Bill Text: MS HB447 | 2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: State Prison Reform and Rehabilitation Act of 2015; create.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2015-02-03 - Died In Committee [HB447 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2015-HB447-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2015 Regular Session
To: Corrections; Appropriations
By: Representative Arnold
House Bill 447
AN ACT TO CREATE THE STATE PRISON REFORM AND REHABILITATION ACT OF 2015; TO REQUIRE STATE INMATES WHO ARE IN GOOD PHYSICAL HEALTH TO BE HOUSED IN TENTS AND SERVED MEALS-READY-TO EAT (MRES); TO REQUIRE THE COMMISSIONER OF THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS TO DEVELOP A WORK PROGRAM WHERE 95% OF THE COMPENSATION FOR INMATE LABOR SHALL BE ALLOCATED TO A CHILD SUPPORT ORDER THAT AN INMATE MAY BE SUBJECT TO; TO PROVIDE THAT IF AN OFFENDER IS OBLIGATED TO PAY A CHILD SUPPORT AND HE OR SHE IS A PARTICIPANT IN ANY WORK PROGRAM AND RECEIVES COMPENSATION FOR SUCH PARTICIPATION THEN THE DEPARTMENT SHALL REQUIRE THAT A CERTAIN PERCENTAGE OF AN OFFENDER'S COMPENSATION BE ALLOCATED TO HIS OR HER CHILD SUPPORT ORDER; TO REQUIRE THE COMMISSIONER TO UTILIZE INMATES IN EVERY SERVICE AREA OF THE DEPARTMENT TO ENSURE THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS IS AS FISCALLY INDEPENDENT AS POSSIBLE FOR THE CARE OF STATE OFFENDERS; TO AMEND SECTIONS 47-5-5, 47-5-132, 47-5-459, 47-5-901, 47-5-931, 47-5-938 AND 47-5-1251, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY THERETO; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 2 of this act may be cited as the "State Prison Reform and Rehabilitation Act of 2015."
SECTION 2. (1) Inmates who are in the custody of the Department of Corrections shall be housed in tents if the following conditions apply:
(a) The inmate is in good physical health as determined by the chief medical director of the department; and
(b) The Commissioner of Corrections agrees with the finding of the chief medical director as it relates to the physical health of the inmate.
(2) Inmates who are in the custody of the Department of Corrections and who are housed in tents, as authorized under this section, shall be served Meals-Ready-to Eat (MREs).
(3) The commissioner shall develop a work program where ninety-five percent(95%) of the compensation for inmate labor shall be contributed to the child support order of an inmate where applicable. The commissioner shall also ensure that sufficient labor is provided to the inmate so that he or she may meet the obligation of the child support order.
(4) If an offender is obligated to pay a child support order and he or she is a participant in any work program and receives compensation for his or her participation in such program, as authorized under state law, then the department shall require that ninety-five percent (95%) of compensation received by the offender be allocated to his or her child support order.
(5) The commissioner shall utilize inmates in every service area of the department, where appropriate, in order to ensure that the department is as fiscally independent as possible. As used in this subsection "service area" includes, but is not limited to, facility care of the department, and any other labor that may be performed in order to make the department fiscally independent in the care of state offenders.
SECTION 3. Section 47-5-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-5. The commissioner, as soon as possible after passage of this section, shall prepare a plan to bring about the limited centralization of facilities within the state correctional system grounds at Parchman, Mississippi. The commissioner is authorized and empowered to use any state funds appropriated for such purposes, together with any available federal funds appropriated by the United States Congress for improvement of correctional institutions to construct modern security facilities for housing of offenders to the end that the state correctional system achieves the greatest degree of security for said offenders. Provided, however, that no new facility to house offenders shall be constructed within two-fifths (2/5) of a mile of any other offender camp. The commissioner shall bring about centralization of food facilities, recreational activities, utility services and other related facilities and correctional services that are presently decentralized within the correctional system.
It is the intent of the Mississippi Legislature that the commissioner shall fully utilize existing knowledge, architectural plans and expertise currently available with the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration to the end that the State of Mississippi shall have an efficient, modern, and properly secure state correctional system.
The commissioner is
authorized to receive and disburse private and public grants, gifts and
bequests which may be available to this state for correctional facilities,
offender rehabilitation purposes and related purposes, which said sum so
received shall be subject to all of the laws applicable to the * * * Department of
Finance and Administration.
