HF 1307

as introduced - 83rd Legislature (2003 - 2004) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

  1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to corrections; authorizing the commissioner 
  1.3             of corrections to contract with private agencies to 
  1.4             provide care, custody, and rehabilitation of Minnesota 
  1.5             prisoners; requiring the commissioner of 
  1.6             administration to issue requests for proposals 
  1.7             relating to various aspects of privatizing Minnesota's 
  1.8             prison system; amending Minnesota Statutes 2002, 
  1.9             sections 241.01, subdivision 3a; 241.32, subdivision 
  1.10            1, by adding a subdivision. 
  1.11  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.12     Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 241.01, 
  1.13  subdivision 3a, is amended to read: 
  1.14     Subd. 3a.  [COMMISSIONER, POWERS AND DUTIES.] The 
  1.15  commissioner of corrections has the following powers and duties: 
  1.16     (a) To accept persons committed to the commissioner by the 
  1.17  courts of this state for care, custody, and rehabilitation. 
  1.18     (b) To determine the place of confinement of committed 
  1.19  persons in a correctional facility or other facility of the 
  1.20  department of corrections, or at a private facility, and to 
  1.21  prescribe reasonable conditions and rules for their employment, 
  1.22  conduct, instruction, and discipline within or outside the 
  1.23  facility.  Inmates shall not exercise custodial functions or 
  1.24  have authority over other inmates.  Inmates may serve on the 
  1.25  board of directors or hold an executive position subordinate to 
  1.26  correctional staff in any corporation, private industry or 
  1.27  educational program located on the grounds of, or conducted 
  1.28  within, a state correctional facility with written permission 
  2.1   from the chief executive officer of the facility.  
  2.2      (c) To administer the money and property of the department. 
  2.3      (d) To administer, maintain, and inspect all state 
  2.4   correctional facilities. 
  2.5      (e) To transfer authorized positions and personnel between 
  2.6   state correctional facilities as necessary to properly staff 
  2.7   facilities and programs. 
  2.8      (f) To utilize state correctional facilities in the manner 
  2.9   deemed to be most efficient and beneficial to accomplish the 
  2.10  purposes of this section, but not to close the Minnesota 
  2.11  correctional facility-Stillwater or the Minnesota correctional 
  2.12  facility-St. Cloud without legislative approval.  The 
  2.13  commissioner may place juveniles and adults at the same state 
  2.14  minimum security correctional facilities, if there is total 
  2.15  separation of and no regular contact between juveniles and 
  2.16  adults, except contact incidental to admission, classification, 
  2.17  and mental and physical health care.  
  2.18     (g) To organize the department and employ personnel the 
  2.19  commissioner deems necessary to discharge the functions of the 
  2.20  department, including a chief executive officer for each 
  2.21  facility under the commissioner's control who shall serve in the 
  2.22  unclassified civil service and may, under the provisions of 
  2.23  section 43A.33, be removed only for cause. 
  2.24     (h) To define the duties of these employees and to delegate 
  2.25  to them any of the commissioner's powers, duties and 
  2.26  responsibilities, subject to the commissioner's control and the 
  2.27  conditions the commissioner prescribes. 
  2.28     (i) To annually develop a comprehensive set of goals and 
  2.29  objectives designed to clearly establish the priorities of the 
  2.30  department of corrections.  This report shall be submitted to 
  2.31  the governor commencing January 1, 1976.  The commissioner may 
  2.32  establish ad hoc advisory committees. 
  2.33     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 241.32, 
  2.34  subdivision 1, is amended to read: 
  2.35     Subdivision 1.  [COMMUNITY CORRECTIONAL PROGRAMS.] (a) The 
  2.36  commissioner of corrections may establish and operate community 
  3.1   correctional programs or contract with existing public and 
  3.2   private agencies for separate custody or specialized care and 
  3.3   treatment of persons under the commissioner's custody and 
  3.4   control or under the custody and control of the commissioner of 
  3.5   corrections or on conditional release under section 241.26. 
  3.6      (b) The commissioner may contract with a private agency for 
  3.7   the supervision, maintenance, or operation of a medium or 
  3.8   minimum security correctional facility.  To be eligible, a 
  3.9   private agency must have prior relevant experience. 
  3.10     Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 241.32, is 
  3.11  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  3.12     Subd. 1a.  [RESTRICTIONS.] (a) All care and services 
  3.13  purchased by the commissioner must be authorized and contracted 
  3.14  for under the standards established in this section and pursuant 
  3.15  to any other requirements in law. 
  3.16     (b) The commissioner must establish standards for cost 
  3.17  accounting and information systems to monitor the utilization of 
  3.18  services and document the specific services provided in meeting 
  3.19  a service plan.  The contract must specify the accounting method 
  3.20  and standard that must be used by the private agency. 
  3.21     (c) Payments under a contract may be made on the basis of 
  3.22  actual allowable costs or on the basis of a unit rate per 
  3.23  offender service multiplied by the actual number of offenders 
  3.24  furnished on a specified basis. 
  3.25     (d) A private agency must have the permission of the 
  3.26  commissioner to transfer an offender from one category of care 
  3.27  or service to another.  A contract may address short-term 
  3.28  transfers and transfers made for disciplinary purposes or under 
  3.29  emergency circumstances. 
