Senate Bill No. 135
(By Senators Tomblin, Mr. President, and Boley,
By Request of the Executive)
____________
[Introduced January 20, 1995; referred to the Committee
on Government Organization and then to the Committee on
Finance.]
____________
A BILL to repeal sections four, six, ten, nineteen and twenty,
article one, chapter twenty-five of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended;
to amend and reenact sections one, three, five, eleven,
thirteen, fourteen, fifteen and sixteen of said article; to
amend and reenact sections two, three, five, seven and ten,
article twenty, chapter thirty-one of said code; and to
further amend said article by adding thereto a new section,
designated section five-b, all relating to transferring the
operation of regional jails from the regional jail and
correctional facility authority to the division of
corrections.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections four, six, ten, nineteen and twenty, article
one, chapter twenty-five of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be repealed; that
sections one, three, five, eleven, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen
and sixteen of said article be amended and reenacted; that
sections two, three, five, seven and ten, article twenty, chapter
thirty-one of said code be amended and reenacted; and that said
article be further amended by adding thereto a new section,
designated section five-b, all to read as follows:
CHAPTER 25. DIVISION OF CORRECTIONS.
ARTICLE 1. ORGANIZATION AND INSTITUTIONS.
§25-1-1. Office of commissioner of public institutions
abolished; division and commissioner of corrections
established; qualifications, oath and bond.
The office of state commissioner of public institutions is
hereby abolished, and, except as otherwise provided in this
chapter, its powers and authority are transferred to the
department divisionÆ of corrections which is hereby established.
Whenever in this code reference is made to the state commissioner
of public institutions, it shall be construed to mean the
department commissioner of the division of corrections who, for
purposes of convenience of reference, may be referred to as the
commissioner of corrections.
The executive and administrative head of the department
division of corrections shall be a commissioner who shall be
appointed, dismissed and paid in accordance with the provisions
of section two-a, article seven, chapter six of this code.
The commissioner shall take and subscribe to the oath
prescribed by the constitution for public officials and shall
execute an official bond in a penalty of fifteen thousand
dollars, conditioned as required by law. Premiums on such bond
shall be paid from appropriations made for the commissioner's
office. Such 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.
Nothing herein contained shall be construed so as to give
the commissioner of corrections any authority in the
administration, management or control of mental institutions,
heretofore transferred to the department of mental health by an
act of the Legislature, regular session, one thousand nine
hundred fifty-seven.
§25-1-3. Institutions managed by commissioner of corrections;
certain institutions transferred to department of
health and human resources and state board of
health; establishment of work and study release
units; civil service coverage.
The commissioner of corrections shall manage, direct,
control and govern the following penal or correctional
institutions and any others placed under his jurisdiction or
control:
West Virginia Penitentiary at Moundsville Mount Olive;
West Virginia State Prison for Women at Pence Springs;
West Virginia Medium Security Prison at Huttonsville;
West Virginia Industrial Home for Girls Youth at Salem;
West Virginia Industrial Home for Boys The Pruntytown
Correctional Center at Grafton;
Davis Center (formerly the West Virginia Forestry Camp for
Boys at Davis);
Leckie Center (formerly the West Virginia Forestry Camp for
Boys at Leckie); and
Anthony Center (formerly the Anthony Correctional Center);
The Denmar Correctional Center, formerly known as the Denmar
State Hospital facility; and
All regional jail facilities constructed by the West
Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority,
including the Northern Correctional Center at Moundsville.
Jurisdiction of and title to the West Virginia Children's
Home at Elkins are hereby transferred to the department of health
and human resources, which shall be the custodian of all deeds
and other muniments of title to such property and shall cause
such as are susceptible of recordation to be recorded in the
proper offices. Notwithstanding any provision of this code to
the contrary, the West Virginia Children's Home shall be managed
and controlled by a superintendent appointed by the commissioner secretary of the department of health and human resources.
The commissioner of corrections is hereby authorized to
establish work and study release units as extensions and
subsidiaries of those state institutions under his or her control
and authority. Such work and study release units may be
coeducational and shall be managed, directed and controlled as
provided for in this article.
The commissioner of corrections is hereby authorized to
serve as a member of the commission for distribution of surplus
foods and exercise all powers and authority otherwise granted to
him or her in this article to implement the pilot program for
delivery of leftover prepared foods at any institution under his
or her control and supervision, pursuant to section seventeen,
article two, chapter eighteen of this code.