Nothing in this section shall prohibit the commissioner from housing offenders, who are determined to be in good physical health, in the manner prescribed under Section 2 of this act.
SECTION 4. Section 47-5-132, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-132. (1) In addition to any other powers and duties of the Commissioner of Corrections, the commissioner is authorized to study and develop a plan for rotating bed space, known in military terms as "hot racking," for adult offenders committed to the Department of Corrections. The plan, as determined by the commissioner, may include rotating shifts of labor, training and sleep.
(2) In addition, the commissioner may:
(a) In his discretion as he deems necessary to address emergency overcrowding situations, utilize military-style temporary housing facilities and infrastructure, for the incarceration of adult offenders committed to the department. Such facilities shall include tents or other temporary structures, any necessary ditches for drainage purposes, any temporary infrastructure and any other improvement or accompaniment to such structures. All such facilities shall be constructed as much as possible by adult offenders in the custody of the Department of Corrections, possessing the minimum construction skills necessary.
(b) In his discretion, require that any bed in the state correctional system shall be converted to a bunk bed, in order that a space occupied by a bed will consist of a bed on top of a bed, which shall be known as "double-bunking."
(3) Further, the commissioner is authorized to provide offenders who are determined to be in good physical health with housing as prescribed under Section 2 of this act.
SECTION 5. Section 47-5-459, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-459. (1) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the contrary, the State Department of Corrections and the county board of supervisors shall endeavor to secure public service work or private paid employment for eligible inmates under Sections 47-5-451 through 47-5-469, subject to the following criteria:
(a) Such work shall not result in the displacement of employed workers.
(b) Inmates eligible for work shall not be employed to impair any existing contracts.
(c) Exploitation of eligible inmates, in any form, is prohibited either as it might affect the community, the inmates, the department or the county.
(d) If an inmate receives payment through private employment then the department and county shall have the payment subject to the requirements under Section 2 of this act if the inmate is obligated to pay a child support order.
(2) In those cases in which inmates have been authorized to engage in paid employment in the private sector which has been approved by the Department of Corrections and a county board of supervisors electing to establish a work program under Sections 47-5-451 through 47-5-469, the disposition of funds received by such inmates shall be allocated by the Department of Corrections and the county board of supervisors. The guidelines to be used in the allocation of such funds shall include consideration of the following:
(a) The cost of maintenance of the inmate in his place of confinement and reimbursement for same to the appropriate person or entity;
(b) The operating expenses and costs incurred by the county or Department of Corrections in operating such a work program and reimbursement to such county or to the department; and
(c) Restitution to any victim of the offense for which the inmate was convicted in such amounts and under such conditions as the sentencing court may have imposed.
SECTION 6. Section 47-5-901, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-901. (1) Any person committed, sentenced or otherwise placed under the custody of the Department of Corrections, on order of the sentencing court and subject to the other conditions of this subsection, may serve all or any part of his sentence in the county jail of the county wherein such person was convicted if the Commissioner of Corrections determines that physical space is not available for confinement of such person in the state correctional institutions. Such determination shall be promptly made by the Department of Corrections upon receipt of notice of the conviction of such person. The commissioner shall certify in writing that space is not available to the sheriff or other officer having custody of the person. Any person serving his sentence in a county jail shall be classified in accordance with Section 47-5-905.
(2) If state prisoners are housed in county jails due to a lack of capacity at state correctional institutions, the Department of Corrections shall determine the cost for food and medical attention for such prisoners and shall require offenders who are determined to be in good physical health, as described under Section 2 of this act, be housed and fed in the manner provided under Section 2 of this act. The cost of feeding and housing offenders confined in such county jails shall be based on actual costs or contract price per prisoner. In order to maximize the potential use of county jail space, the Department of Corrections is encouraged to negotiate a reasonable per day cost per prisoner, which in no event may exceed Twenty Dollars ($20.00) per day per offender.
