S 179 Session 111 (1995-1996)
S 0179 General Bill, By M.T. Rose
A BILL TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 13
TO CHAPTER 3, TITLE 24 SO AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE PRIVATE CORRECTIONS
FACILITIES, PROGRAMS, AND SERVICES ACT ALLOWING A UNIT OF GOVERNMENT TO
CONTRACT WITH THE PRIVATE SECTOR TO PERFORM SERVICES CURRENTLY PERFORMED BY A
CORRECTIONS AGENCY OR DEPARTMENT.
10/17/94 Senate Prefiled
10/17/94 Senate Referred to Committee on Corrections and Penology
01/10/95 Senate Introduced and read first time SJ-62
01/10/95 Senate Referred to Committee on Corrections and Penology SJ-62
03/16/95 Senate Committee report: Favorable with amendment
Corrections and Penology SJ-11
03/22/95 Senate Amended SJ-15
03/22/95 Senate Read second time SJ-20
03/23/95 Senate Read third time and sent to House SJ-20
03/28/95 House Introduced and read first time HJ-10
03/28/95 House Referred to Committee on Medical, Military,
Public and Municipal Affairs HJ-10
04/18/95 House Tabled in committee Medical, Military, Public and
Municipal Affairs
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ADOPTED
March 22, 1995
S. 179
Introduced by SENATOR Rose
S. Printed 3/22/95--S.
Read the first time January 10, 1995.
A BILL
TO AMEND THE CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA,
1976, BY ADDING ARTICLE 13 TO CHAPTER 3, TITLE 24 SO
AS TO PROVIDE FOR THE PRIVATE CORRECTIONS
FACILITIES, PROGRAMS, AND SERVICES ACT ALLOWING
A UNIT OF GOVERNMENT TO CONTRACT WITH THE
PRIVATE SECTOR TO PERFORM SERVICES CURRENTLY
PERFORMED BY A CORRECTIONS AGENCY OR
DEPARTMENT.
Amend Title To Conform
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 Corrections Facilities,
Programs, and Services Act
Section 24-3-2400. This article may be cited as the Private
Corrections 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) may provide residential and nonresidential
accommodations and services for offenders, juvenile delinquents,
and detainees;
(b) provides programs and services to aid offenders, juvenile
delinquents, 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 in meeting their personal and family
needs, and in participating in specialized treatment programs that
exist within the community; and
(c) provides supervision and surveillance of offenders,
juvenile delinquents, 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) `Nongovernmental agency' means a person or organization
other than a unit of government or agency and includes private
profit organizations.
(5) `Offender' means an adult who has entered a plea of guilty
or has been convicted of a felony or misdemeanor.
(6) `Parole board' means the Board of Probation, Parole and
Pardon Services.
(7) `Unit of local government' means a county, city, or town.
Section 24-3-2420. (A) A unit of local government 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 or
supervision of offenders, juvenile delinquents, and detainees in
nongovernmental correctional facilities, programs, or services.
(B) Units of local government shall establish specific procedures
for screening offenders, juvenile delinquents, or detainees who are
placed in nongovernmental correctional facilities, programs, or
services pursuant to this article .
(C) The unit of local government shall review, inspect, and
evaluate all correctional facilities, programs, and services which are
operated or provided by nongovernmental agencies within the
county or unit of local government and which provide
accommodation 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 24-3-2440.
(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 site of the program is to be
located, or by the appropriate state authority, depending upon which
governing body or agency the facility or service has been designed.
Approval or denial of the establishment of the facility, program, or
service must be made only after consultation with the Board of
Probation, Parole and Pardon Services and other agencies having
responsibility for offenders, juvenile delinquents, and detainees.
(F) In a county where the sheriff is the jailor, the county may
not enter into a contract under this section without the sheriff's
consent.
Section 24-3-2430. The Commissioner of the Department of
Corrections or Department of Juvenile Justice, as appropriate,
regularly shall review, monitor, inspect, and evaluate all
correctional facilities, programs, and services operating within the
State which are operated or provided by nongovernmental agencies
except correctional facilities, programs, or services which provide
services or accommodations only to offenders, juvenile delinquents,
or detainees referred by units of local government.
Section 24-3-2440. (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 provided, including:
(1) requirements for strict accountability procedures and
practices for the conduct and supervision of offenders, juvenile
delinquents, and detainees, including requirements for
twenty-four-hour supervision of offenders, juvenile delinquents, and
detainees in residential programs;
(2) guidelines for periodic and unscheduled tests to determine
the use of drugs by offenders, juvenile delinquents, and detainees;
and
(3) standards regarding health, sanitation, and fire safety.
(B) Before entering into a contract with a nongovernmental
agency, the Department of Corrections or the Department of
Juvenile Justice 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 review and
recommendations.
(C) The guidelines and standards required by this section must
be developed pursuant to Section 24-3-2490.
Section 24-3-2450. (A) Subject to subsection (B), after an
adjudication of guilty or delinquency, the sentencing court, as a
condition of probation, may order that the delinquent or 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 or juvenile delinquent 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 24-3-2440 or 24-3-2480; and
(2) funding for the placement is available.
(C) Before the placement of an offender or juvenile delinquent
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 24-3-2460. 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, and
detainees placed in a correctional facility, program, or service under
this article in accordance with their existing statutory responsibilities
for offenders, juvenile delinquents, and detainees.
Section 24-3-2470. (A) Subject to subsection (B), the
responsible state agency may place an offender, juvenile delinquent,
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 care of
offenders, juvenile delinquents, or detainees; and
(2) funding for the placement is available.
(C) Before the placement of an individual in a nongovernmental
residential facility, the state agency having responsibility for the
offender, juvenile delinquent, 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 24-3-2480. Subject to legislative appropriation, the State,
in accordance with state procurement law, may contract under this
article with nongovernmental agencies to operate correctional
facilities and programs to provide correctional services for
offenders, juvenile delinquents, and detainees.
Section 24-3-2490. (A) The Department of Corrections shall:
(1) establish minimum facility standards for correctional
facilities operated by a nongovernmental agency receiving funds
under this article ;
(2) establish minimum standards for programs and services
provided by a nongovernmental agency receiving funds under this
article ;
(3) prescribe accounting and reporting standards for all
nongovernmental agencies operating correctional facilities or
providing correctional programs or services under this article ;
(4) establish a per diem rate to be paid program providers
operating correctional facilities under this article which may not
exceed the daily cost of providing the same programs or services at
a state or juvenile institution; and
(5) promulgate regulations reasonably necessary to carry out
the provisions of this article .
(B) The nongovernmental correctional facility, program, and
service standards developed by the State shall take into
consideration the standards of the American Correctional
Association and other appropriate professional accreditation
organizations. A nongovernmental correctional facility, program, or
service must not be approved unless it complies with the most
recent standards established by the American Correctional
Association which are appropriate for the specific type of facility,
program, or service.
Section 24-3-2500. (A) An offender, juvenile delinquent, or
detainee is guilty of escape from official detention and, upon
conviction, must be punished as provided by law if, without proper
authorization, he:
(1) 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 fails
or neglects to return to a nongovernmental correctional facility
within the time prescribed or when specifically ordered to do so.
Section 24-3-2510. The State 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, and
detainees assigned to those facilities, programs, or services; the
extent to which offenders, juvenile delinquents, and detainees have
received and benefitted from services related to their rehabilitation;
and the rate of success as compared to offenders, juvenile
delinquents, and detainees in government operated correctional
facilities, programs, or services."
SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon approval by the
Governor.
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