Bill Text: MI SB0877 | 2011-2012 | 96th Legislature | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Corrections; other; department of corrections to contract for operation of a certain correctional facility by private vendor; allow. Amends secs. 20g, 20i, 29, 63, 63a, 69a & 70 of 1953 PA 232 (MCL 791.220g et seq.).

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2012-03-08 - Referred To Committee On Appropriations [SB0877 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2011-SB0877-Engrossed.html

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SB-0877, As Passed Senate, March 7, 2012

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SUBSTITUTE FOR

 

SENATE BILL NO. 877

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     A bill to amend 1953 PA 232, entitled

 

"Corrections code of 1953,"

 

by amending sections 20g, 20i, 29, 63, 63a, 69a, and 70 (MCL

 

791.220g, 791.220i, 791.229, 791.263, 791.263a, 791.269a, and

 

791.270), section 20g as amended by 2000 PA 211, section 20i as

 

added by 2006 PA 351, section 29 as amended by 2010 PA 248, and

 

sections 63, 63a, 69a, and 70 as amended by 1998 PA 512.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 20g. (1) The department may establish a youth

 

correctional facility which shall house only prisoners committed to

 

the jurisdiction of the department who are 19 years of age or less.

 

If the department establishes or contracts with a private vendor

 

for the operation of a youth correctional facility, following

 

intake processing in a department operated facility, the department

 

shall house all male prisoners who are 16 years of age or less at

 

the youth correctional facility unless the department determines

 

that the prisoner should be housed at a different facility for

 

reasons of security, safety, or because of the prisoner's

 

specialized physical or mental health care needs.

 

     (2) Except as provided in subsection (3), a prisoner who is 16

 

years of age or less and housed at a youth correctional facility

 

shall only be placed in a general population housing unit with

 

prisoners who are 16 years of age or less.

 

     (3) A prisoner who becomes 17 years of age while being housed

 

at a youth correctional facility and who has a satisfactory prison

 

record may remain in a general population housing unit for no more

 

than 1 year with prisoners who are 16 years of age or less.

 

     (4) Except as provided in subsection (3), a prisoner who is 16

 

years of age or less and housed at a youth correctional facility

 

shall not be allowed to be in the proximity of a prisoner who is 17

 

years of age or more without the presence and direct supervision of

 

custody personnel in the immediate vicinity.

 

     (5) The department may establish and operate the youth

 

correctional facility or may contract on behalf of the state with a

 

private vendor for the construction or operation, or both, of the

 

youth correctional facility. If the department contracts with a

 

private vendor to construct, rehabilitate, develop, renovate, or

 

operate any existing or anticipated facility pursuant to this

 

section, the department shall require a written certification from

 

the private vendor regarding all of the following:

 

     (a) If practicable to efficiently and effectively complete the

 

project, the private vendor shall follow a competitive bid process

 

for the construction, rehabilitation, development, or renovation of

 

the facility, and this process shall be open to all Michigan

 

residents and firms. The private vendor shall not discriminate

 

against any contractor on the basis of its affiliation or

 

nonaffiliation with any collective bargaining organization.

 

     (b) The private vendor shall make a good faith effort to

 

employ, if qualified, Michigan residents at the facility.

 

     (c) The private vendor shall make a good faith effort to

 

employ or contract with Michigan residents and firms to construct,

 

rehabilitate, develop, or renovate the facility.

 

     (6) If the department contracts with a private vendor for the

 

operation of the youth correctional facility, the department shall

 

require by contract that the personnel employed by the private

 

vendor in the operation of the facility be certified as

 

correctional officers to the same extent as would be required if

 

those personnel were employed in a correctional facility operated

 

by the department. The department also shall require by contract

 

that the private vendor meet requirements specified by the

 

department regarding security, protection of the public,

 

inspections by the department, programming, liability and

 

insurance, conditions of confinement, educational services required

 

under subsection (11), and any other issues the department

 

considers necessary for the operation of the youth correctional

 

facility. The department shall also require that the contract

 

include provisions to protect the public's interest if the private

 

vendor defaults on the contract. Before finalizing a contract with

 