Any person employed by the office of public institutions who
on the effective date of this article is a classified civil
service employee shall, within the limits contained in section
two, article six, chapter twenty-nine of this code, remain in the
civil service system as a covered employee.
§25-1-5. Rules.
The state commissioner of public institutions corrections
is authorized to make rules for the proper execution of his or
her duties and powers. He or she shall also have the power to adopt rules and regulations for the government of the
institutions named or referred to in section three of this
article that are under his or her jurisdiction and for the
administration of the financial and business affairs of the such
institutions, named or referred to in section four of this
article and shall therein prescribe, consistent with the
provisions of this article, the duties of the persons connected
with the management of such institutions. When any of the
correctional officers, guards attendants, or other employees in
the institutions mentioned in this section are uniformed, the
state commissioner of corrections public institutionsÆ shall
prescribe the design, or designs, of the uniforms, which designs
shall be dissimilar to the design of the uniform worn by the
members of the division department of public safety; and, when
the institution is located in, or in close proximity to, a
municipality, no such correctional officer, guard attendant or
other employee shall wear the cap or caps designed by the
commissioner of corrections as part of the uniform, when not
actually on duty connected with his or her employment, nor shall
such municipality adopt for its police officers or other
employees a uniform which is similar in design to the uniform
adopted by the commissioner.
Any person violating the provisions of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction, shall be
punished by a fine of not more than ten dollars, or by
imprisonment for ten days, or both.
§25-1-11. Officers and employees of corrections institutions.
The commissioner of corrections shall employ and appoint a
superintendent or warden for each institution under the control
of the division department of corrections, and the commissioner
of corrections, in furtherance of his or her responsibility to
operate any regional jail or other correctional facility, shall
have the same authority as that given to the executive director
of the West Virginia regional jail and correctional facility
authority in section four, article twenty, chapter thirty-one of
this code.
The superintendent or warden of each institution shall have
the power to appoint all assistants and employees required for
the management of the institution in his charge; but the number
of such assistants and employees, and their compensation, shall
first be approved by the state commissioner of corrections. It
shall be the duty of the commissioner of corrections to
investigate any complaint made against the superintendent or
warden of any institution, and also against any other officer or
employee thereof, if the same has not been investigated.
The commissioner of corrections shall fix the salaries or compensation of the officers and employees of the institutions
under his or her jurisdiction 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.
§25-1-13. Furlough programs.
The commissioner of corrections is hereby authorized to
establish a furlough program for inmates under his or her control
and custody. Such program may provide that selected inmates be
permitted to reside outside an institution operated by the
department division of corrections under legislative rules
promulgated by the commissioner of corrections pursuant to chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
§25-1-14. Electronic monitoring of inmates; special account
establis
hed.
The commissioner of corrections is authorized to use
electronic monitoring equipment to aid in the supervision of
inmates. Inmates subject to supervision by means of electronic
monitoring equipment shall be charged a reasonable fee, to be
established under a legislative rule promulgated by the
commissioner pursuant to chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, to
help defray the costs of the purchase and use of such equipment:
Provided, That an inmate's inability to pay a fee will not
preclude the inmate from being eligible for this program.
All moneys collected as such fees shall be deposited in a
special account which is hereby created in the state treasury.
Such account shall be designated as the "electronic monitoring
program account" and the funds deposited in such account shall be
used by the commissioner of corrections only for the operation of
the program.
"Electronic monitoring equipment" means an electronic device
or apparatus approved by the department division of corrections
which is limited in capability to recording or transmitting
information as to the furloughed inmate's presence or nonpresence in a designated area. Such device must be minimally intrusive.
The department division of corrections shall not approve any
monitoring device which is capable of recording or transmitting
(i) visual images, (ii) oral or wire communications or any
auditory sound, or (iii) information as to the furloughed
inmate's activities while he or she is within the designated
area.
§25-1-15. Diagnostic and classification divisions.
