November 10, 2011, Introduced by Rep. Bumstead and referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
A bill to amend 1953 PA 232, entitled
"Corrections code of 1953,"
by amending sections 20g and 20i (MCL 791.220g and 791.220i),
section 20g as amended by 2000 PA 211 and section 20i as added by
2006 PA 351.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec.
20g. (1) The department may establish a youth
correctional
facility which shall house only prisoners committed to
the
jurisdiction of the department who are 19 years of age or less.
If
the department establishes or contracts with a private vendor
for
the operation of a youth correctional facility, following
intake
processing in a department operated facility, the department
shall
house all male prisoners who are 16 years of age or less at
the
youth correctional facility unless the department determines
that
the prisoner should be housed at a different facility for
reasons
of security, safety, or because of the prisoner's
specialized
physical or mental health care needs.
(2)
Except as provided in subsection (3), a prisoner who is 16
years
of age or less and housed at a youth correctional facility
shall
only be placed in a general population housing unit with
prisoners
who are 16 years of age or less.
(3)
A prisoner who becomes 17 years of age while being housed
at
a youth correctional facility and who has a satisfactory prison
record
may remain in a general population housing unit for no more
than
1 year with prisoners who are 16 years of age or less.
(4)
Except as provided in subsection (3), a prisoner who is 16
years
of age or less and housed at a youth correctional facility
shall
not be allowed to be in the proximity of a prisoner who is 17
years
of age or more without the presence and direct supervision of
custody
personnel in the immediate vicinity.
(5)
The department may establish and operate the youth
correctional
facility or may contract on behalf of the state with a
private
vendor for the construction or operation, or both, of the
youth
correctional facility. If the department contracts with a
private
vendor to construct, rehabilitate, develop, renovate, or
operate
any existing or anticipated facility pursuant to this
section,
the department shall require a written certification from
the
private vendor regarding all of the following:
(a)
If practicable to efficiently and effectively complete the
project,
the private vendor shall follow a competitive bid process
for
the construction, rehabilitation, development, or renovation of
the
facility, and this process shall be open to all Michigan
residents
and firms. The private vendor shall not discriminate
against
any contractor on the basis of its affiliation or
nonaffiliation
with any collective bargaining organization.
(b)
The private vendor shall make a good faith effort to
employ,
if qualified, Michigan residents at the facility.
(c)
The private vendor shall make a good faith effort to
employ
or contract with Michigan residents and firms to construct,
rehabilitate,
develop, or renovate the facility.
(6)
If the department contracts with a private vendor for the
operation
of the youth correctional facility, the department shall
require
by contract that the personnel employed by the private
vendor
in the operation of the facility be certified as
correctional
officers to the same extent as would be required if
those
personnel were employed in a correctional facility operated
by
the department. The department also shall require by contract
that
the private vendor meet requirements specified by the
department
regarding security, protection of the public,
inspections
by the department, programming, liability and
insurance,
conditions of confinement, educational services required
under
subsection (11), and any other issues the department
considers
necessary for the operation of the youth correctional
facility.
The department shall also require that the contract
include
provisions to protect the public's interest if the private
vendor
defaults on the contract. Before finalizing a contract with
a
private vendor for the construction or operation of the youth
correctional
facility, the department shall submit the proposed
contract
to the standing committees of the senate and the house of
representatives
having jurisdiction of corrections issues, the
corrections
subcommittees of the standing committees on
appropriations
of the senate and the house of representatives, and,
with
regard to proposed construction contracts, the joint committee
on
capital outlay. A contract between the department and a private
vendor
for the construction or operation of the youth correctional
facility
shall be contingent upon appropriation of the required
funding.
If the department contracts with a private vendor under
this
section, the selection of that private vendor shall be by
open,
competitive bid.
(7)
The department shall not site a youth correctional
facility
under this section in a city, village, or township unless
the
local legislative body of that city, village, or township
adopts
a resolution approving the location.
(8)
A private vendor operating a youth correctional facility
under
a contract under this section shall not do any of the
following,
unless directed to do so by the department policy:
(a)
Calculate inmate release and parole eligibility dates.
(b)
Award good time or disciplinary credits, or impose
disciplinary
time.
(c)
Approve inmates for extensions of limits of confinement.