a private vendor for the construction or operation of the youth

 

correctional facility, the department shall submit the proposed

 

contract to the standing committees of the senate and the house of

 

representatives having jurisdiction of corrections issues, the

 

corrections subcommittees of the standing committees on

 

appropriations of the senate and the house of representatives, and,

 

with regard to proposed construction contracts, the joint committee

 

on capital outlay. A contract between the department and a private

 

vendor for the construction or operation of the youth correctional

 

facility shall be contingent upon appropriation of the required

 

funding. If the department contracts with a private vendor under

 

this section, the selection of that private vendor shall be by

 

open, competitive bid.

 

     (7) The department shall not site a youth correctional

 

facility under this section in a city, village, or township unless

 

the local legislative body of that city, village, or township

 

adopts a resolution approving the location.

 

     (8) A private vendor operating a youth correctional facility

 

under a contract under this section shall not do any of the

 

following, unless directed to do so by the department policy:

 

     (a) Calculate inmate release and parole eligibility dates.

 

     (b) Award good time or disciplinary credits, or impose

 

disciplinary time.

 

     (c) Approve inmates for extensions of limits of confinement.

 

     (9) The youth correctional facility shall be open to visits

 

during all business hours, and during nonbusiness hours unless an

 

emergency prevents it, by any elected state senator or state

 

representative.

 

     (10) Once each year, the department shall report on the

 

operation of the facility. Copies of the report shall be submitted

 

to the chairpersons of the house and senate committees responsible

 

for legislation on corrections or judicial issues, and to the clerk

 

of the house of representatives and the secretary of the senate.

 

     (11) Regardless of whether the department itself operates the

 

youth correctional facility or contracts with a private vendor to

 

operate the youth correctional facility, all of the following

 

educational services shall be provided for juvenile prisoners

 

housed at the facility who have not earned a high school diploma or

 

received a general education certificate (GED):

 

     (a) The department or private vendor shall require that a

 

prisoner whose academic achievement level is not sufficient to

 

allow the prisoner to participate effectively in a program leading

 

to the attainment of a GED certificate participate in classes that

 

will prepare him or her to participate effectively in the GED

 

program, and shall provide those classes in the facility.

 

     (b) The department or private vendor shall require that a

 

prisoner who successfully completes classes described in

 

subdivision (a), or whose academic achievement level is otherwise

 

sufficient, participate in classes leading to the attainment of a

 

GED certificate, and shall provide those classes.

 

     (12) Neither the department nor the private vendor shall seek

 

to have the youth correctional facility authorized as a public

 

school academy under the revised school code, 1976 PA 451, MCL

 

380.1 to 380.1852.

 

     (13) A private vendor that operates the youth correctional

 

facility under a contract with the department shall provide written

 

notice of its intention to discontinue its operation of the

 

facility. This subsection does not authorize or limit liability for

 

a breach or default of contract. If the reason for the

 

discontinuance is that the private vendor intends not to renew the

 

contract, the notice shall be delivered to the director of the

 

department at least 1 year before the contract expiration date. If

 

the discontinuance is for any other reason, the notice shall be

 

delivered to the director of the department at least 6 months

 

before the date on which the private vendor will discontinue its

 

operation of the facility. This subsection does not authorize or

 

limit liability for a breach or default of contract.

 

     (1) The department may enter into a contract with the

 

contractor of the privately owned correctional facility in Webber

 

township, Lake county, Michigan or with 1 or more other contractors

 

to house and manage inmates under the jurisdiction of the

 

department. A contract may provide for the housing and management

 

of inmates in a departmental facility or in a privately owned

 

facility that is located within this state. Each contract shall be

 

made through a competitive bidding process and shall only be made

 

if the annual cost savings to the state under the contract will be

 

at least 10% of the cost of in-scope services. If the department

 

contracts for the housing and management of department inmates, the

 

department shall require a written certification from the

 

contractor that the contractor shall not discriminate against any

 

other contractor on the basis of its affiliation or nonaffiliation

 

with any collective bargaining organization and shall make a good-

 

faith effort to employ, if qualified, Michigan residents at the

 

facility.