The commissioner of corrections may establish a diagnostic
and classification division within Huttonsville correctional
center, West Virginia penitentiary at Moundsville Mount Olive
and/or the Pruntytown correctional center. formerly known as the
West Virginia industrial home for boys at Grafton
Notwithstanding any provision of the code to the contrary,
all persons committed to the custody of the commissioner of the
department of corrections for presentence diagnosis and
classification and all persons sentenced to the West Virginia
penitentiary custody of the commissioner of corrections shall,
upon imposition of such commitment or sentence, undergo diagnosis
and classification in a diagnostic and classification division.
located at the Huttonsville correctional center, the West
Virginia penitentiary at Moundsville, or the Pruntytown
correctional center The diagnostic and classification divisions shall be maximum security facilities: Provided, That the
commissioner of the department of corrections shall be authorized
to provide, at his or herÆ option, classification and diagnostic
services for female offenders through contract with federal
correctional institutions and to provide diagnostic and
classification services for youthful offenders at a youth center
operated under the authority of the department division of
corrections: Provided, however, That nothing contained herein
shall operate to conflict with or interfere with predisposition
diagnostic procedures for juveniles contained in chapter
forty-nine of this code.
Nothing herein shall be construed to authorize the
establishment of a diagnostic and classification division upon
the grounds of the Weston state hospital. or in a regional jail
operated by the regional jail and prison authority
§25-1-16. Transfer of inmates of state institutions or
Æ
facilities.
The state commissioner of public institutions correctionsÆ
shall have authority to cause the transfer of any patient or
inmate from any state institution or facility under his or her
jurisdiction to any other state or federal institution or
facility which is better fitted for the care or treatment of such
patient or inmate. or for other good cause or reason
Whenever a convict an inmate in a state prison correctional
facility prison becomes mentally ill, the warden shall proceed in
accordance with section thirty-one, article five, chapter
twenty-eight of this code.
Whenever a convict an inmate in a state prison correctional
facility needs medical attention, other than including mental
care, not available at said prison correctional facility, the
warden or superintendent of said prison shall Æimmediately notify
the commissioner of public institutions, who correctional
facility, after proper investigation, shall cause the transfer of
said convict inmate to a hospital within the state of West
Virginia or other facility properly equipped to render the
medical attention necessary. Such a convict an inmate, while
receiving treatment in said hospital, shall be under guard at all
times and shall forthwith be returned to prison a correctional
facility upon his recovery.Å
CHAPTER 31. CORPORATIONS.
ARTICLE 20. WEST VIRGINIA REGIONAL JAIL AND CORRECTIONAL Æ
FACILITY AUTHORITY.
§31-20-2. Definitions.
Unless the context indicates clearly otherwise, as used in
this article:
(a) "Authority" or "West Virginia Regional Jail Authority" means the West Virginia regional jail and correctional facility
authority created by this article.
(b) "Board" means the governing body of the authority.
(c) "Bonds" means bonds of the authority issued under this
article.
(d) "Cost of construction or renovation of a local jail
facility or regional jail 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 such project, together with such other expenses as may be
necessary or incidental to the financing and the construction or
renovation of such facilities and the placing of same in
operation.
(e) "County" means any county of this state.
(f) "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.
(g) "Fund" means the regional jail and correctional facility
development fund provided in section ten of this article.
(h) (g) "Government" means state and federal government, and
any political subdivision, agency or instrumentality thereof,
corporate or otherwise.
(i) (h) "Inmate" means any person properly committed to a
local or regional jail facility or a correctional facility.
(i) "Jail development fund" means the fund described in
subsection (a) of section ten of this article.
(j) "Local jail facility" means any county facility for the
confinement, custody, supervision or control of persons convicted
of misdemeanors, awaiting trial or awaiting transportation to a
state correctional facility.
(k) "Municipality" means any city, town or village in this
state.
(l) "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.
(m) "Correctional facility" means any correctional facility,
penitentiary, detention center or other correctional institution
operated by the department division of corrections.
(n) "Regional jail facility" or "regional jail" means any
facility operated by the authority division of corrections and
used jointly by two or more counties for the confinement,
custody, supervision or control of persons convicted of misdemeanors or awaiting trial or awaiting transportation to a
state correctional facility, or otherwise serving sentences for
state law violations.
(o) "Regional jail commission" means the commission
established in section eight six of this article.
(p) "Regional jail operations fund" means the fund created
by subdivision (5), subsection (f), section ten of this article.
(p) (q) "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) (r) "Security interest" means an interest in the loan
portfolio of the authority which interest is secured by an
underlying loan or loans and is evidenced by a note issued by the
authority.
(r) (s) "Work farm" shall have the same meaning as that term
is used in section twelve, article eight, chapter seven of this
code authorizing work farms for individual counties.
