HOUSE BILL NO. 6326
November 10, 2020, Introduced by Rep. Albert
and referred to the Committee on Government Operations.
A bill to amend 1953 PA 232, entitled
"Corrections code of 1953,"
(MCL 791.201 to 791.285) by adding section 8b.
the people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 8b. (1) The correctional officer
wellness agency is created as an autonomous entity within the department. The
correctional officer wellness agency board is created to govern the agency and consists
of the following 5 members:
(a)
One individual selected and appointed by the director of the department.
(b)
One individual selected and appointed by the governor from recommendations
provided by the state correctional officer union.
(c)
One individual selected and appointed by the governor who is a mental health
expert.
(d)
One individual selected and appointed by the governor to represent the
corrections training council.
(e)
One individual selected and appointed by the governor who is a correctional
officer or another employee of the department who works directly with prisoners
in a correctional facility.
(2) The members first
appointed to the correctional officer wellness agency board must be appointed
within 90 days after the effective date of the amendatory act that added this
section.
(3) Members of
the correctional officer wellness agency board shall serve for terms of 2 years
or until a successor is appointed, whichever is later.
(4) If a vacancy
occurs on the correctional officer wellness agency board, the appointment of
for the unexpired term must be made in the same manner as the original
appointment.
(5) The governor
may remove a member of the correctional officer wellness agency board for
incompetence, dereliction of duty, malfeasance, misfeasance, or nonfeasance in
office, or any other good cause.
(6) Four of the
members of the correctional officer wellness agency board constitute a quorum. A majority of the members present and serving are required
for official action of the correctional officer wellness agency board.
(7) A writing
prepared, owned, used, in the possession of, or retained by the correctional
officer wellness agency in the performance of an official function is subject
to the freedom of information act, 1976 PA 442, MCL 15.231 to 15.246.
(a) Subject to section 5 of article XI of the state
constitution of 1963 and in consultation with the director of the agency, make
correctional officer wellness agency employment decisions.
(b) Provide oversight of the correctional officer
wellness agency.
(c) Set metrics and goals for any allocations for state
correctional officer wellness funding.
(d) Provide the department with access to experts on state
correction officer wellness models used in other industries and states.
(e) Create state correctional officer wellness programs
and training pilots.
(f) Review and access current department policies related
to state correctional officer wellness to suggest improvements or new
initiatives.
(g) Hold quarterly meetings for progress reports and to
access the impact of the correctional officer wellness agency.
(h) Create an annual report that includes new procedures and recommendations for addressing state correctional officer wellness.
(9) The correctional
officer wellness agency is vested with the authority to provide wellness
services for state correctional officers.
(10) As used in
this section:
(a) "State
correctional officer" means an individual employed by the department in a
correctional facility as a correctional officer.
(b) "Wellness services" means services that address issues related to the health and well-being of state correctional officers, including, but not limited to, employee engagement and retention, and officer depression and rates of suicide.