 

     (2) The contract between the department and the contractor

 

shall be for an initial term of 5 years, subject to renewals by

 

mutual agreement of 2 years each. The contract shall require that

 

the personnel employed by the contractor in the operation of the

 

facility be certified as correctional officers to the same extent

 

as would be required if those personnel were employed in a

 

correctional facility operated by the department. The department

 

also shall require by contract that the contractor meet

 

requirements specified by the department regarding security,

 

protection of the public, inspections by the department,

 

programming, liability and insurance, conditions of confinement,

 

educational services, and any other issues the department considers

 

necessary for the operation of the correctional facility. Any

 

contract between the department and a contractor for the operation

 

of the correctional facility shall be contingent upon appropriation

 

of the required funding.

 

     (3) The contractor operating a correctional facility pursuant

 

to a contract under this section shall not do any of the following,

 

unless directed to do so by department policy:

 

     (a) Calculate inmate release and parole eligibility dates.

 

     (b) Award good time or disciplinary credits, or impose

 

disciplinary time.

 

     (c) Approve inmates for extensions of limits of confinement.

 

     (4) The correctional facility shall be open to visits during

 

all business hours and during nonbusiness hours, unless an

 

emergency prevents it, by any elected state senator or state

 

representative and by the legislative corrections ombudsman and

 

members of his or her staff.

 

     (5) Once each year, the department shall report on the

 

operation of the facility. Copies of the report shall be submitted

 

to the chairpersons of the house and senate committees responsible

 

for legislation on corrections or judicial issues and to the clerk

 

of the house of representatives and the secretary of the senate.

 

     Sec. 20i. (1) If the Michigan youth correctional facility

 

established pursuant to previously operated under section 20g as

 

the Michigan youth correctional facility in Webber township, Lake

 

county, Michigan, is not utilized by the department for housing

 

inmates or detainees under the jurisdiction of the department, the

 

private vendor contractor that operates the Michigan youth that

 

correctional facility may utilize the facility for housing,

 

custody, and care of detainees or inmates from other local, state,

 

or federal agencies, either by directly contracting with those

 

local, state, or federal agencies or by having 1 or more local,

 

state, or federal agencies enter into an interlocal agreement with

 

Webber township, Lake county, or the county sheriff for Lake

 

county, who in turn may contract with the private vendor contractor

 

for services to be provided under the terms of the interlocal

 

agreement, subject to the requirements of this section. If all

 

contractual factors regarding potential inmates or detainees are

 

equal, the private vendor contractor shall give preference to the

 

admission of inmates or detainees sent from agencies within this

 

state.

 

     (2) Any contract under this section for the housing, custody,

 

and care of detainees or inmates from other local, state, or

 

federal agencies shall require all of the following:

 

     (a) The private vendor contractor that operates the facility

 

shall do all of the following:

 

     (i) Obtain accreditation of the facility by the American

 

correctional association within 24 months after the private vendor

 

contractor commences operations at the facility and maintain that

 

accreditation throughout the term of any contract for the use of

 

the facility.

 

     (ii) Operate the facility in compliance with the applicable

 

standards of the American correctional association.

 

     (b) The personnel employed by the private vendor contractor in

 

the operation of the facility shall meet the employment and

 

training requirements set forth in the applicable standards of the

 

American correctional association, and also shall meet any higher

 

training and employment standards that may be mandated under a

 

contract between the private vendor contractor and a local, state,

 

or federal agency that sends inmates or detainees to the facility.

 

     (c) Any serious incident that occurs at the facility shall be

 

reported immediately to the sheriff of Lake county and the state

 

police.

 

     (3) An inmate or detainee housed at the facility shall not

 

participate in work release, a work camp, or another similar

 

program or activity occurring outside the secure perimeter of the

 

facility without the authorization of the department.

 

     (4) The facility shall allow the presence of on-site monitors

 

from any local, state, or federal agency that sends inmates or

 

detainees to the facility, for the purpose of monitoring the

 

conditions of confinement of those inmates or detainees. Whenever

 

the private vendor contractor submits a written report to a local,

 

state, or federal agency that sends inmates or detainees to the

 

facility, the private vendor contractor shall send copies of the

 

written report to the township supervisor for Webber township, the

 

board of county commissioners for Lake county, the sheriff of Lake

 

county, and the department.

