SPONSOR: |
Sen. Ennis & Rep. J. Johnson |
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DELAWARE STATE SENATE 146th GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
SENATE BILL NO. 245 |
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLES 11 AND 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTION. |
Section 1.Amend Chapter 43 of Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making insertions as shown by underlining and deletions shown as strike through as follows and renumbering subsections accordingly:
§4301. Purposes and construction.
(1) "Board" or "Board of the Department of Correction" means the
Department of Correction.
§4343(B). Duties
(8) The Board shall: Act as
advisory board to the Board of Pardons. When a person in legal custody of the Bureau
of Adult Correction Department of
Correction applies to the Board of Pardons for recommendation for a pardon
or commutation of sentence, the Parole Board, upon request, shall furnish to
each member of the Board of Pardons and to the Governor a report of the record
of such person, which shall include its opinion as to the state of rehabilitation
of such person.
§4347. Parole authority and procedure.
(a) A person committed to the
custody of the Department who will be eligible for parole within 180 days may
apply for a parole hearing on forms promulgated by the Board. Upon receipt of
such application, the Board shall notify the Bureau Chief of Adult
Correction Prisons of said application and request verification of
parole eligibility and the information required in subsection (d) of this
section which shall be provided the Board within 30 days. Upon receipt of the
foregoing information, the Board shall determine within 30 days if a parole
hearing will be scheduled. If the hearing is denied or if the hearing is held
and the parole denied the applicant and the Department shall be advised in writing
by the Board of the earliest date, not sooner than 6 months for an applicant
with a good-time release date of 3 years or less and not sooner than 1 year for
an applicant with a good-time release date of more than 3 years, upon which the
applicant shall be eligible to again apply for a parole hearing in accordance
within this section.
Section 2.Amend Chapter 65 of Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making insertions as shown by underlining and deletions shown as strike through as follows, by and renumbering the following sections accordingly
§6505. Definition.
(1) "Board" or "Board of Correction" means the Department of
Correction.
§6509. General powers and duties of the Department.
(6) Furnishing the Board of Parole
adequate office facilities and supplies to properly perform its duties; to
transmit the Board of Parole's budget with its own;
(14)Collecting a fee as a
condition of probation supervision. An offender sentenced to probation shall be
charged a fixed fee of $200 for each period of probation. If an offender is
serving multiple sentences of probation simultaneously, the sentences shall be
treated as 1 period of probation for the purposes of assessing and collecting
the supervision fee. The Director Bureau Chief of Community Corrections Services shall develop policies
and procedures with regard to determining an offender's ability to pay the fee.
Such policies and procedures shall be applied on a consistent basis to all
offenders, and shall be subject to approval by the Commissioner of Correction.
In the event the Department determines an offender is unable to pay the fee due
to lack of employment or other significant extenuating circumstances, such as
an offender's responsibility to remit payment for victim compensation,
restitution or child support, said inability shall not constitute a violation
of supervision. The offender shall remain liable to pay the fee at such time as
the Department determines offender is able to do so.
Section 7.Amend Section 6505 of Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making insertions as shown by underlining and deletions shown as strike through as follows:
§6505.Powers of the Board.
The Board shall be the general policymaking authority for the Department,
not its administrative or executive head, but the administrative or executive
head shall be responsible directly to the Board which shall have such other
duties as are granted in this chapter. The Board shall:
(1) Establish criteria for the employment of, and screening
applications for, the office of Commissioner;
(2) Assist in developing modern personnel policies for the Department,
including written job descriptions and qualifications and criteria for the
employment of personnel for each position in the Department;
(3) Make regular visits in and observations of all Department-operated
facilities and services;
(4) Continually review Department policy and operation;
(5) Study procedures in and the development and progress of the
correctional system, including probation and parole, of this State; study and
consult with officers and other personnel concerning correctional institutions
and probation and parole systems elsewhere; but, primarily, interpret the
Department's responsibilities, problems, functions and needs;
(6) Review and frame proposals concerning legislation important to the
Department.
§65065. Employment of personnel.
(a) The Department shall be the
hiring agency for all correctional guards or officers employed by the
Department. Any applicant for employment by the Department shall take such
physical, mental and intelligence tests as the Department shall prescribe, and
shall provide the Department with such information as it may need for its
employment decisions.
