S 1374 Session 111 (1995-1996)
S 1374 General Bill, By M.T. Rose
A Bill to amend Chapter 3, Title 24, Code of Laws of South Carolina, 1976,
relating to the state prison system, by adding Article 13 so as to enact the
"Private Correctional Facilities, Programs, and Services Act"; and to amend
Section 24-3-30 of the 1976 Code, relating to designation of places of
confinement of persons convicted of offenses against the State, so as to
provide that at the expiration or termination of a contract to house prisoners
made with a non-governmental agency, all prisoners must be returned to the
custody of the Department of Corrections or the legally responsible entity of
local government.
04/18/96 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-4
04/18/96 Senate Referred to Committee on Corrections and Penology SJ-4
05/02/96 Senate Committee report: Favorable Corrections and
Penology SJ-12
05/07/96 Senate Read second time SJ-8
05/07/96 Senate Ordered to third reading with notice of amendments SJ-8
05/08/96 Senate Read third time and sent to House SJ-21
05/09/96 House Introduced and read first time HJ-5
05/09/96 House Referred to Committee on Medical, Military,
Public and Municipal Affairs HJ-5
Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter
COMMITTEE REPORT
May 2, 1996
S. 1374
Introduced by SENATOR Rose
S. Printed 5/2/96--S.
Read the first time April 18, 1996.
THE COMMITTEE ON CORRECTIONS AND
PENOLOGY
To whom was referred a Bill (S. 1374), to amend Chapter 3, Title 24, Code of
Laws of South Carolina, 1976, relating to the state prison system,
etc., respectfully
REPORT:
That they have duly and carefully considered the same, and recommend that the
same do pass:
DAVID L. THOMAS, for Committee.
A BILL
TO AMEND CHAPTER 3, TITLE 24, CODE OF LAWS OF
SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE STATE
PRISON SYSTEM, BY ADDING ARTICLE 13 SO AS TO
ENACT THE "PRIVATE CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES,
PROGRAMS, AND SERVICES ACT"; AND TO AMEND
SECTION 24-3-30 OF THE 1976 CODE, RELATING TO
DESIGNATION OF PLACES OF CONFINEMENT OF PERSONS
CONVICTED OF OFFENSES AGAINST THE STATE, SO AS
TO PROVIDE THAT AT THE EXPIRATION OR
TERMINATION OF A CONTRACT TO HOUSE PRISONERS
MADE WITH A NON-GOVERNMENTAL AGENCY, ALL
PRISONERS MUST BE RETURNED TO THE CUSTODY OF
THE DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS OR THE LEGALLY
RESPONSIBLE ENTITY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South
Carolina:
SECTION 1. Chapter 3, Title 24 of the 1976 Code is amended
by
adding:
"Article 13
Private Correctional Facilities,
Programs, and Services Act
Section 24-3-2400. This article may be cited as the `Private
Correctional Facilities, Programs, and Services Act'.
Section 24-3-2410. As used in this article:
(1) `Correctional facility, program, or service' means a facility,
program, or service, including probation and parole, operated or
provided by a nongovernmental agency which:
(a) provides residential and nonresidential accommodations
and services for offenders, juvenile delinquents, status offenders,
and detainees;
(b) provides programs and services to aid offenders, juvenile
delinquents, status offenders, and detainees in obtaining and holding
regular employment, in enrolling in and maintaining academic
courses, in participating in vocational training programs, in utilizing
the resources of the community for meeting their personal and
family needs, and in participating in specialized treatment programs
that exist within the community; or
(c) provides supervision, confinement, residential care, and
surveillance of offenders, juvenile delinquents, status offenders, and
detainees.
(2) `Detainee' means an adult or juvenile who is held in a
correctional or detention facility pending trial or adjudication.
(3) `Juvenile delinquent' means a juvenile who has been
adjudicated a delinquent or a child in need of supervision by the
family court.
(4) `Status offender' means a juvenile who has been determined
to have committed a violation which would not be considered a
criminal act if committed by an adult; and, for purposes of this act,
includes juveniles who are accused of, charged with, or pending
adjudication on a status offense.
(5) `Nongovernmental agency' means a person or organization
other than a unit of government or agency and includes private
profit and nonprofit organizations.
(6) `Offender' means an adult who has entered a plea of guilty
or has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor.
(7) `Parole board' means the Board of Probation, Parole and
Pardon Services.
(8) `Unit of local government' means a county, municipality, or
multi-jurisdictional entity.
Section 24-3-2420. (A) A unit of local government or a state
agency may utilize nongovernmental correctional facilities,
programs, and services established pursuant to this article necessary
to serve its own needs and those of its courts and its agencies and
may enter into contracts or agreements with nongovernmental
agencies for the placement, confinement, or supervision of
offenders, juvenile delinquents, status offenders, and detainees in
nongovernmental correctional facilities, programs, or services.
