SECTION 65 - N04-DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS

     65.1.     (CORR: Canteen Operations)  Revenue derived wholly from the canteen operations within the Department of Corrections on behalf of the inmate population, may be retained and expended by the department for the continuation of the operation of said canteens and the welfare of the inmate population or, at the discretion of the Director, used to supplement costs of operations.  The canteen operation is to be treated as an enterprise fund within the Department of Corrections and is not to be subsidized by state appropriated funds.

     65.2.     (CORR: E.H. Cooper Trust Fund)  Any unclaimed funds remaining in any inmate account, after appropriate and necessary steps are taken to determine and contact a rightful owner of such funds, shall be deposited into the Inmate Welfare Fund.

     65.3.     (CORR: Instructional Salaries)  The certified instructional personnel of the Department of Corrections shall receive a percentage increase in their annual salary for the current fiscal year equal to the percentage allocated to the instructional personnel throughout the State.

     65.4.     (CORR: Funding Through State Criminal Assistance Program)  All funds received by the State from the United States Department of Justice, State Criminal Alien Assistance Program, for care and custody of illegal aliens housed in the state correctional facilities shall be retained by the South Carolina Department of Corrections to offset incurred expenses.

     65.5.     (CORR: Remedial Education Funding)  A criminal offender committed to the custody of the Department of Corrections, who has been evaluated to function at less than an eighth grade educational level, or less than the equivalent of an eighth grade educational level, may be required by department officials to enroll and actively participate in academic education programs.  Funds appropriated to the Department of Corrections for educational programs shall be prioritized to assure such remedial services are provided.

     65.6.     (CORR: Tire Retreading Program Restriction)  The tire retreading program at the Lieber Correctional Institution shall be limited to the marketing and sale of retreads to state governmental entities.

     65.7.     (CORR: Social Security Administration Funding)  All funds received by the South Carolina Department of Corrections from the Social Security Administration under Section 1611 (e)(1)(I) of the Social Security Act, which provides payment for information regarding incarcerated Social Security Insurance recipients, shall be retained by the South Carolina Department of Corrections and credited to a fund entitled “Special Social Security” for the care and custody of inmates housed in the state correctional facilities.

     65.8.     (CORR: Medical Expenses)  The Department of Corrections shall be authorized to charge inmates a nominal fee for any medical treatment or consultation provided at the request of or initiated by the inmate.  A nominal co-pay shall be charged for prescribed medications.  Inmates shall not be charged for psychological or mental health visits.

     65.9.     (CORR: Prison Industry Funds)  The Director of the Department of Corrections, at his discretion, is hereby authorized to utilize prison industry funds for projects or services benefiting the general welfare of the inmate population or to supplement costs of operations.  These funds may be carried forward from the prior fiscal year into the current fiscal year to be used for the same purpose.

     65.10.   (CORR: Reimbursement for Expenditures)  The Department of Corrections may retain for general operating purposes any reimbursement of funds for expenses incurred in a prior fiscal year.

     65.11.   (CORR: Sale of Real Property)  Funds generated from the sale of real property owned by the Department of Corrections shall be retained by the department to offset renovation and maintenance capital expenditures.

     65.12.   (CORR: Funds From Vehicle Cleaning)  Monies generated by inmates engaged in the cleaning and waxing of private vehicles, or any other adult work activity center, shall be placed in a special account and utilized for the welfare of the inmate population.

     65.13.   (CORR: Release of Inmates)  The Director of the Department of Corrections and other persons having charge of prisoners who are required to serve a period of six months or more, may release all such prisoners, including prisoners to whom Section 24-13-150(A) of the 1976 Code applies, on the first day of the month in which their sentences expire, and if the first day of the month falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, such prisoners may be released on the last weekday prior to the first of the month which is not a holiday.

     65.14.   (CORR: Western Union Funding)  All funds received by the South Carolina Department of Corrections from the Western Union Quick Collect Revenue Sharing Program or similar private sector entities, which provides payment for processing electronic transfers into the E.H. Cooper Trust Fund, shall be retained by the South Carolina Department of Corrections and credited to a fund entitled “Inmate Welfare Fund” to be expended for the benefit of the inmate population.

