March 1, 2006, Introduced by Reps. Hansen, Green, Jones, Booher, Shaffer, Palsrok, Stahl, Elsenheimer and Casperson and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
A bill to amend 1953 PA 232, entitled
"Corrections code of 1953,"
by amending section 20g (MCL 791.220g), as amended by 2000 PA 211.
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.
(14) If the Michigan youth correctional facility established
pursuant to this section in Webber township, Lake county, Michigan,
is not utilized by the department for housing prisoners under the
jurisdiction of the department, the private vendor that operates
the Michigan youth 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 entering into an
interlocal agreement between 1 or more local, state, or federal
agencies and the village of Baldwin, 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 all of the following:
(a) Any contract for the housing, custody, and care of
detainees or inmates from other local, state, or federal agencies
shall include a requirement that the operation of the facility will
comply with the applicable standards of the American correctional
association and that the personnel employed by the private vendor
in the operation of the facility shall meet the applicable
employment and training requirements of those standards.
(b) Any serious incidents that occur at the facility shall be
immediately reported to the department and to local law enforcement
agencies.
(c) The department may inspect and review the facility's
operations at any time.
(15) Personnel employed at the facility by the private vendor
pursuant to subsection (14) who have met the applicable employment
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.