(3) (a) Upon vouchers submitted by the board of supervisors of any county housing persons due to lack of space at state institutions, the Department of Corrections shall pay to such county, out of any available funds, the actual cost of food, or contract price per prisoner, not to exceed Twenty Dollars ($20.00) per day per offender, as determined under subsection (2) of this section for each day an offender is so confined beginning the day that the Department of Corrections receives a certified copy of the sentencing order and will terminate on the date on which the offender is released or otherwise removed from the custody of the county jail. The department, or its contracted medical provider, will pay to a provider of a medical service for any and all incarcerated persons from a correctional or detention facility an amount based upon negotiated fees as agreed to by the medical care service providers and the department and/or its contracted medical provider. In the absence of negotiated discounted fee schedule, medical care service providers will be paid by the department, or its contracted medical service provider, an amount no greater than the reimbursement rate applicable based on the Mississippi Medicaid reimbursement rate. The board of supervisors of any county shall not be liable for any cost associated with medical attention for prisoners who are pretrial detainees or for prisoners who have been convicted that exceeds the Mississippi Medicaid reimbursement rate or the reimbursement provided by the Department of Corrections, whichever is greater. This limitation applies to all medical care services, durable and nondurable goods, prescription drugs and medications. Such payment shall be placed in the county general fund and shall be expended only for food and medical attention for such persons.
(b) Upon vouchers submitted by the board of supervisors of any county housing offenders in county jails pending a probation or parole revocation hearing, the department shall pay the reimbursement costs provided in paragraph (a).
(c) If the probation or parole of an offender is revoked, the additional cost of housing the offender pending the revocation hearing shall be assessed as part of the offender's court cost and shall be remitted to the department.
(4) A person, on order of the sentencing court, may serve not more than twenty-four (24) months of his sentence in a county jail if the person is classified in accordance with Section 47-5-905 and the county jail is an approved county jail for housing state inmates under federal court order. The sheriff of the county shall have the right to petition the Commissioner of Corrections to remove the inmate from the county jail. The county shall be reimbursed in accordance with subsection (2) of this section.
(5) The Attorney General of the State of Mississippi shall defend the employees of the Department of Corrections and officials and employees of political subdivisions against any action brought by any person who was committed to a county jail under the provisions of this section.
(6) This section does not create in the Department of Corrections, or its employees or agents, any new liability, express or implied, nor shall it create in the Department of Corrections any administrative authority or responsibility for the construction, funding, administration or operation of county or other local jails or other places of confinement which are not staffed and operated on a full-time basis by the Department of Corrections. The correctional system under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections shall include only those facilities fully staffed by the Department of Corrections and operated by it on a full-time basis.
(7) An offender returned to a county for post-conviction proceedings shall be subject to the provisions of Section 99-19-42 and the county shall not receive the per-day allotment for such offender after the time prescribed for returning the offender to the Department of Corrections as provided in Section 99-19-42.
SECTION 7. Section 47-5-931, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-931. (1) The Department of Corrections, in its discretion, may contract with the board of supervisors of one or more counties and/or with a regional facility operated by one or more counties, to provide for housing, care and control of offenders who are in the custody of the State of Mississippi. Except as provided in Section 2 of this act as it relates to the housing of certain offenders, any facility owned or leased by a county or counties for this purpose shall be designed, constructed, operated and maintained in accordance with American Correctional Association standards, and shall comply with all constitutional standards of the United States and the State of Mississippi, and with all court orders that may now or hereinafter be applicable to the facility. If the Department of Corrections contracts with more than one (1) county to house state offenders in county correctional facilities, excluding a regional facility, then the first of such facilities shall be constructed in Sharkey County and the second of such facilities shall be constructed in Jefferson County.
(2) The Department of Corrections shall contract with the board of supervisors of the following counties to house state inmates in regional facilities: (a) Marion and Walthall Counties; (b) Carroll and Montgomery Counties; (c) Stone and Pearl River Counties; (d) Winston and Choctaw Counties; (e) Kemper and Neshoba Counties; (f) Holmes County and any contiguous county in which there is located an unapproved jail; and (g) Bolivar County and any contiguous county in which there is located an unapproved jail. The Department of Corrections may contract with the board of supervisors of the following counties to house state inmates in regional facilities: (a) Yazoo County, (b) Chickasaw County, (c) George and Greene Counties, (d) Washington County, (e) Hinds County, and (f) Alcorn County. The Department of Corrections shall decide the order of priority of the counties listed in this subsection with which it will contract for the housing of state inmates. For the purposes of this subsection, the term "unapproved jail" means any jail that the local grand jury determines should be condemned or has found to be of substandard condition or in need of substantial repair or reconstruction.