     65.15.   (CORR: Monitoring Fees)  The Department of Corrections is authorized to charge an inmate who participates in community programs a reasonable fee for the cost of supplying electronic and telephonic monitoring.  The fees charged may not exceed the actual cost of the monitoring.

     65.16.   (CORR: Inmate Insurance Policies)  The Department of Corrections may collect and record private health insurance information from incarcerated individuals.  The department may file against any private insurance policy covering an inmate to recoup any health care expenditures covered by the policy.  Health care will be provided in accordance with law and standards regardless of whether or not an inmate is covered by insurance.

     65.17.   (CORR: Work Release Transportation Fee)  The South Carolina Department of Corrections is authorized to charge a$4.00 per day transportation fee to participants in the work release program only when such transportation is provided by the department.  Monies collected shall be credited to the South Carolina Department of Corrections, and utilized solely to fund transportation of work release participants and vehicle replacement for the work release program.

     65.18.   (CORR: Special Assignment Pay Level 2 & 3 Facilities)  Funds appropriated for special assignment pay at the Department of Corrections are for the purpose of addressing vacancies and turnover of staff by providing a pay differential for certain employees assigned to institutions with a Level II or Level III security designation.  The funds are to be used for special assignment pay only and may not be transferred to any other program.  If the employee leaves one of the qualifying job classes or leaves a Level II or Level III institution for a non-Level II or non-Level III facility, they shall no longer be eligible for this special assignment pay.  Only employees in full-time equivalent positions are eligible for this special assignment pay.

     The special assignment pay is not a part of the employee’s base salary, but is a percentage thereof, and is to be paid as follows:

          (A)   At Level II institutions:

                                            (1)    four percent for Correctional Officers including Class Code JD-30 (cadets and Officer I and II positions) and Corporals I and II;

                                            (2)    two percent for Sergeants and Lieutenants;

                                            (3)    one percent for Captains and Majors;

                                            (4)    two percent for Nursing staff; and

                                            (5)    two percent for Food Service staff.

          (B)    At Level III institutions:

                                            (1)    eight percent for Correctional Officers including Class Code JD-30 (cadets and Officer I and II positions) and Corporals I and II;

                                            (2)    three percent for Sergeants and Lieutenants;

                                            (3)    one percent for Captains and Majors;

                                            (4)    three percent for Nursing staff; and

                                            (5)    three percent for Food Service staff.

     65.19.   (CORR: Quota Elimination)  Pursuant to Section 24-3-60 of the 1976 Code, upon notification by the county, the Department of Corrections shall accept newly sentenced inmates from each local jail and detention center.

     For sentenced inmates who the county is willing to transport, the department may limit the acceptance at the Kirkland Correctional Institution to the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, and at the Perry and Lieber Correctional Institutions to the hours of 8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays.

     By mutual agreement between the Department of Corrections and a local jail or detention center, the department may establish an alternate admissions schedule for receiving inmates at the Reception and Evaluation Center.

     At the time of transfer of the inmate to the department, the county shall provide the sentencing order, and if available copies of medical screening records, booking reports, and other documents to assist the department in its intake processing.  Counties that have not completed medical screenings at the time of transfer shall not be required to do so.

     In the event there are inadequate beds within the Reception and Evaluation Center, the Department of Corrections may create a “jail” within the Kirkland Correctional Institution using one or more of the available 192-bed housing units to accept newly sentenced state inmates who are awaiting R & E processing.  The department may operate such “jail,” to the extent feasible, in accordance with standards applicable to the local jails.

     The department shall use the funds appropriated in this act for “Quota Elimination” to accomplish this initiative and to open a 96-bed unit at the MacDougall Correctional Institution and the 192-bed housing units at Kirkland Correctional Institution.  The funds may not be transferred to any other program or used for any other purpose.