(B) Units of local government shall establish specific procedures
for screening offenders, juvenile delinquents, status offenders, or
detainees who are placed in nongovernmental correctional facilities,
programs, or services pursuant to this article.
(C) Each unit of local government shall review, monitor, and
evaluate all correctional facilities, programs, and services which are
operated or provided by nongovernmental agencies within the
geographical boundaries of the unit of local government and which
provide accommodations or services to offenders, juvenile
delinquents, and detainees referred only by local government, its
agencies, or its local courts.
(D) All correctional facilities, programs, and services operated or
provided by nongovernmental agencies shall conform to the
guidelines established pursuant to Section 24-3-2450.
(E) The establishment of a nongovernmental correctional
facility, program, or service is subject to approval of the governing
body of the county and the governing body of the city or town in
which the proposed facility or the principal site of the program is to
be located, or approval by the appropriate state authority, depending
upon which governing body or agency the facility or service has
been designed to accommodate. Approval or denial of the
establishment of the facility, program, or service must be made only
after consultation with the parole board and other agencies having
responsibility for offenders, juvenile delinquents, status offenders,
and detainees.
(F) In a county where the sheriff is the jailor, the county may
not enter into a contract under this section which affects operation
of the jail without the sheriff's consent.
Section 24-3-2430. The Jail and Prison Inspection Division of the
Department of Corrections shall inspect all facilities owned,
operated, or managed by private vendors and other
non-governmental agencies which house prisoners or pre-trial
detainees through contractual arrangements with a state agency,
county, municipality, multi-jurisdictional entity, or any other
political subdivision. These inspections must be made pursuant to
Section 24-9-20. The appropriate governing body and other
responsible officials shall be accountable in every respect as
stipulated in Section 24-9-30, Section 24-9-35, and Section 24-9-40.
Section 24-3-2440. All employees of contracted private vendors
and other non-governmental agencies who have responsibilities
involving correctional facilities, programs, and services as defined
in Section 24-3-2410 are subject to the same training and
certification requirements as are called for on their equivalent
positions in the government sector. Costs for all training and
certification programs administered by the Division of Training and
Continuing Education of the Department of Public Safety to
employees of private vendors and other non-governmental agencies
must be borne by the private vendors and other non-governmental
agencies. The Division of Training and Continuing Education will
determine the actual direct and indirect costs on a per student basis
and will collect the related fees from the private vendors and other
non-governmental agencies which employ the students enrolled.
Private vendors and other non-governmental agencies may not
circumvent the requirements of Section 23-6-400 or 23-6-430 by
utilizing employees who would be unable to qualify for equivalent
assignments in the government sector.
Section 24-3-2450. (A) A contract for services entered into
pursuant to this article must provide guidelines for the operation of
the nongovernmental correctional facility or program and minimum
standards for the services being provided, including:
(1) requirements for strict accountability procedures and
practices for the conduct and supervision of offenders, juvenile
delinquents, status offenders, and detainees, including requirements
for twenty-four hour supervision of offenders, juvenile delinquents,
status offenders, and detainees in residential programs;
(2) guidelines for periodic and unscheduled tests to determine
the use of drugs by offenders, juvenile delinquents, status offenders,
and detainees; and
(3) standards regarding health, sanitation, and fire safety.
(B) Before entering into a contract with a nongovernmental
agency, each state agency shall submit the contract and proposed
guidelines for the use of a facility, program, or service to the
governing body of an affected unit of local government for its
information, review, and recommendations.
(C) The guidelines and standards required by this section must
be developed pursuant to Section 24-3-2500.
Section 24-3-2460. (A) Subject to subsection (B), after an
adjudication of guilty or delinquency, the sentencing court, as a
condition of probation, may order that the offender, juvenile
delinquent, or status offender participate in a correctional program
during all or a part of his term of probation, provided the court is
authorized by law to order probation.
(B) Placement of an offender, juvenile delinquent, or status
offender in a nongovernmental correctional program under this
section may be ordered by the court only if:
(1) the correctional program is operated by a
nongovernmental agency which has entered into a contract as
authorized in Sections 24-3-2450 or 24-3-2490; and
(2) funding for the placement is available.
(C) Before the placement of an offender, juvenile delinquent, or
status offender in a nongovernmental correctional program, the
sentencing judge shall notify or cause to be notified the law
enforcement agencies of affected units of local government
concerning the identity of the offender to be placed.
(D) The probation officers for the judicial circuit are responsible
for recommendations to the judge for the utilization of a
nongovernmental correctional program which has been approved for
use. The recommendations shall take into account the potential risk
resulting from the placement of the offender into the
nongovernmental correctional program, as well as the aptitude,
attitude, social, and occupational skills of the offender.
(E) Where probation supervision is the responsibility of the
courts in the State, the courts may contract, in accordance with state
procurement law, with nongovernmental agencies to provide
probation supervision services.
