designee.
The
superintendent or warden
or administrator of each
institution
shall have or correctional unit has the power to
appoint hire all assistants and employees required for the management of the institution in his
or her charge; but the number
of
such the assistants and employees, and their compensation, shall
first be approved by the state commissioner of corrections.
All
prospective correctional employees shall pass a preemployment drug
screening prior to being hired. It
shall be is the duty of the
commissioner of corrections to investigate any complaint made
against the
superintendent warden or administrator of any
institution, and also against any other officer or employee
thereof, if the same has not been investigated.
The commissioner shall fix the salaries or compensation of the
officers and employees of the institutions named in section three
of this article. The salaries or compensation of all officers and
employees of the several institutions under the control of the
commissioner of corrections shall be paid monthly, to include the
last day of each month. The superintendents and other officers and
employees of each of such institutions shall be paid salaries
commensurate with their duties and responsibilities, but no meals
or other emoluments of any kind shall be furnished, given or paid
to such superintendents, officers or employees as all or part of
their salary; however, such superintendents, officers and employees
may be provided meals, household facilities and supplies as may be
necessary for them to perform their duties, if such
superintendents, officers and employees agree to pay the reasonable cost thereof as established by the commissioner of corrections.
§25-1-11a. Duties of wardens and administrators; bond; residence.
The warden or administrator is the chief executive officer of
his or her assigned correctional institution and has the
responsibility for the overall management of all operations within
his or her assigned institution. He or she is in charge of its
internal police and management, and shall provide for feeding,
clothing, working and taking care of the inmates, subject to the
control of the state commissioner of corrections. The warden or
administrator shall promptly enforce all orders and rules made by
the commissioner. He or she shall protect and preserve the
property of the state and may for that purpose punish the inmates
in the manner authorized by the commissioner of corrections. The
warden or administrator shall have the custody and control of all
the real and personal property at the correctional institution,
subject to the orders of the commissioner of corrections. The
warden or administrator shall be bonded by the board of risk and
insurance management. The warden shall reside in the warden's
residence at the correctional institution or in another residence
approved by the commissioner of corrections.
§25-1-11b. Appointment of deputy warden; duties; bond.
The warden of a correctional institution, with the approval of
the commissioner, shall hire a deputy warden. The deputy warden's duties shall be fixed by the warden, as approved by the
commissioner. In the absence of the warden the deputy warden shall
perform all the duties required of the warden. The deputy warden
shall be bonded by the board of risk and insurance management.
§25-1-11c. Hiring of other assistants and employees; duties of
correctional employees; right to carry weapons; powers of
correctional peace officers.
(a) The warden or administrator of the correctional
institutions or units shall, in the manner provided in section
eleven of this article, hire all assistants and employees required
for the management of the correctional institutions or units,
including a sufficient number of correctional employees to preserve
order and enforce discipline among the inmates, to prevent escapes
and to remove all persons convicted and sentenced to the custody of
the division of corrections, from the place confined to a
correctional institution, all of whom shall be under the control of
the warden. The commissioner may issue a certificate authorizing
any correctional employee who has successfully completed the
division's training program for firearms certification, which shall
be the equivalent of that required of deputy sheriffs, to carry
firearms and concealed weapons while on duty. Any correctional
employee authorized by the commissioner has the right, without a
state license, to carry firearms and concealed weapons while on duty. Each correctional employee, authorized by the commissioner,
shall carry with him or her a certificate, authorizing him or her
to carry a firearm or concealed weapon when performing his or her
official duties as a correctional employee, bearing the official
signature of the commissioner and warden or administrator. The
right is extended to a correctional employee during the time the
employee travels from place to place within the state for the
purpose of removing prisoners from jails to a correctional
institution of the division of corrections, and during the time the
employee is pursuing and apprehending escaped inmates, and during
any other time the employee is performing official duties as a
correctional employee. No correctional employee shall have the
right to carry a firearm or concealed weapon for any other purpose
or during any other time, including when traveling to and from the
employee's residence and a correctional institution, unless the
employee has obtained a state license in the manner prescribed in
article seven, chapter sixty-one of this code.
(b) The commissioner of corrections may designate correctional
employees as correctional peace officers who have the following
powers:
(1) To enforce rules and laws necessary for the control and
management of correctional units and the maintenance of public
safety that is within the scope of responsibilities of the division of corrections;
(2) To detain persons for violations of state law committed on
the property of any state correctional institution;
(3) To conduct investigations, pursue and apprehend escapees
from the custody of the commissioner or any state correctional
institution; and
(4) To execute criminal process on persons in the custody of
the commissioner, or who surrender themselves at any state
correctional institution.
§25-1-11d. Compensation of employees approved by commissioner;
traveling and other expenses; payment of salaries.
The commissioner of corrections shall approve the salaries of
all employees of the division of corrections. Salaries shall be
commensurate with their duties and responsibilities, but no meals
or other emoluments of any kind shall be furnished, given or paid
to the employee as all or part of their salary. The employees may
be provided meals, household facilities and supplies as may be
necessary for them to perform their duties, if the employees agree
to pay the reasonable cost as established by the commissioner of
corrections. In the event of an emergency, such as a riot or other
disturbance, the commissioner may authorize meals be provided to
employees at no cost. Additionally, the commissioner may establish
a procedure to reimburse employees reasonable costs in the event the employee's personal property is stolen or damaged by an inmate.
All persons employed under this article are entitled to be
reimbursed for necessary traveling and other expenses. The
salaries, expenses and appropriations provided for the employees
under the commissioner's jurisdiction shall be paid in the same
manner as are those of other state employees and agencies and on a
payment schedule set forth by the state auditor.
__________
(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to update language
addressing the administration and personnel of the division of
corrections. It also requires preemployment drug testing,
authorizes the Commissioner to designate any employees to carry
concealed deadly weapons and allows the Commissioner to designate
employees as correctional peace officers.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from
the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would
be added.
§§25-1-11a, 11b, 11c and 11d are new; therefore, strike- throughs and underscoring have been omitted.)