(9)
The youth correctional facility shall be open to visits
during
all business hours, and during nonbusiness hours unless an
emergency
prevents it, by any elected state senator or state
representative.
(10)
Once each year, the department shall report on the
operation
of the facility. Copies of the report shall be submitted
to
the chairpersons of the house and senate committees responsible
for
legislation on corrections or judicial issues, and to the clerk
of
the house of representatives and the secretary of the senate.
(11)
Regardless of whether the department itself operates the
youth
correctional facility or contracts with a private vendor to
operate
the youth correctional facility, all of the following
educational
services shall be provided for juvenile prisoners
housed
at the facility who have not earned a high school diploma or
received
a general education certificate (GED):
(a)
The department or private vendor shall require that a
prisoner
whose academic achievement level is not sufficient to
allow
the prisoner to participate effectively in a program leading
to
the attainment of a GED certificate participate in classes that
will
prepare him or her to participate effectively in the GED
program,
and shall provide those classes in the facility.
(b)
The department or private vendor shall require that a
prisoner
who successfully completes classes described in
subdivision
(a), or whose academic achievement level is otherwise
sufficient,
participate in classes leading to the attainment of a
GED
certificate, and shall provide those classes.
(12)
Neither the department nor the private vendor shall seek
to
have the youth correctional facility authorized as a public
school
academy under the revised school code, 1976 PA 451, MCL
380.1
to 380.1852.
(13)
A private vendor that operates the youth correctional
facility
under a contract with the department shall provide written
notice
of its intention to discontinue its operation of the
facility.
This subsection does not authorize or limit liability for
a
breach or default of contract. If the reason for the
discontinuance
is that the private vendor intends not to renew the
contract,
the notice shall be delivered to the director of the
department
at least 1 year before the contract expiration date. If
the
discontinuance is for any other reason, the notice shall be
delivered
to the director of the department at least 6 months
before
the date on which the private vendor will discontinue its
operation
of the facility. This subsection does not authorize or
limit
liability for a breach or default of contract.
(1) The department may contract with the operator of the
privately owned correctional facility in Webber township, Lake
county, Michigan, for the housing and management of the
department's inmates at that facility if the contract will result
in an annual cost savings of at least 5%. If the department
contracts for the housing and management of department inmates, the
department shall require a written certification from the private
vendor that the private vendor shall not discriminate against any
contractor on the basis of its affiliation or nonaffiliation with
any collective bargaining organization and shall make a good-faith
effort to employ, if qualified, Michigan residents at the facility.
(2) The contract between the department and the private vendor
shall be for an initial term of 5 years, subject to renewals by
mutual agreement of 2 years each. The contract shall require that
the personnel employed by the private vendor in the operation of
the facility be certified as correctional officers to the same
extent as would be required if those personnel were employed in a
correctional facility operated by the department. The department
also shall require by contract that the private vendor meet
requirements specified by the department regarding security,
protection of the public, inspections by the department,
programming, liability and insurance, conditions of confinement,
educational services, and any other issues the department considers
necessary for the operation of the correctional facility. A
contract between the department and a private vendor for the
operation of the correctional facility shall be contingent upon
appropriation of the required funding.
(3) The private vendor operating the correctional facility
under a contract under this section shall not do any of the
following, unless directed to do so by department policy:
(a) Calculate inmate release and parole eligibility dates.
(b) Award good time or disciplinary credits, or impose
disciplinary time.
(c) Approve inmates for extensions of limits of confinement.
(4) The correctional facility shall be open to visits during
all business hours and during nonbusiness hours, unless an
emergency prevents it, by any elected state senator or state
representative.
(5) Once each year, the department shall report on the
operation of the facility. Copies of the report shall be submitted
to the chairpersons of the house and senate committees responsible
for legislation on corrections or judicial issues and to the clerk
of the house of representatives and the secretary of the senate.
Sec.
20i. (1) If the Michigan youth private
correctional
facility
established pursuant to described
in section 20g in Webber
township, Lake county, Michigan, is not utilized by the department
for housing inmates or detainees under the jurisdiction of the
department,
the private vendor that operates the Michigan youth
that correctional facility may utilize the facility for housing,
custody, and care of detainees or inmates from other local, state,
or federal agencies, either by directly contracting with those
local, state, or federal agencies or by having 1 or more local,
state, or federal agencies enter into an interlocal agreement with
Webber township, Lake county, or the county sheriff for Lake
county, who in turn may contract with the private vendor for
services to be provided under the terms of the interlocal
agreement, subject to the requirements of this section. If all
contractual factors regarding potential inmates or detainees are
equal, the private vendor shall give preference to the admission of
inmates or detainees sent from agencies within this state.