Section 24-3-2470. The chief probation or parole officer or
officials of the state, county, or judicial district shall have general
supervisory authority over all offenders, juvenile delinquents, status
offenders, and detainees placed in a correctional facility, program,
or service under this article in accordance with their existing
statutory responsibilities for offenders, juvenile delinquents, status
offenders, and detainees.
Section 24-3-2480. (A) Subject to subsection (B), the
responsible state agency may place an offender, juvenile delinquent,
status offender, or detainee in a correctional facility, program, or
service under this article.
(B) A placement under this section may be made only if:
(1) the correctional facility, program, or service is operated
under a contract with the State to provide residential or
nonresidential care of offenders, juvenile delinquents, status
offenders, or detainees; and
(2) funding for the placement is available.
(C) Before the non-judicial placement of an individual in a
nongovernmental residential facility, the state agency having
responsibility for the offender, juvenile delinquent, status offender,
or detainee shall notify or cause to be notified the law enforcement
agencies of affected units of local government concerning the
identity of the transferal to be placed.
Section 24-3-2490. Subject to legislative appropriation, state
agencies, in accordance with state procurement law, may contract
under this article with nongovernmental agencies to operate
correctional facilities and programs and to provide correctional
services for offenders, juvenile delinquents, status offenders, and
detainees.
Section 24-3-2500. (A) Non-governmental facilities which
provide residential services to county or municipal offenders or
detainees, and all non-governmental facilities which provide
residential services to any pre-adjudicatory juveniles, must comply
with the standards developed under the authority of Section
24-9-20.
(B) Non-governmental facilities which provide residential or
nonresidential services to offenders, detainees, juvenile delinquents,
or status offenders who are under the jurisdiction of a state agency
must comply with the most recent standards established by the
American Correctional Association or, in the alternative, with
standards developed and used by a state agency for its own
facilities, operations, programs, and services.
Section 24-3-2510. (A) An offender, juvenile delinquent, status
offender, or detainee is guilty of escape from official detention and,
upon conviction, must be punished as provided by law if, without
proper authorization:
(1) he fails to remain within the extended limits of his
confinement, or to return within the time prescribed to a
nongovernmental correctional facility to which he was assigned or
transferred; or
(2) being a participant in a program established under the
provisions of this article, he leaves his place of employment or
other authorized community assignment, or fails or neglects to
return to a nongovernmental correctional facility within the time
prescribed or when specifically ordered to do so.
Section 24-3-2520. Each state agency affected by this act shall
submit an annual report to the legislature describing the number of
nongovernmental correctional facilities, programs, and services that
have been established pursuant to this article; the number of
offenders, juvenile delinquents, status offenders, and detainees
assigned to those facilities, programs, or services; the extent to
which offenders, juvenile delinquents, status offenders, and
detainees have received and benefitted from services related to their
rehabilitation; and the rate of success as compared to offenders,
juvenile delinquents, status offenders, and detainees in government
operated correctional facilities, programs, or services."
SECTION 2. Section 24-3-30 of the 1976 Code is amended to
read:
"Section 24-3-30. Notwithstanding the provisions of
Section 24-3-10 or another provision of law, a person convicted of
an offense against the State must be in the custody of the
Department of Corrections of the State, and the department
shall designate the place of confinement where the sentence must be
served. The department may designate as a place of confinement an
available, a suitable, and an appropriate institution or facility
including, but not limited to, a regional, county, or
municipal jail or work camp, whether maintained by
the Department of Corrections or otherwise some other
entity. However, the consent of the officials in charge of
the any regional, county, or
municipal institutions so designated must be obtained first. If
imprisonment for three months or less is ordered by the court as the
punishment, all persons so convicted must be placed in the custody,
supervision, and control of the appropriate officials of the county in
which the sentence was pronounced, if the county has facilities
suitable for confinement. A county or municipality, through mutual
agreement or contract, may arrange with another county or
municipality or a local regional correctional facility for the
detention of its prisoners. The Department of Corrections must be
notified by the county officials governing body
concerned not less than six months before the closing of a
county prison local detention facility which would
result in the transfer of the those state prisoners
of confined in the county local
facility to facilities of the department.
Each county or city administrator, or the equivalent,
having charge of county any local prison
detention facilities, upon the department's designating the
county local facilities as the place of confinement
of for a prisoner, may use the prisoner assigned to
them for the purpose of working the roads of the county
entity or for other public work. A prisoner so
assigned to the county local entity must be under
the custody and control of the administrator or the equivalent during
the period to be specified by the director at the time of the
prisoner's assignment, but the assignment must be terminated at any
time the director determines that the place of confinement is
unsuitable or inappropriate, or that the prisoner is employed on
other than public works. If, upon termination of the assignment, the
prisoner is not returned, habeas corpus lies. At the expiration or
termination of a contract with a non-governmental agency, all
prisoners must be returned to the department or to the legally
responsible entity of local government. If at any time a prisoner is
not returned by a non-governmental entity when directed, then
habeas corpus lies."
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the
Governor.
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