Bill Text: NJ A1816 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires Division of Purchase and Property to award contracts to halfway houses; sets forth certain contract requirements.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-10-02 - Reported out of Assembly Committee, 2nd Reading [A1816 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-A1816-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
216th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2014 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman GILBERT "WHIP" L. WILSON
District 5 (Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblyman CHARLES MAINOR
District 31 (Hudson)
Assemblyman JOSEPH CRYAN
District 20 (Union)
Assemblywoman BONNIE WATSON COLEMAN
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblyman DANIEL R. BENSON
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
SYNOPSIS
Requires Division of Purchase and Property to award contracts to halfway houses; sets forth certain contract requirements.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel
An Act concerning contracts awarded relating to inmate facilities, supplementing chapter 34 of Title 52 of the Revised Statutes, and amending P.L.1969, c.22.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) Following the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), all contracts awarded for the provision of services relating to the operation of residential community release programs shall be awarded by the Division of Purchase and Property in the State Department of the Treasury on behalf of the Department of Corrections. Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 2 through 4 of P.L.1954, c.48 (C.52:34-7 through 52:34-9), a contract or agreement with a residential community release program provider for the procurement of services relating to the care, custody, subsistence, education, training, and welfare of inmates shall be publicly advertised prior to the solicitation of proposals or expressions of interest from residential community release programs.
2. (New section) a. Any contracts awarded to a residential community release program pursuant to section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) for the procurement of services providing for the care, custody, subsistence, education, training, and welfare of inmates shall include, but not be limited to, the following terms and conditions:
(1) all staff employed by a residential community release program shall be qualified by education, training and experience and be licensed or certified to provide program services relating to the care, custody, subsistence, education, training, and welfare of inmates;
(2) all residential community release programs shall be accredited by the American Correctional Association or a nationally recognized accrediting body which uses certification criteria equal to or greater than that of the American Correctional Association and such accreditation shall be maintained throughout the life of the contract;
(3) all per diem rates charged to the Department of Corrections per inmate housed in a residential community release program shall be clearly delineated, and the Division of Purchase and Property shall terminate a contract or otherwise enforce penalty provisions included in the contract if the per diem rates charged are in excess of amounts agreed upon the by the division and residential community release program or facility;
(4) all per diem rate budgets submitted to the division in accordance with paragraph (3) of subsection a. of this section shall be verified by an audit conducted on an annual basis by the division;
(5) contract extensions shall be contingent upon positive annual evaluations performed by the department and the availability of funding. If the department fails to conduct less than one annual site visit per year during each contract period the division shall terminate the contract; and
(6) each residential community release program that is awarded a contract shall operate under the supervision of a board of directors which shall annually identify the specific funding objectives and shall adopt a plan for the expenditure of the resources provided by the department. The plan shall be annually submitted to the division throughout the life of the contract. If the board contracts with a subcontractor or another entity to provide residential community release program services, board members shall be prohibited from simultaneously serving on the board of the subcontractor or other entity and shall be prohibited from receiving a salary from that subcontractor or other entity.
b. The division shall reserve the right to terminate any contract awarded to a residential community release program pursuant after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill) for any violation of the terms of that contract.
3. (New section) a. For the purposes of this section, "aggregate" means the total sums appropriated to the Department of Corrections for residential community release programs service to provide for the care, custody, subsistence, education, training, and welfare of inmates or for any other services provided by a residential community release program provider during a fiscal year.
b. Following the expiration of existing contracts awarded prior to the effective date of this act by the department for the provision of services relating to the operation of residential community release programs, no residential community release program or any subcontractor thereof shall be awarded any contract or contracts nor shall any agreement be entered with the division on behalf of the department for the care, custody, subsistence, education, training and welfare of inmates or for any other services that is in excess of 20 percent of the aggregate amount expended by the department during the prior fiscal year.
4. Section 2 of P.L.1969, c.22 (C.30:4-91.2) is amended to read as follows:
2. [The] a. Except as provided under subsection b. of this section, the commissioner or his duly authorized agent, may designate as a place of confinement any available, suitable, and appropriate institution or facility whether owned by the State or otherwise, and may at any time transfer a person from one place of confinement to another.
b. Contracts awarded for the provision of services relating to the operation of residential community release programs shall be awarded by the Division of Purchase and Property in the State Department of the Treasury on behalf of the Department of Corrections pursuant to section 1 of PL. , c. (C. et seq.) (pending before the Legislature as this bill). In awarding a contract, the Director of the Division of Purchase and Property shall consult with the commissioner with respect to rules and regulations governing the operation of residential community release programs.
c. The word "facility" shall include private nonprofit community-based residential treatment centers which [provided] provides for the care, custody, subsistence, education, training, and welfare of inmates.
Any such private nonprofit community-based residential treatment center must be certified annually by the commissioner as a secure and appropriately supervised place of confinement.
(cf: P.L.1976, c. 35, s. 2)
5. The State Treasurer, in conjunction with the Commissioner of Corrections, shall promulgate regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), necessary to effectuate the provisions of this act.
6. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill transfers the authority of the Department of Corrections to award contracts to halfway houses to the Division of Purchase and Property in the State Department of the Treasury. In addition, the bill sets forth certain stipulations that the Division of Purchase and Property is required to include in contracts awarded to halfway houses.
The bill requires that contracts awarded by the division are to stipulate that all halfway house staff is to be qualified by education, training and experience, as well as licensed or certified to provide program services. In addition, all halfway houses are to be accredited by the American Correctional Association or a nationally recognized accrediting body which uses certification criteria equal to or greater than the association. The bill further requires that contracts include provisions mandating that per diem rates charged to the department per inmate are to be clearly delineated and all per diem rate budgets are to be verified by an audit conducted on an annual basis by the division.
Under the bill, contract awards are to be contingent upon positive annual evaluations performed by the department and the availability of funding. If the department fails to conduct at least one annual site visit per year during each contract period the contract is to be terminated by the division.
In addition, the bill requires that contracts awarded to halfway houses stipulate that each halfway house is to operate under the supervision of a board of directors which is required to annually identify the specific funding objectives and adopt a plan for the expenditure of the resources provided by the department. If the board contracts with a subcontractor or another entity, board members are to be prohibited from simultaneously serving on the board of the subcontractor or from receiving a salary from that subcontractor.
This bill also requires that the division reserve the right to terminate any contract awarded to halfway houses for any violation of the terms of that contract.
Finally, the bill sets a limitation on the amount of funding that a single halfway house or its subcontractor may receive from the total amount of money appropriated to the department for the purpose of contracting with halfway houses during a fiscal year. Under the bill, a single halfway house or its subcontractor is prohibited from receiving an amount in excess of 20 percent of the aggregate amount expended for halfway house service by the department during the prior fiscal year.
This bill is in response to testimony heard by the Assembly Law and Public Safety Committee on July 23, 2012 concerning oversight and accountability of this State's halfway houses.