 

     (5) Personnel employed at the facility by the private vendor

 

contractor who have met the employment and training requirements

 

set forth in the applicable standards of the American correctional

 

association have full authority to perform their duties and

 

responsibilities under law, including, but not limited to,

 

exercising the use of force in the same manner and to the same

 

extent as would be authorized if those personnel were employed in a

 

correctional facility operated by the department.

 

     (6) A contract with a local, state, or federal agency that

 

sends inmates or detainees to the facility shall not require,

 

authorize, or imply a delegation of the authority or responsibility

 

to the private vendor contractor to do any of the following:

 

     (a) Develop or implement procedures for calculating inmate

 

release and parole eligibility dates or recommending the granting

 

or denying of parole, although the private vendor contractor may

 

submit written reports that have been prepared in the ordinary

 

course of business.

 

     (b) Develop or implement procedures for calculating and

 

awarding earned credits, including good time credits, disciplinary

 

credits, or similar credits affecting the length of an inmate's

 

incarceration, approving the type of work inmates may perform and

 

the wage or earned credits, if any, that may be awarded to inmates

 

engaging in that work, and granting, denying, or revoking earned

 

credits.

 

     (7) An inmate or detainee shall not be housed at the facility

 

unless the security classification of the inmate or detainee, as it

 

would be determined by the department if he or she were being

 

housed in a state correctional facility, is level IV or below, and

 

has never previously been above level IV.

 

     (8) Inmates and detainees shall be transferred to and from the

 

facility in a secure manner. Any inmate or detainee housed at the

 

facility who was sent from another state, a local agency outside

 

this state, or the federal government shall be returned to the

 

agency that sent the inmate or detainee upon completion of the

 

inmate's or detainee's term of incarceration in the facility and

 

shall not be released from custody within this state.

 

     (9) The department of corrections is not responsible for

 

oversight of the facility. This state, or any department or agency

 

of this state, is not civilly liable for damages arising out of the

 

operation of the facility.

 

     (10) As used in this section:

 

     (a) "Facility" means the former Michigan youth correctional

 

facility described in subsection (1).

 

     (b) "Security classification" means 1 of 6 levels of

 

restrictiveness enforced in housing units at each state

 

correctional facility, as determined by the department, with

 

security level I being the least restrictive and security level VI

 

being the most restrictive.

 

     (c) "Serious incident" means a disturbance at the facility

 

involving 5 or more inmates or detainees, a death of an inmate or

 

detainee, a felony or attempted felony committed within the

 

facility, or an escape or attempted escape from the facility.

 

     Sec. 29. Except as otherwise provided by law, all records and

 

reports of investigations made by a probation officer, and all case

 

histories of probationers shall be privileged or confidential

 

communications not open to public inspection. Judges and probation

 

officers shall have access to the records, reports, and case

 

histories. The probation officer, the assistant director of

 

probation, or the assistant director's representative shall permit

 

the attorney general, the auditor general, and law enforcement

 

agencies to have access to the records, reports, and case histories

 

and shall permit designated representatives of a private vendor

 

contractor that operates a youth correctional facility under

 

section 20g to have access to the records, reports, and case

 

histories pertaining to prisoners assigned to the youth

 

correctional that facility. The relation of confidence between the

 

probation officer and probationer or defendant under investigation

 

shall remain inviolate.

 

     Sec. 63. (1) The wardens of the correctional facilities of

 

this state shall be appointed by the director of corrections and

 

shall be within the state civil service. The assistant director in

 

charge of the bureau of correctional facilities shall, subject to

 

the approval of the director, appoint personnel within the bureau

 

as may be necessary. Members of the staff and employees of each

 

correctional facility shall be appointed by the warden subject to

 

the approval of the director.

 

     (2) As used in this section, "correctional facility" does not

 

include a youth correctional facility authorized under described in

 

section 20g if that facility is operated by a private

 

vendor.contractor.