§31-20-3. West Virginia regional jail and correctional facility
authority; composition; appointment; terms;
compensation and expenses.
There is hereby created the West Virginia regional jail and
correctional facility authority which shall be a body corporate and a government instrumentality. The authority shall have and
is hereby granted all of the powers and authority and shall
perform all of the functions and services heretofore vested in
and performed by the West Virginia regional jail and prison
authority. The West Virginia regional jail and prison authority
is hereby abolished. The terms of members currently serving on
the board of the West Virginia regional jail and prison authority
shall expire on the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine
hundred eighty-nine. Wherever in this chapter and elsewhere in
law reference is made to the West Virginia regional jail and
prison authority, such reference shall henceforth be construed
and understood to mean the West Virginia regional jail and
correctional facility authority.
The authority shall be governed by a board of seven members,
consisting of the commissioner of the department division of
corrections; the commissioner secretary of the department of
finance and administration or his other 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. 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 five 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 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 such bond shall be paid from funds
accruing to the authority. Such 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.
§31-20-5. Powers and duties of the authority; bidding
procedures.
The regional jail and correctional facility authority shall
complete a comprehensive study of all correctional facilities and
jail facilities in the state of West Virginia no later than the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred eighty-six. This
study shall include an assessment of the physical conditions of
confinement within the institutions and the relative need for the
institutions when considering other available institutions of
confinement located within the state.
After completing this study, the authority shall submit a
plan to the governor on the establishment of regional jails in
this state and the acquisition, construction or renovation of
facilities for correctional facilities. The authority shall
specify groups of counties within the state to be formed into
regions for the establishment of such regional jails. Within
each region a local jail commission shall be established and have
the powers and duties as set forth in section six of this
article.
The authority shall consider, but not be limited to, the following when creating the plan establishing regions:
(1) The relative physical condition of the correctional
facilities and jail facilities located within the state;
(2) The transportation costs associated with the
establishment of centralized jail services, including, but not
limited to, the costs of transporting persons incarcerated in
regional jails to court appearances, to interviews with their
attorneys, and to have visitation with their families and
friends, all in any county seat of a county served by the
regional facility: Provided, That consideration of such costs in
the creation of the plan shall not be construed to require the
transportation of inmates to interviews with their attorneys or
to have visitation with their families and friends when
visitation facilities and schedules are established in regional
jails;
(3) The availability of medical services and educational and
recreational opportunities;
(4) Information received from public hearings;
(5) The relative efficiency in the cost of jail services
caused by establishment of regional jail facilities;
(6) Available facilities which may be used as regional jails
or correctional facilities including, but not limited to,
existing county and state owned properties: Provided, That if the authority determines that an existing facility meets the
standards or could reasonably be made to meet the standards for
a regional jail or other correctional facility, the authority may
proceed to acquire such existing facility and compensate the
owner thereof in an amount not less than any local share expended
by the owner as matching moneys for the receipt of federal funds:
Provided, however, That if the authority determines that an
existing facility does not meet the standards or could not
reasonably be made to meet the standards for a regional jail or
other correctional facility, the authority shall provide the
owner with a written statement setting forth the reasons
supporting such determination;
(7) The cost of acquiring, constructing, renovating,
operating and maintaining local jail facilities for use as local
holding facilities in each county and regional jail facilities
for each county and the financing provided by this article;
(8) The leasing of any available portion of any regional
jail space and the leasing of available facilities of any
regional jail to the West Virginia department division of
corrections for the keeping and detaining of prisoners sentenced
to serve terms of incarceration under the custody of the West
Virginia department division of corrections for nonviolent crimes
and to contract with the department division of corrections for the providing of food, clothing, shelter and any and all
incidental costs in the care, control and maintenance of such
prisoners: Provided, That such leasing does not restrict space
or facilities needed for the detention of county prisoners;
(9) The advisability and cost effectiveness of acquiring,
constructing, renovating, operating and maintaining work farms
serving one or more counties or regions; and
(10) The proximity of possible sites for the regional jail
facilities to residential areas, schools, churches and other
public buildings and facilities.
Public hearings pursuant to this section shall be held by
the authority in convenient locations throughout the state. No
less than ten public hearings shall be held for public comment on
the establishment of regional jails. The authority shall cause
to be published at least two weeks in advance of a hearing a
Class II-0 legal advertisement, as provided in section two,
article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, setting forth the
reason for the hearing and the time, place and date thereof. The
publication area shall be each county which may be included in a
region for the purposes of a regional jail with the county in
which the public hearing is held.
