A bill

to amend the South Carolina Code of Laws by amending Section 24-3-130, relating to Use of inmate labor for certain public projects, so as to delete references to the construction of work camps.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1.   Section 24-3-130 of the S.C. Code is amended to read:

   Section 24-3-130.   (A) The Department of Corrections may permit the use of inmate labor on state highway projects or other public projects that may be practical and consistent with safeguarding of the inmates employed on the projects and the public. The Department of Transportation, another state agency, or a county, municipality, or public service district making a beneficial public improvement may apply to the department for the use of inmate labor on the highway project or other public improvement or development project. If the director determines that the labor may be performed with safety and the project is beneficial to the public, he may assign inmates to labor on the highway project or other public purpose project. The inmate labor force must be supervised and controlled by officers designated by the department but the direction of the work performed on the highway or other public improvement project must be under the control and supervision of the person designated by the agency, county, municipality, or public service district responsible for the work. No person convicted of criminal sexual conduct in the first, second, or third degree or a person who commits a violent crime while on a work release program may be assigned to perform labor on a project described by this section.

   (B) The authorities involved may enter into contracts to implement the provisions of this section.

   (C) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, inmates constructing work camps on county property must be supervised and controlled by armed officers and must be drawn exclusively from minimum security facilities. A work camp constructed or operated by the Department of Corrections must house only offenders classified as nonviolent. The contracting officials for the county utilizing prison inmate labor must be provided by the Department of Corrections with the most recent information concerning the composition of all work crews including the respective offenses for which the inmates have been sentenced and their custody levels.

SECTION 2.   This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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