H. B. 2157
(By Delegate Gillespie)
[Introduced February 19, 1997; referred to the
Committee the Judiciary.]
A BILL to amend and reenact section two, article five, chapter
twenty-eight of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to requiring
able-bodied inmates at state penal institutions to work
toward their upkeep and to offset the cost of their
incarceration.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section two, article five, chapter twenty-eight of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. THE PENITENTIARY.
§28-5-2. Control of penitentiary by commissioner of public
institutions; program for mandatory work by prisoners
to offset cost of incarceration.
The commissioner of public institutions shall have general
control of the penitentiary, and shall direct all needed
improvements and repairs and all manufacturing operations carried
on therein, and shall make such rules and regulations as the
commissioner may deem best as to the treatment of the convicts,
their discipline, punishment, diet, clothing, social intercourse,
the kind and amount of labor required each day, the trades and
mechanic arts to be taught, the manner and duration of solitary
confinement and other punishments, and the conditions when and on
which persons may visit the interior of the building: Provided,
That, the commissioner shall develop and implement a program that
requires all able-bodied prisoners to perform useful labor toward
the maintenance of the correctional institution or that involves
other work-related activities which tend to offset the costs of
incarceration at the correctional institution. The commissioner's
program shall be administered by the several wardens of the
various penal institutions within the state. The commissioner
shall develop and implement the program by no later than the
first day of July, one thousand nine hundred ninety-seven. The
program shall include, but not be limited to, provisions
requiring prisoners to: (a) Perform mowing, cutting and clearing of brush along highways or around the correctional institution;
(b) clear trash along highways or around the correctional
institution; (c) sweep highways and streets; (d) repair potholes;
(e) paint existing structures interiorly or exteriorly; and (f)
perform any other work that a prisoner is capable of performing:
Provided, however, That the division of corrections and the
division of highways, under the authority of the department of
transportation, shall cooperate in planning and implementing work
schedules for prisoners under this section.
Printed rules prescribed by the commissioner for the
preservation of the property belonging to the state and used at
the penitentiary, and for the government and punishment of
convicts shall be kept posted in at least six conspicuous places
inside the prison.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require the
commissioner of corrections to develop and implement a program
requiring able-bodied inmates to work toward their upkeep. The
bill requires the various wardens to administer the mandatory
work program while prescribing a list of jobs inmates should
perform which is not all inclusive. The bill also requires the
division of corrections and the division of highways to cooperate
in making work schedules for prisoners.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.