(2) Any contract under this section for the housing, custody,
and care of detainees or inmates from other local, state, or
federal agencies shall require all of the following:
(a) The private vendor that operates the facility shall do all
of the following:
(i) Obtain accreditation of the facility by the American
correctional association within 24 months after the private vendor
commences operations at the facility and maintain that
accreditation throughout the term of any contract for the use of
the facility.
(ii) Operate the facility in compliance with the applicable
standards of the American correctional association.
(b) The personnel employed by the private vendor in the
operation of the facility shall meet the employment and training
requirements set forth in the applicable standards of the American
correctional association, and also shall meet any higher training
and employment standards that may be mandated under a contract
between the private vendor and a local, state, or federal agency
that sends inmates or detainees to the facility.
(c) Any serious incident that occurs at the facility shall be
reported immediately to the sheriff of Lake county and the state
police.
(3) An inmate or detainee housed at the facility shall not
participate in work release, a work camp, or another similar
program or activity occurring outside the secure perimeter of the
facility without the authorization of the department.
(4) The facility shall allow the presence of on-site monitors
from any local, state, or federal agency that sends inmates or
detainees to the facility, for the purpose of monitoring the
conditions of confinement of those inmates or detainees. Whenever
the private vendor submits a written report to a local, state, or
federal agency that sends inmates or detainees to the facility, the
private vendor shall send copies of the written report to the
township supervisor for Webber township, the board of county
commissioners for Lake county, the sheriff of Lake county, and the
department.
(5) Personnel employed at the facility by the private vendor
who have met the employment and training requirements set forth in
the applicable standards of the American correctional association
have full authority to perform their duties and responsibilities
under law, including, but not limited to, exercising the use of
force in the same manner and to the same extent as would be
authorized if those personnel were employed in a correctional
facility operated by the department.
(6) A contract with a local, state, or federal agency that
sends inmates or detainees to the facility shall not require,
authorize, or imply a delegation of the authority or responsibility
to the private vendor to do any of the following:
(a) Develop or implement procedures for calculating inmate
release and parole eligibility dates or recommending the granting
or denying of parole, although the private vendor may submit
written reports that have been prepared in the ordinary course of
business.
(b) Develop or implement procedures for calculating and
awarding earned credits, including good time credits, disciplinary
credits, or similar credits affecting the length of an inmate's
incarceration, approving the type of work inmates may perform and
the wage or earned credits, if any, that may be awarded to inmates
engaging in that work, and granting, denying, or revoking earned
credits.
(7) An inmate or detainee shall not be housed at the facility
unless the security classification of the inmate or detainee, as it
would be determined by the department if he or she were being
housed in a state correctional facility, is level IV or below, and
has never previously been above level IV.
(8) Inmates and detainees shall be transferred to and from the
facility in a secure manner. Any inmate or detainee housed at the
facility who was sent from another state, a local agency outside
this state, or the federal government shall be returned to the
agency that sent the inmate or detainee upon completion of the
inmate's or detainee's term of incarceration in the facility and
shall not be released from custody within this state.
(9) The department of corrections is not responsible for
oversight of the facility. This state, or any department or agency
of this state, is not civilly liable for damages arising out of the
operation of the facility.
(10) As used in this section:
(a)
"Facility" means the former Michigan youth privately owned
correctional facility described in subsection (1).
(b) "Security classification" means 1 of 6 levels of
restrictiveness enforced in housing units at each state
correctional facility, as determined by the department, with
security level I being the least restrictive and security level VI
being the most restrictive.
(c) "Serious incident" means a disturbance at the facility
involving 5 or more inmates or detainees, a death of an inmate or
detainee, a felony or attempted felony committed within the
facility, or an escape or attempted escape from the facility.
Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take effect
unless Senate Bill No.____ or House Bill No.____ (request no.
04364'11) of the 96th Legislature is enacted into law.