(b) Prior to making an employment
decision on an applicant for employment by the Department, the Department shall fingerprint the
applicant and provide the fingerprints to the State Bureau of Identification
for the purpose of obtaining obtain the applicant's entire
criminal history record from both the State and the Federal Bureau of
Investigation. Prior to employing the applicant, the Department shall complete
a computerized name search of the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and
the Criminal Justice Information System (CJIS) maintained by the Delaware
Criminal Justice Information System (DELJIS) to determine if the applicant has
any criminal history record information. Based on the results of the
computerized name searches for criminal history records, the Department may not
employ any individual who has ever been convicted of a felony offense in this
or any other state or jurisdiction, or who has ever been convicted of an
offense in another state or jurisdiction that would be a felony offense in the
State of Delaware. Upon receiving the results of the fingerprint bases searches
for criminal history record information, the Department shall immediately
terminate the employment of any individual employed by the Department who has
ever been convicted of a felony offense in this or any other state or
jurisdiction, or who has ever been convicted of an offense in another state or
jurisdiction that would be a felony offense in the State of Delaware.
§6517. Duties and responsibilities of the Commissioner.
(1) Promulgating rules and
regulations to carry out the Commissioner's duties and operate the Department which
shall not be inconsistent with the general policies of the Board;
(12) Periodic reports to the
Board of an analysis of the institutions and services within the Department,
and analysis and evaluation of the adequacy and effectiveness of personnel and
buildings.
§6520. Establishment of divisions.Bureaus.
There shall
be within the Department a Division of Field Services for probation and
parole services, a Division of Statistics, Research and Planning Bureau of Management Services, Bureau of
Correctional Healthcare Services, Bureau of Prisons and Bureau of Community
Corrections,and such other bureaus,
divisions and subdivisions, including a Division of Institutions, with
such personnel as the Commissioner shall deem desirable.
§6521. Division of Field Services. The employees of the
Division of Field Services, Department of Correction, shall have their job
qualifications and pay scales approved by the Director of the Director of the
Office of Management and Budget and the Commissioner of the Department of
Correction.
§6523. Diagnostic Rehabilitation services.
(a) There
shall be within the Department a diagnostic service, consisting of 1 or more
branches, to The Department shall make social, medical, psychological and
other appropriate studies and investigations of persons committed to its care
for the purpose of rehabilitation of said persons. At the request of any
sentencing court, the diagnostic service Department shall, to the
extent possible, receive for study and report to the court concerning any
person who has been convicted, is before the court for sentencing and is
subject to commitment to the Department.
(b) The diagnostic
service Department shall take steps to ensure that infectious
diseases are not disseminated among the persons committed to the Department's
care and staff. In performing the function, the diagnostic service Department
is empowered to review medical histories, to complete medical histories, to
complete appropriate medical examinations, to perform laboratory tests as are
deemed appropriate, and to begin a course of treatment on persons committed to
its care.
§6529A. Institutional Release Classification Board.
(b) The Institutional Release
Classification Board shall consist of 7 members: Two members each from the
custodial staff and treatment staff as well as 3 individuals to be appointed by
the Council on Administration of Justice Criminal Justice Council
and whose terms shall run concurrently with that of the membership of said
Council for a period of 4 years from the date of appointment.
(c) The 3 individuals to be
appointed by the Council on Administration of Justice Criminal
Justice Council shall receive compensation in the amount of $90 per
meeting. However, no member so appointed shall receive compensation in excess
of $4,000 per annum.
§6534B. Prison Industries and Services Delaware Correctional
Industries Special Fund.
(a) There is
hereby established a Prison Industries and Services Delaware
Correctional Industries Special Fund which shall consist of:
(1) Moneys received from the sale of products as described in §6532 of this title;
(2) Moneys received through the contract of service or labor as described in §6532 of this title;
(3) Moneys received per §6532(f)(3) of this title;
(4) Moneys received per §6531A(c) of this title; and
(5) Moneys received per §6531(d) of this title.
(b)Funds from the Industries and Services
Delaware Correctional Industries Special Fund shall be expended only for
the followingpurposes:
(1) Financing
the prison industries Delaware Correctional Industries programs,
including, but not limited to, all prison manufacturing, construction,
contractual services and labor provided;
(2) Financing the educational programs required by §6531A of this title;
(3) Financing the treatment and rehabilitation programs required by §6531 of this title; and
(4) Financing any and all programs as itemized in §6532(f)(3) of this title.
(c) The Prison
Industries and Services Delaware Correctional Industries Special
Fund shall be appropriated and expended in conformity with the annual
Appropriations Act of the State.
(d) Nothing in this subchapter shall preclude the appropriation of general funds to support the programs itemized in subsection (b) of this section.
§6536. Medical care.
(a) The Department shall promulgate reasonable
standards, and shall establish reasonable health, medical and dental services,
for each institution, including preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic measures
on both an out-patient and hospital basis for all types of patients. The nature
and extent of such medical and dental services shall be determined by the
Commissioner of Correction in consultation with the chief medical officer of
the Department Bureau Chief of Correctional Healthcare Services. The
Department may authorize, under regulations, inmates to be taken, with or
without guard, to a medical institution or facility outside the institution.
§
6553.Compensation of employees.
