H. B. 4603
(By Delegates Martin and Paxton)
[Introduced February 22, 2010
; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §25-1-23, relating to
creating a pilot program for incarceration and treating low
risk inmates who are disabled or impaired as a result of
medical, physical or mental disease or condition.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §25-1-23, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 1. ORGANIZATION, INSTITUTIONS AND CORRECTIONS MANAGEMENT.
§25-1-23. Pilot program for incarceration of low risk inmates.
(a) The Legislature finds that a program that would allow low
risk inmates who are disabled or impaired as a result of a medical,
physical or mental diseases or condition to be incarcerated in a
centralized location using existing facilities could lessen the cost of care for these inmates, while maintaining public safety.
(b) The Division of Corrections shall, in consultation with
the Department of Health and Human Resources, develop and implement
a pilot program for the incarceration and treatment of low risk
inmates who are disabled or impaired as a result of a medical,
physical or mental disease or condition, which shall begin no later
than July 1, 2010. The pilot program shall expire on June 30,
2015.
(c) The program shall be located at the Lakin Correctional
Center, where the state hospital and correctional facilities can be
used to house these low risk prisoners who require higher levels of
medical care and treatment for their conditions.
(d) The Division of Corrections and the Department of Health
and Human Resources shall promulgate joint rules to implement the
provisions of this section in accordance with chapter twenty-nine-a
of this code, which shall include, but not be limited to, the
criteria for the threshold of impairment of a prisoner for
admission into this program.
(e) No later than July 1, 2011, and annually thereafter during
the operation of the program, the Division of Corrections shall
submit a report to the Legislative Oversight Committee on Regional
Jail and Correctional Facility Authority, as established in section
twenty-six, article twenty, chapter thirty-one of this code.
(f) The Division of Corrections and the Department of Health
and Human Resources may also seek to utilize the facilities at Pleasant Valley Hospital and the nursing program of the Mid Ohio
Valley Community College in administration of this program.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to provide for a pilot
program for the housing and treatment of low risk inmates who are
disabled or impaired as a result of a medical, physical or mental
disease or condition to lessen the cost of care for the prisoners
at little to no risk to the public.
§25-1-23 is new; therefore, it has been completely
underscored.