  3.30     Sec. 4.  [ISSUANCE OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS; PRISON 
  3.31  PRIVATIZATION.] 
  3.32     Subdivision 1.  [OFFENDERS OVER AND ABOVE CURRENT STATE 
  3.33  CAPACITY.] (a) The commissioner of administration, in 
  3.34  consultation with the commissioner of corrections, must issue a 
  3.35  request for proposals within 30 days of the effective date of 
  3.36  this act, and must authorize one or more vendors by July 1, 
  4.1   2003, to provide correctional facilities, services, and 
  4.2   supervision for persons committed to the commissioner of 
  4.3   corrections by the courts of this state.  The commissioner may 
  4.4   consider proposals from vendors with facilities in Minnesota and 
  4.5   from vendors with facilities outside of Minnesota.  The request 
  4.6   for proposals issued under this subdivision must relate to the 
  4.7   care, custody, and rehabilitation of offenders for whom there is 
  4.8   insufficient capacity in Minnesota's current correctional 
  4.9   institutions.  Capacity limits must be determined according to 
  4.10  operational, bunking, counting, and related policies in effect 
  4.11  on January 1, 2003. 
  4.12     (b) In establishing criteria and preferences for vendors, 
  4.13  the commissioner of administration must consult with the 
  4.14  commissioner of corrections, the executive director of the 
  4.15  sentencing guidelines commission, and the commissioner of human 
  4.16  services, as appropriate.  The commissioner must consider the 
  4.17  following factors in issuing the request for proposals: 
  4.18     (1) the level, or levels, of security for which custodial 
  4.19  care and services will be needed; 
  4.20     (2) the type and length of treatment, educational, and 
  4.21  other programs and services appropriate to offenders likely to 
  4.22  be transferred to a private correctional facility; 
  4.23     (3) the transport of offenders to and from any private 
  4.24  facilities; 
  4.25     (4) the division of all costs associated with providing 
  4.26  care, custody, and rehabilitation for offenders committed to the 
  4.27  commissioner of corrections; and 
  4.28     (5) other factors deemed appropriate for consideration by 
  4.29  the commissioner of administration, corrections, or human 
  4.30  services, or by the executive director of the sentencing 
  4.31  guidelines commission. 
  4.32     Subd. 2.  [PRIVATE MANAGEMENT OF MINIMUM AND MEDIUM 
  4.33  SECURITY FACILITIES.] (a) The commissioner of administration, in 
  4.34  consultation with the commissioner of corrections, must issue a 
  4.35  request for proposals within 30 days of the effective date of 
  4.36  this act, and must authorize one or more vendors by July 1, 
  5.1   2003, to provide management and operational services for 
  5.2   Minnesota's minimum and medium security correctional 
  5.3   facilities.  The request for proposals issued under this 
  5.4   subdivision must relate to the full scope of management and 
  5.5   services required to operate a correctional facility. 
  5.6      (b) In establishing criteria and preferences for vendors, 
  5.7   the commissioner of administration must consult with the 
  5.8   commissioner of corrections, the executive director of the 
  5.9   sentencing guidelines commission, and the commissioner of human 
  5.10  services, as appropriate.  The commissioner must consider the 
  5.11  following factors in issuing the request for proposals: 
  5.12     (1) the experience and proven cost-effectiveness of a 
  5.13  private agency; 
  5.14     (2) programming, management, and security changes most 
  5.15  likely to improve the cost-effectiveness of a facility; 
  5.16     (3) transitional plans; and 
  5.17     (4) other factors deemed appropriate for consideration by 
  5.18  the commissioner of administration, corrections, or human 
  5.19  services, or by the executive director of the sentencing 
  5.20  guidelines commission. 
  5.21     Subd. 3.  [CUSTODY AND REHABILITATION OF MEDIUM AND MINIMUM 
  5.22  SECURITY PRISONERS.] (a) The commissioner of administration, in 
  5.23  consultation with the commissioner of corrections, must issue a 
  5.24  request for proposals within 30 days of the effective date of 
  5.25  this act, and must authorize one or more vendors by July 1, 
  5.26  2003, to provide correctional facilities, services, and 
  5.27  supervision for persons committed to the commissioner of 
  5.28  corrections by the courts of this state.  The commissioner may 
  5.29  consider proposals from vendors with facilities in Minnesota and 
  5.30  from vendors with facilities outside of Minnesota.  The request 
  5.31  for proposals issued under this subdivision must relate to the 
  5.32  care, custody, and rehabilitation of Minnesota's medium and 
  5.33  minimum security prisoners during the term of their 
  5.34  incarceration.  The request must stipulate that prisoner 
  5.35  transfers may begin as soon as contracts can be finalized and 
  5.36  that the transfer of supervision over all medium and minimum 
  6.1   security prisoners must be completed by July 1, 2004. 
  6.2      (b) In establishing criteria and preferences for vendors, 
  6.3   the commissioner of administration must consult with the 
  6.4   commissioner of corrections, the executive director of the 
  6.5   sentencing guidelines commission, and the commissioner of human 
  6.6   services, as appropriate.  The commissioner must consider the 
  6.7   following factors in issuing the request for proposals: 
  6.8      (1) the number of beds likely to be needed at each security 
  6.9   level; 
  6.10     (2) the type and length of treatment, educational, and 
  6.11  other programs and services appropriate for the offenders to be 
  6.12  transferred to private correctional facilities; 
  6.13     (3) the transport of offenders to and from any private 
  6.14  facilities; 
  6.15     (4) the division of all costs associated with providing 
  6.16  care, custody, and rehabilitation of the offenders; and 
  6.17     (5) other factors deemed appropriate for consideration by 
  6.18  the commissioner of administration, corrections, or human 
  6.19  services, or by the executive director of the sentencing 
  6.20  guidelines commission.