 

     Sec. 63a. (1) A person employed by the department of

 

corrections in a correctional facility who is injured as a result

 

of an assault by a prisoner housed in the correctional facility or

 

injured during a riot shall receive his or her full wages by the

 

department of corrections until worker's compensation benefits

 

begin and then shall receive in addition to worker's compensation

 

benefits a supplement from the department which together with the

 

worker's compensation benefits shall equal but not exceed the

 

weekly net wage of the employee at the time of the injury. This

 

supplement shall only apply while the person is on the department's

 

payroll and is receiving worker's compensation benefits. Fringe

 

benefits normally received by an employee shall be in effect during

 

the time the employee receives the supplement provided by this

 

section from the department.

 

     (2) Subsection (1) also applies to a person who is employed by

 

the department of corrections who, while performing his or her

 

duties in a youth correctional facility described in section 20g,

 

is injured as a result of an assault by a prisoner housed in the

 

youth that correctional facility or is injured during a riot in the

 

youth that correctional facility. However, subsection (1) does not

 

apply to any person employed by, or retained under contract by, a

 

private vendor contractor that operates a youth correctional

 

facility described in section 20g.

 

     (3) For purposes of this section, :

 

     (a) "Correctional facility" "correctional facility" means a

 

facility that houses prisoners committed to the jurisdiction of the

 

department, including a community corrections center.

 

     (b) "Youth correctional facility" means a facility authorized

 

under section 20g.

 

     Sec. 69a. (1) A visitor to a state correctional facility shall

 

not be subjected to a pat down search unless every person

 

performing or assisting in performing the pat down search is of the

 

same sex as the person being searched. If the necessary personnel

 

are not readily available, a visitor at his or her option may sign

 

waive the provisions of this subsection by signing a waiver

 

provided by the department of corrections. , waiving the provisions

 

of this subsection.

 

     (2) As used in this section:

 

     (a) "Pat down search" means a search of a person in which the

 

person conducting the search touches the body or clothing, or both,

 

of the person being searched to detect the presence of concealed

 

objects.

 

     (b) "State correctional facility" includes a youth

 

correctional facility operated under section 20g by the department

 

or a private vendor.contractor.

 

     Sec. 70. (1) A correctional facility may monitor telephone

 

communications over telephones available for use by prisoners in

 

the correctional facility if all of the following conditions are

 

met:

 

     (a) The director promulgates rules under which the monitoring

 

is to be conducted, and the monitoring is conducted in accordance

 

with those rules. The rules shall include provisions for minimizing

 

the intrusiveness of the monitoring and shall prescribe a procedure

 

by which a prisoner may make telephone calls to his or her

 

attorney, and any federal, state, or local public official if

 

requested by that public official, that are not monitored.

 

     (b) The monitoring is routinely conducted for the purpose of

 

preserving the security and orderly management of the correctional

 

facility, interdicting drugs and other contraband, and protecting

 

the public, and is performed by employees of the department or, in

 

the case of a youth correctional facility operated by a private

 

vendor contractor under section 20g, is conducted by employees of

 

the private vendor.contractor.

 

     (c) Notices are prominently posted on or near each telephone

 

subject to monitoring informing users of the telephone that

 

communications over the telephone may be monitored.

 

     (d) In addition to the posting of notices under subdivision

 

(c), the prisoners in the correctional facility are given

 

reasonable notice of the rules promulgated under subdivision (a).

 

     (e) Each party to the conversation is notified by voice that

 

the conversation is being monitored.

 

     (2) A correctional facility shall disclose information

 

obtained pursuant to under this section regarding a crime or

 

attempted crime to any law enforcement agency having jurisdiction

 

over that crime or attempted crime.

 

     (3) Evidence obtained pursuant to under this section regarding

 

a crime or attempted crime may be considered as evidence in a

 

criminal prosecution for that crime or attempted crime.

 

     (4) As used in this section:

 

     (a) "Correctional facility" includes a youth correctional

 

facility operated under section 20g by the department or a private

 

vendor.contractor.

 

     (b) "Monitor" means to listen to or record, or both.