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COMMITTEE REPORT
April 5, 2000
H. 4710
S. Printed 4/5/00--H. [SEC 4/6/00 4:11 PM]
Read the first time February 29, 2000.
To whom was referred a Joint Resolution (H. 4710), to create a Local Jail Task Force to identify and study the many problems confronting local jails, etc., respectfully
That they have duly and carefully considered the same, and recommend that the same do pass with amendment:
Amend the Joint Resolution, as and if amended, beginning on page 1 by striking lines 29 through line 42, and ending on page 2 by striking lines 1 through 31.
Amend the Joint Resolution further, SECTION 1, page 2, by striking SECTION 1 in its entirety and inserting:
/SECTION 1. (A) There is created a Local Jail Task Force to identify and study the many problems confronting local jails. (B) The Local Jail Task Force is composed of the following twenty members:
(1) one member of the Senate appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate;
(2) one member of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House;
(3) a representative from the Governor's Office;
(4) the Attorney General or his designee;
(5) a representative from the South Carolina Department of Corrections;
(6) a representative from the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services;
(7) a representative from South Carolina Court Administration appointed by the Chief Justice of the South Carolina Supreme Court;
(8) a representative from the South Carolina Association of Counties;
(9) a representative from the South Carolina Jail Administrators' Association;
(10) a county magistrate appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court;
(11) a family court judge appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court;
(12) a circuit court judge appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court;
(13) a county clerk of court;
(14) a circuit solicitor appointed by the Prosecution Coordination Commission;
(15) a public defender;
(16) a county chief administrative officer;
(17) a county council member;
(18) a sheriff who runs a jail;
(19) the Director of the Division of Victim Assistance; and
(20) a police chief.
The Governor must appoint all members of the Local Jail Task Force except the members identified in subitems (1), (2), (4), (7), (10), (11), (12), and (14).
The Local Jail Task Force shall elect one of its members as chairman and other necessary officers. It shall meet as often as necessary for the discharge of its business before making its report to the Governor and General Assembly.
(C) The Local Jail Task Force shall submit a report with recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly before February 1, 2001, at which time the task force is abolished./
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.
JAMES H. HARRISON, for Committee.
EXPLANATION OF IMPACT:
The creation of a Local Jail Task Force as outlined within the proposed Joint Resolution is projected to cost approximately $4,050 per meeting (18 meetings @ $225/day). For purposes of this impact, it is assumed that the employing agency of each Local Jail Task Force representative will be responsible for expense reimbursements.
Approved By:
Don Addy
Office of State Budget
TO CREATE A LOCAL JAIL TASK FORCE TO IDENTIFY AND STUDY THE MANY PROBLEMS CONFRONTING LOCAL JAILS TO INCLUDE: WAYS TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF PENDING CASES ON THE CRIMINAL COURT DOCKET AND THE PROSECUTION PROCESS; FINANCIAL SUPPORT FOR CONSTRUCTION AND EXPANSION OF JAILS; CONTROL OVER THE GROWING COSTS OF HOUSING INMATES AND PROVIDING FOR THEIR MEDICAL CARE; MORE AND BETTER TRAINING AND HIGHER SALARIES FOR CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS; AND ALTERNATIVES TO INCARCERATION FOR LESSER CRIMES AND OTHER MEANS TO ALLEVIATE OVERCROWDING; TO PROVIDE FOR THE TASK FORCE MEMBERSHIP; AND TO REQUIRE THE TASK FORCE REPORT ITS RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE GOVERNOR AND GENERAL ASSEMBLY BEFORE FEBRUARY 1, 2001, AT WHICH TIME THE TASK FORCE IS ABOLISHED.
Whereas, South Carolina's jail incarceration rate is one of the highest in the country, ranking fourth in the number of inmates booked, making problems in the jail system more likely to occur; and
Whereas, jails must hold both violent and non-violent offenders, ensure there are no escapes and, with limited resources, extract a form of repayment from those that legally can be required to work; and
Whereas, the backlog in the judicial system means that at any given time, at least eighty-five percent of jail detainees are awaiting trial. Weekend-sentenced inmates, family-court inmates, and the mentally impaired who have no other place to go exacerbate the problem. These factors made the state's jail population increase over fifty percent in the last five years; and
Whereas, counties lack local and state support for building jails and receive minimal and undependable grant funding for jail construction or expansion. In the last decade, over two hundred million dollars of local tax dollars have been spent on construction and expansion of county jails, and new facilities cannot be built as fast as the inmate population is increasing; and
Whereas, most correctional officers are underpaid, overworked, undertrained, and under great stress resulting in very high turnover and understaffing, which is made worse by a swelling inmate population; and
Whereas, medical costs for inmates have skyrocketed and jails have been confronted with treating epidemic proportions of inmates who are HIV-positive or who have contracted AIDS, tuberculosis, or hepatitis-B; and
Whereas, the impact of "get tough" legislation, though well-intentioned, has overlooked the effect on the criminal justice system - more arrests mean more court backlog which translates into more inmates for longer periods of time; and
Whereas, local jails are the forgotten and ignored element of the criminal justice system, yet there is not one inmate serving a prison sentence that did not first come through the county jail system. Many jail problems are created by factors mostly outside local officials' control, and the support and assistance of every player in the criminal justice system is critical. Now, therefore,
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. (A) There is created a Local Jail Task Force to identify and study the many problems confronting local jails. These problems include, but are not limited to: ways to reduce the number of pending cases on the criminal court docket and shorten the prosecution process; financial support for construction and expansion of jails, control over the growing costs of housing inmates and providing for their medical care; more and better training and higher salaries for correctional officers; and alternatives to incarceration for lesser crimes and other means to alleviate the overcrowding dilemma. Alternatives to incarceration may include expansion of the drug courts, better use of electronic monitoring, home detention, and other tools or programs.
(B) The Local Jail Task Force is composed of the following eighteen members:
(1) one member of the Senate appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate;
(2) one member of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House;
(3) a representative from the Governor's Office;
(4) a representative from the Attorney General's Office;
(5) a representative from the South Carolina Department of Corrections;
(6) a representative from the South Carolina Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services;
(7) a representative from South Carolina Court Administration;
(8) a representative from the South Carolina Association of Counties;
(9) a representative from the South Carolina Jail Administrators' Association;
(10) a county magistrate appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court;
(11) a family court judge appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court;
(12) a circuit court judge appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court;
(13) a county clerk of court;
(14) a circuit solicitor appointed by the Prosecution Coordination Commission;
(15) a public defender;
(16) a county chief administrative officer;
(17) a county council member; and
(18) a sheriff who runs a jail.
The Governor must appoint all members of the Local Jail Task Force except the members identified in subitems (1), (2), (10), (11), (12), and (14).
The Local Jail Task Force shall elect one of its members as chairman and other necessary officers. It shall meet as often as necessary for the discharge of its business before making its report to the Governor and General Assembly.
(C) The Local Jail Task Force shall submit a report with recommendations to the Governor and General Assembly before February 1, 2001, at which time the task force is abolished.
SECTION 2. This joint resolution takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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