Compensation
of employees shall be as fixed by the Commissioner.
§6554 Bond of officers and
employees. The Board Department
may require the Commissioner, and any officer or employee of the
Department, to execute a surety bond with corporate surety, to be approved, and
in such amount as required, by the Board, with the condition that the
Commissioner, officer or employer shall faithfully perform the duties of the
office and account for all funds received as Commissioner. The premium for such
bond shall be paid from funds of the Department.
§6555. Contracts; limitations for interest.
No officer or employee of the Department may be directly or indirectly
concerned or interested in any contract, purchase or sale made by the
Department or by its authority, or may accept any reward or gift, or any promise
of any reward or gift, directly or indirectly from any person interested in any
contract, purchase or sale made by the Department or its authority, and every
officer and employee shall report to the Department all offenses coming to the
officer's or employee's knowledge.; nor shall any member of the
Board, or anyone in the family of a memberhold any other office or position in the Department.
§6560. Annual reports.
The Commissioner and Board shall make a report every year on or
before November 15 to the Governor, showing the financial operation of the
Department for the preceding year, together with adequate statistical
information concerning the persons committed to the Department, or under the
supervision of the Department, or under the supervision of the Department's
field service, with such research reports, analysis, planning, evaluation
and recommendations as may appear necessary to the advancement of the interest
of the Department and its objectives. A copy of said report shall be sent to
each member of the General Assembly and shall be made available to other
agencies and citizens, as desired.
§6561. Police powers of corrections officers, employees and internal affairs investigators.
(b) Only those correctional
officers and employees who have been sworn in by the Commissioner shall have
the power of a police officer under this section. The Board Department
shall provide appropriate identification for all such correctional officers
and employees.
Section 3.Amend Section 8701(b) (8) of Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making insertions as shown by underlining and deletions shown as strike through as follows:
(8) The Chief of the Bureau of Prisons Adult Correction of
the Department of Correction, or the Bureau Chief's designee;
Section 4.Amend Chapter 89 of Title 29 of the Delaware Code by making insertions as shown by underlining and deletions shown as strike through as follows:
§8902. Appointments, qualifications, etc., of Commissioner, bureau chiefs, Acting Commissioner.
(a) The administrator and head of the Department shall be the
Commissioner of the Department of Correction, who shall be a person qualified
by training and experience to perform the duties of the office. The
Commissioner shall be appointed by the Governor, with the advice and consent of
the Senate, and shall serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The Commissioner
shall be paid an annual salary as approved by the General Assembly. not
in excess of $30,000. The Commissioner of the Department of Correction
shall become a bona fide resident of the State within 6 months after his or her
appointment; provided, however, that upon good cause shown, the Governor may
grant an additional extension of 6 months. After becoming a resident of the
State, the Secretary Commissioner of the Department of Correction shall
continuously be a resident of the State as long as he or she retains the
office. Failure to obtain or retain such residency shall serve to terminate
said office.
§8903. Powers, duties and funding -- Commissioner.
(2) Appoint and fix the salary,
with the written approval of the Governor, of the following chiefs of
the Department's Bureaus and other office heads, who may be removed
from office by the Commissioner with the written approval of the Governor, and
who shall have such powers, duties and functions in the administration and
operation of the Department as may be assigned by the Commissioner:.
a. A Chief of the Bureau of Adult Correction who shall be known as the
Chief of Adult Correction. The Chief shall have a minimum of an earned graduate
degree above that of bachelor from an accredited college or university, in 1 of
the behavioral sciences, such as corrections, sociology, psychology or social
work, with 5 years of experience in the corrections field, including a
responsible administrative position, or an equivalent combination of education
and experience which provides the necessary knowledge and abilities.
b. [Repealed.]
(10) Adopt a plan for use of personnel within
the correctional system, which plan will prohibit the placement or
assignment of guards of 1 sex within housing units for inmates of the opposite
sex unless the Commissioner shall determine that emergency conditions require
such placement;
SYNOPSIS
This Bill updates and modernizes the Delaware Code so that it is consistent with the operation and structure of the Department of Correction.The Board of Correction was eliminated in 1964 and its responsibilities were shifted to the Department of Correction, however the numerous references to the Board of Correction were not eliminated at that time. This Bill replaces outdated or inaccurate terminology with the appropriate identities of the Bureaus of the Department of Correction and removes outdated terminology and defunct entities from the Code.This Bill also removes a reference to the defunct entity "Council on Administration of Justice" and substitutes the Criminal Justice Council in its place as the appointing authority for 3 individuals on the IRCB.This Bill also updates provisions of the Code that are no longer accurate or routinely used, to clarify the process for criminal background screening for prospective employees and eliminate the dated reference to surety bonds for the Commissioner and other Department employees. |
Author: Sen. Ennis