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 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 correctional 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 such authority or one or more members appointed by it to
conduct any hearing.
(f) To apply to the circuit court having venue of such
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 bylaws 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
such 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 such manner and upon such terms as 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 such renewal notes shall be
issued to mature more than ten years from date of issuance of the notes renewed and no such 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. Such 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 promulgate rules, in accordance with the provisions
of 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) (v) To exercise all power and authority provided in this
article necessary and convenient to plan, finance, construct,
renovate, and maintain and operate or oversee the operation of
regional jails and correctional facilities.
(x) (w) 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.
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the regional jail and correctional facility authority shall no later
than the first day of November, one thousand nine hundred eighty-
nine, submit a plan to the joint committee on government and
finance of the Legislature detailing the means by which the
authority will comply with the mandates of the supreme court of
appeals as to the structural and internal conditions and programs
of the correctional facilities in this state. In preparing such
plan, the authority is to allow for and consider any input from
the public.
§31-20-5b. Regional jail facilities operation, management and
oversight.
Beginning on the first day of July, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-five, the department of military affairs and
public safety, division of corrections, through the commissioner
of corrections and his or her appointees, designees, and
employees, shall be charged with the operation, management, and
oversight of all regional jail facilities existing on that date
and each regional jail facility constructed and completed by the
regional jail and correctional facility authority thereafter.
§31-20-7. General powers of the commission.
Each regional jail commission shall prepare and submit such
plans, suggestions and recommendations to the regional jail and
correctional facility authority which will define the needs for its region as to the construction, and renovation and general
operation of a regional jail facility. The report may include,
but is not limited to, recommendations for conforming its jail
facility to the jail standards promulgated by the jail and
correctional facility standards commission, upgrading the
recreational and educational opportunities for inmates confined
in the region's facility, and development of programs
incooperation with community medical and mental health centers in
the region to provide adequate medical and drug and alcohol
addiction services within the facility. and information
concerning the costs incurred in the operation of the facility
Each regional jail commission may also prepare and submit
such plans, suggestions and recommendations to the commissioner
of corrections which will define the needs for its region as to
Æthe operation of a regional jail facility.
§31-20-10. Regional jail and correctional facility development
fund.
(a) The regional jail and correctional facility development
fund, which shall be called the "jail development fund," is
hereby created and shall be a special account in the state
treasury. The jail development fund shall operate as a revolving
fund whereby all appropriations and payments thereto may be
applied and reapplied by the authority for the purposes of this article. Separate accounts may be established within the special
account for the purpose of identification of various revenue
resources and payment of specific obligations.
(b) Revenues deposited into the jail development fund 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
the jail development fund is in excess of the immediate
requirements of this article, it may request that such excess be
invested until needed. In such case such excess shall be
invested in a manner consistent with the investment of the
temporary state funds. Interest earned on any money invested
pursuant to this section shall be credited to the fund.
(d) If the authority determines that funds held in the jail
development fund are in excess of the amount needed to carry out
the purposes of this article, it shall take such action as is
necessary to release such excess and transfer it to the general
fund of the state treasury regional jail operations fund provided
for in subsection (f) of this section.
(e) The jail development fund shall 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 into the fund;
(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) (4) All interest earned on investments made by the state
from moneys deposited in this fund.
(f) The amounts deposited in the jail development fund 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 the fund and expended for the purpose of
construction and renovation of correctional facilities and
regional jails 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 the fund such
amounts as are necessary to provide for payment of the
administrative expenses of this article;
(4) The authority shall requisition from the fund after any
requirements of debt service have been satisfied such amounts as
are necessary for the maintenance and operation of the
correctional facilities or regional jails or both that are
constructed pursuant to the plan required by this article and
shall expend such amounts for such purpose. The fund 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 the jail development fund 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 such sources shall be in proportion to
the percentage the amount contributed to the jail development
fund by the counties in each region bears to the total amount
received by the jail development fund from such sources;
(5) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article,
sums paid into the fund by each county pursuant to subsection (h) of this section for each inmate shall be placed in a separate
account fund, which fund shall be called the "regional jail
operations fund" and which fund shall operate as a revolving fund
whereby all appropriations and payments thereto may be applied
and reapplied by the division of corrections for the purpose of
operating the regional jails, and the commissioner of corrections
shall be requisitioned requisition from the regional jail
operations fund those sums necessary to pay for the costs
specified in that subsection (h) of this section incurred at the
regional jail facility at which each such inmate was
incarcerated; and
(6) Any amounts deposited in the jail development fund 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) 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.