     65.20.   (CORR: Public/Private Partnerships for Construction)  Funds appropriated in Act 407 of 2006, Item 23, shall be used to construct as many multi-purpose buildings at Department of Corrections institutions as possible.  For such facilities at Lieber, McCormick, Leath, Perry, or Allendale Correctional Institution, at least $150,000 in matching funds and/or construction materials or services must be donated before construction of the facility may begin.  At other Department of Corrections locations, the Director may require that donated funds and/or materials or services equal one-half of the cost of construction, including design and engineering costs. 

     65.21.   (CORR: Inmate Barbering Program)  Inmate barbers in the Inmate Barbering Program at the Department of Corrections, shall not be subject to the licensing requirement of Section 40-7-30 of the 1976 Code.

     65.22.   (CORR: Executed Inmate Autopsy)  For the current fiscal year, the autopsy requirements of Section 17-7-10 of the 1976 Code are suspended when an inmate is executed by the Department of Corrections pursuant to a valid order of the Supreme Court of South Carolina.

     65.23.   (CORR: Recoupment of Expenses Associated with Inmate Cremation)  If the Department of Corrections incurs expenses for cremating and disposing of an unclaimed deceased inmate, the department may recoup all associated costs of cremation, including transportation, through the deceased inmate’s E.H. Cooper account, providing funds are available.

     65.24.   (CORR: Credited Jail Time; DNA Sample Collection)  Inmates committed to the Department of Corrections for sentences greater than ninety days, but who have credit for jail time in excess of their sentence to incarceration are not required to be transported to the Reception and Evaluation Center of the Department of Corrections.  Cities and counties housing inmates who have credit for jail time in excess of their sentence may, through written agreement with the Department of Corrections, transfer required commitment records to the department electronically or by other means.  The Department of Corrections must establish reasonable documentation requirements to facilitate the implementation of this cost savings measure.  Employees of the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services assigned to the court or employees of the Department of Corrections, as applicable, shall obtain DNA samples from the offenders who are required to submit DNA samples.  This provision does not exempt the above referenced inmates from the $250 DNA fee as required by Section 23‑3-670 of the 1976 Code.  The $250 fee shall be collected in the same manner as other fines and fees and submitted to the State Treasurer for remittance to SLED.

     65.25.   (CORR: Cell Phone Interdiction)  The Director of the Department of Corrections is granted the right to add a surcharge to all inmate pay phone calls to offset the cost of equipment and operations of cell phone interdiction measures.  The surcharge will be added to the cost per call, collected by chosen telephone vendor and paid to the department on a monthly basis.  The department is authorized to retain the funds to pay, either directly or through the State lease program, for equipment required to enact cell phone interdiction or retrieval.  When the equipment has been paid in full, the surcharge amount will be reviewed and adjusted to cover the cost of ongoing operational expenses of the interdiction equipment.  Any unexpended balance may be carried forward from the prior fiscal year into the current fiscal year and be used for the same purpose.

     65.26.   (CORR:Correctional Institution Maintenance and Construction) For maintenance and construction activities funded in the current fiscal year, the Department of Corrections may utilize inmate labor to perform any portion of the workon its own grounds and facilities.  The provisions of Section 40-11-360(A)(9) of the 1976 Code shall apply to any such project, including new construction.

     65.27.   (CORR: Meals in Emergency Operations)  The Department of Corrections may provide meals to public employees who are not permitted to leave their stations and are required to work during actual emergencies, emergency simulation exercises, or when the Governor declares a state of emergency.

     65.28.   (CORR: Prohibition on Funding Certain Surgery)  (A)  The Department of Corrections is prohibited from using state funds or state resources to provide a prisoner in the state prison system sexual reassignment surgery; however, if a person is taking hormonal therapy at the time the person is committed to the Department of Corrections, the department shall continue to provide this therapy to the person as long as medically necessary for the health of the person.

     (B)    As used in this provision:

              (1)    ‘Hormonal therapy’ means the use of hormones to stimulate the development or alteration of a person’s sexual characteristics in order to alter the person’s physical appearance so that the person appears more like the opposite gender;

              (2)    ‘Sexual reassignment surgery’ means a surgical procedure to alter a person’s physical appearance so that the person appears more like the opposite gender.