Senate Bill No. 544
(By Senator Manchin)
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[Introduced March 22, 1993; referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend article five, chapter twenty-eight of the code
of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
nine, relating to contributions by inmates under the custody
and control of the division of corrections toward the cost
of incarceration.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article five, chapter twenty-eight of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section nine,
to read as follows:
ARTICLE 5. THE PENITENTIARY.
§28-5-9. Contributions by inmates in the custody of the division
of correction.
(a) Any person who is an inmate under the supervision of the
division of corrections who receives pay for work performed other
than institutional job assignments, shall contribute not morethan thirty percent of their monthly wages, not to exceed five
dollars per day toward the cost of his or her incarceration
beginning thirty days from the date he or she is given wages for
work performed. These contributions shall be collected by the
fiscal officer of each institution pursuant to rules adopted by
the division. By prior agreement between an employer and an
inmate or work release participant, an employer may deduct the
amount provided for in this section from the monthly amounts
earned by prisoners, parolees, work release participants and
remit that amount to the division pursuant to rules adopted by
the division. All funds collected by the division shall be
deposited in the general fund of that institution.
(b) The warden or administrator of each institution under
the authority of the division of correction may exempt a person
from the requirements of subsection (a) on the grounds of
unreasonable hardship.
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NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require inmates in the
custody and control of the division of corrections to contribute
to the cost of their incarceration.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.