September 26, 2018, Introduced by Reps. Bizon, Kesto, Lucido, Theis, Chang, Gay-Dagnogo and Howrylak and referred to the Committee on Law and Justice.
A bill to amend 1975 PA 46, entitled
"An act to create the office of the legislative corrections
ombudsman; to prescribe the powers and duties of the office, the
ombudsman, the legislative council, and the department of
corrections; and to provide remedies from administrative acts,"
by amending sections 4, 5, 8, and 9 (MCL 4.354, 4.355, 4.358, and
4.359), section 4 as amended by 1998 PA 318, section 5 as amended
by 2010 PA 287, and section 9 as amended by 1995 PA 197.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 4. (1) The ombudsman may commence an investigation upon
either of the following:
(a) Receipt of a complaint from a prisoner, a legislator, or
on the ombudsman's own initiative, concerning an administrative act
which
that is alleged by a prisoner to be contrary to
law or
contrary to departmental policy.
(b) The ombudsman's own initiative for significant prisoner
health and safety issues, correctional facility security, and
public safety, and other matters for which there is no effective
administrative remedy.
(2) Subject to approval of the council, the ombudsman shall
establish procedures for receiving and processing complaints,
conducting investigations, holding hearings, and reporting the
findings resulting from the investigations.
Sec. 5. (1) Upon request and without the requirement of any
release, the ombudsman shall be given access to and physical or
electronic copies of all information, records, and documents in the
possession
of the department which that
the ombudsman deems
considers necessary in an investigation, including, but not limited
to, prisoner medical health records, prisoner mental health
records, and prisoner mortality and morbidity records. Upon
request, the ombudsman may interview any of the following
individuals whom the ombudsman considers necessary in an
investigation:
(a) An individual employed by or retained under contract by
the department.
(b) An individual employed by or retained under contract by a
private contractor that operates a facility or institution that
houses prisoners under the jurisdiction of the department.
(2) Upon request and without notice, the ombudsman shall be
granted entrance to inspect at any time any premises under the
control of the department. The ombudsman shall be granted entry
into a correctional facility or the department's "think tank" or
"command center" during emergency situations including, but not
limited to, correctional facility disturbances, riots, and hostage
incidents, and shall be provided with updates regarding the status
of the emergent situation as well as the department's efforts to
address the situation.
(3) The ombudsman may hold informal hearings and may request
that any person appear before the ombudsman, or at a hearing, and
give
testimony or produce documentary or other evidence which that
the
ombudsman deems considers relevant to a matter under
investigation.
Sec. 8. Upon request of the ombudsman, the council may hold a
hearing. The council may administer oaths, subpoena witnesses, and
examine the books and records of the department or of a person,
partnership,
or corporation involved, in accordance with section 4
of
Act No. 412 of the Public Acts of 1965, being section 4.314 of
the
Michigan Compiled Laws, 104
of the legislative council act,
1986
PA 268, MCL 4.1104, in a matter which
that is or was a proper
subject of investigation by the ombudsman under this act.
Sec. 9. (1) Correspondence between the ombudsman and a
prisoner
is confidential and shall must
be processed as privileged
correspondence in the same manner as letters between prisoners and
courts, attorneys, or public officials.
(2) The ombudsman shall maintain secrecy with respect to all
matters and the identities of the complainants or persons from whom
information is acquired, except so far as disclosures may be
necessary to enable the ombudsman to perform the duties of the
office and to support any recommendations resulting from an
investigation. A record of or information obtained or created by
the ombudsman is confidential, is considered privileged, must only
be used for purposes set forth in this act, is not subject to court
subpoena, and is not discoverable in a legal proceeding. A record
of or information obtained by the ombudsman that is otherwise
available from other sources is not exempt from court subpoena or
discovery from other sources solely because it was presented to or
reviewed by the ombudsman.
(3)
A report prepared and recommendations made by the
ombudsman
and submitted to the council under section 10 are exempt
from
disclosure under the freedom of information act, Act No. 442
of
the Public Acts of 1976, being sections 15.231 to 15.246 of the
Michigan
Compiled Laws.All of the
following are exempt from
disclosure under the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL
15.231 to 15.246:
(a) A record of the ombudsman.
(b) A report or recommendations made by the ombudsman and
submitted to the council under section 10.
(c) Information obtained or created by the ombudsman.