(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 development
operations fund a cost per day for each inmate so incarcerated to
be determined by the regional jail and correctional facility
authority according to criteria and by procedures established by
regulations pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of
this code to cover the costs of the division of corrections in
operating the regional jail facilities of this state to maintain
each such inmate which costs shall not include the cost of
construction, acquisition or renovation of said regional jail
facilities: Provided, That each regional jail facility operating
in this state shall keep a record of the date and time of the
incarceration of an inmate, 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.
Thereafter, 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.
(i) On and after the first day of November, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three, the amounts as and when specified in
section thirty-a, article fifteen, chapter eleven of this code
shall be paid into the regional jail and correctional facility
development fund. All of the specified amounts deposited in this
fund shall be pledged to the repayment of the principal and
interest on any revenue bonds or refunding bonds authorized by
article twenty, chapter thirty-one of this code, or any lease-
purchase obligations entered into with another state entity. On
or prior to the first day of January of each year, commencing the
first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four, the
authority shall certify to the tax commissioner of the state the
principal and interest requirements for the following fiscal year
on any revenue bonds or refunding bonds issued or to be issued or
lease-purchase obligations entered into or to be entered into
with another state entity, on or after the first day of January,
one thousand nine hundred ninety-four, and for which moneys
contained within the regional jail and correctional facility
development fund have been, or will be, pledged for repayment
pursuant to this section: Provided, That before the first day of
November, one thousand nine hundred ninety-three, the authority
shall also certify to the state tax commissioner the principal
and interest requirements or lease-purchase obligations entered
into by the authority with another state entity for the fiscal year ending on the thirtieth day of June, one thousand nine
hundred ninety-four, on any revenue bonds or refunding bonds
issued or lease-purchase obligations entered into by the
authority with another state entity, by the authority on or after
the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four.
The maximum aggregate face value of bonds that may be issued by
the authority, for which moneys in the regional jail and
correctional facility development fund are to be pledged, is
sixty-one million dollars.
(j) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that the
supreme court of appeals of West Virginia has held that the
revenue bonds authorized under the school building authority act,
as enacted in article nine-d, chapter eighteen of this code prior
to the twentieth day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-
three, constituted an indebtedness of the state in violation of
section four, article ten of the constitution of West Virginia.
The Legislature hereby further finds and declares that this
section, as well as section thirty, article fifteen, chapter
eleven of this code have been reenacted during the second
extraordinary session of the West Virginia Legislature in the
year one thousand nine hundred ninety-three, and that section
thirty-a of said article has been enacted in an attempt to comply
with the holding of the supreme court of appeals of West Virginia. The Legislature hereby further finds and declares that
the continued construction and improvement of jail and prison
facilities and the dedication of the consumers sales tax pursuant
to said section to finance such construction and improvement are
for the use and benefit of the state, its counties, its
municipalities and its other political subdivisions, and such
construction and improvement serves the vital public purpose of
assuring the physical safety of each citizen and the public at
large. The Legislature hereby further finds and declares that it
intends, through the reenactment of this section and section
thirty, article fifteen, chapter eleven of this code and the
enactment of section thirty-a of said article to dedicate a
source of state revenue to a special fund for the purpose of
paying a portion of the debt service on bonds and refunding bonds
issued and lease-purchase obligations entered into by the
authority with another state entity, subsequent to the first day
of January, one thousand nine hundred ninety-four, the proceeds
of which will be utilized for the construction and improvement of
jail and prison facilities. The Legislature hereby further finds
and declares that it intends, through the reenactment of this
section and section thirty, article fifteen, chapter eleven of
this code, and the enactment of section thirty-a of said article
to comply with the provisions of section four, article ten; section six, article ten; section six-a, article ten; and section
one, article twelve of the constitution of West Virginia.
NOTE: The purpose of the bill is to transfer the
responsibility for operation of the regional jails from the
regional jail authority to the division of corrections and to
make the counties' payments for such operations available to the
division of corrections. Other technical corrections are made
including changing references to the commissioner of public
institutions to the commissioner of corrections and striking
other obsolete provisions.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.
§31-20-5b is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.