(3) In addition to the offenders authorized to be housed under subsection (1) of this section, the Department of Corrections may contract with the Kemper and Neshoba regional facility to provide for housing, care and control of not more than seventy-five (75) additional offenders who are in the custody of the State of Mississippi.
SECTION 8. Section 47-5-938, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-938. (1) Offenders are encouraged to participate in work programs. The chief corrections officer as created in Section 47-5-935, with ratification of the board of supervisors of the county in which a correctional facility established pursuant to Sections 47-5-931 through 47-5-941, is located, may enter into agreements to provide work for any state offender housed in the facility, with the approval of the Commissioner of Corrections, to perform any work:
(a) Authorized in the Mississippi Prison Industries Act of 1990 as provided in Sections 47-5-531 through 47-5-575;
(b) Authorized in the Prison Agricultural Enterprises Act as provided in Sections 47-5-351 through 47-5-357;
(c) Authorized in the Penitentiary-Made Goods Law of 1978 as provided in Sections 47-5-301 through 47-5-331;
(d) Authorized in the Public Service Work Programs Act as provided in Sections 47-5-401 through 47-5-421;
(e) Authorized in Section 47-5-431, which authorizes the sheriff to use county or state offenders to pick up trash along public roads and state highways.
(2) The chief corrections officer shall promulgate rules and regulations as may be necessary to govern the work performance of the offenders for the parties to the agreements. Political subdivisions of the State of Mississippi including but not limited to counties, municipalities, school districts, drainage districts, water management districts and joint county-municipal endeavors are to have free use of the offender's labor but are responsible for reimbursing the facility for costs of transportation, guards, meals and other necessary costs when the inmates are providing work for that political body. Offenders may be compensated for work performed if the agreement so provides.
(3) There is created a special fund in the county treasury to be known as the "offender's compensation fund." All compensation paid to offenders shall be placed in the special fund for use by the offenders to purchase certain goods and other items of value as authorized in Section 47-5-109, for offenders housed in state correctional facilities. However, if an offender is obligated to pay a child support order, then the offender shall not be able to purchase certain goods, as authorized under this subsection, until the requirements under Section 2 of this act as they relate to the payment of a child support order are met. As provided in Section 47-5-194, no cash is to be paid to offenders. The agreement shall provide that a certain portion of the compensation shall be used for the welfare of the offenders. All money collected from the regional jail canteen operations shall be placed in a county special fund. Expenditures from that fund can be made by the chief corrections officer for any lawful purpose that is in the best interest and welfare of the offenders. The chief corrections officer, his employees and the county or counties owning the facility are given the authority necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.
(4) The provisions of this section shall be supplemental to any other provisions of law regarding offender labor and work programs.
SECTION 9. Section 47-5-1251, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
47-5-1251. (1) There is created the "Prison Industry Enhancement Program," through which the Department of Corrections may contract with the nonprofit corporation organized and formed under the "Mississippi Prison Industries Act of 1990" to employ offenders within the custody of the department or prison industries. The offenders must be under the supervision of the department at all times while working. The offenders shall be paid, by the entity or entities, wages at a rate which is not less than that paid for similar work in the locality in which the work is performed. Except as provided under Section 2 of this act as it relates to child support obligations of offenders, the wages may be subject to deductions which shall not, in the aggregate, exceed eighty percent (80%) of gross wages. The deductions shall be limited to the following:
(a) To pay federal, state and local taxes;
(b) To pay reasonable charges for room and board as determined by regulations issued by the Commissioner of Corrections;
(c) To support the offender's family pursuant to state statute, court order or agreement by the offender; and
(d) To pay contributions equaling not less than five percent (5%) but not more than twenty percent (20%) of the offender's gross wages into the Crime Victims' Compensation Fund as created in Section 99-41-29.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of the law to the contrary, the offenders shall not be qualified to receive any payments for unemployment compensation while incarcerated. However, the offenders shall not solely by their status as offenders be deprived of the right to participate in benefits made available by the federal or state government to other individuals on the basis of their employment, such as workers' compensation.
(3) Offenders who participate in the employment must do so voluntarily and must agree in advance to the specific deductions made from gross wages pursuant to this section and to all other financial arrangements or benefits resulting from participation in the employment.
(4) The Department of Corrections shall develop rules and regulations to meet the criteria established by the Bureau of Justice Assistance under the Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program.
SECTION 10. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2015.
