SF 2598

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; requiring the commissioner of 
  1.3             corrections to issue a request for proposals for 
  1.4             housing individuals committed to the custody of the 
  1.5             commissioner in private prisons; amending Minnesota 
  1.6             Statutes 2002, section 241.01, subdivision 3a. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2002, section 241.01, 
  1.9   subdivision 3a, is amended to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 3a.  [COMMISSIONER, POWERS AND DUTIES.] The 
  1.11  commissioner of corrections has the following powers and duties: 
  1.12     (a) To accept persons committed to the commissioner by the 
  1.13  courts of this state for care, custody, and rehabilitation. 
  1.14     (b) To determine the place of confinement of committed 
  1.15  persons in a correctional facility or other facility of the 
  1.16  Department of Corrections, or at a private facility, and to 
  1.17  prescribe reasonable conditions and rules for their employment, 
  1.18  conduct, instruction, and discipline within or outside the 
  1.19  facility.  Inmates shall not exercise custodial functions or 
  1.20  have authority over other inmates.  Inmates may serve on the 
  1.21  board of directors or hold an executive position subordinate to 
  1.22  correctional staff in any corporation, private industry or 
  1.23  educational program located on the grounds of, or conducted 
  1.24  within, a state correctional facility with written permission 
  1.25  from the chief executive officer of the facility.  
  1.26     (c) To administer the money and property of the department. 
  2.1      (d) To administer, maintain, and inspect all state 
  2.2   correctional facilities. 
  2.3      (e) To transfer authorized positions and personnel between 
  2.4   state correctional facilities as necessary to properly staff 
  2.5   facilities and programs. 
  2.6      (f) To utilize state correctional facilities in the manner 
  2.7   deemed to be most efficient and beneficial to accomplish the 
  2.8   purposes of this section, but not to close the Minnesota 
  2.9   correctional facility-Stillwater or the Minnesota correctional 
  2.10  facility-St. Cloud without legislative approval.  The 
  2.11  commissioner may place juveniles and adults at the same state 
  2.12  minimum security correctional facilities, if there is total 
  2.13  separation of and no regular contact between juveniles and 
  2.14  adults, except contact incidental to admission, classification, 
  2.15  and mental and physical health care.  
  2.16     (g) To organize the department and employ personnel the 
  2.17  commissioner deems necessary to discharge the functions of the 
  2.18  department, including a chief executive officer for each 
  2.19  facility under the commissioner's control who shall serve in the 
  2.20  unclassified civil service and may, under the provisions of 
  2.21  section 43A.33, be removed only for cause. 
  2.22     (h) To define the duties of these employees and to delegate 
  2.23  to them any of the commissioner's powers, duties and 
  2.24  responsibilities, subject to the commissioner's control and the 
  2.25  conditions the commissioner prescribes. 
  2.26     (i) To annually develop a comprehensive set of goals and 
  2.27  objectives designed to clearly establish the priorities of the 
  2.28  Department of Corrections.  This report shall be submitted to 
  2.29  the governor commencing January 1, 1976.  The commissioner may 
  2.30  establish ad hoc advisory committees. 
  2.31     [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective the day 
  2.32  following final enactment.  
  2.33     Sec. 2.  [ISSUANCE OF REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS; PRISON 
  2.34  PRIVATIZATION.] 
  2.35     Subdivision 1.  [REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.] The commissioner 
  2.36  of administration, in consultation with the commissioner of 
  3.1   corrections, must issue a request for proposals within 30 days 
  3.2   of the effective date of this act, and must authorize one or 
  3.3   more vendors by November 1, 2004, to provide correctional 
  3.4   facilities, services, and supervision for 1,500 persons 
  3.5   committed to the commissioner of corrections by the courts of 
  3.6   this state.  The commissioner may consider proposals from 
  3.7   vendors with facilities in Minnesota and from vendors that 
  3.8   propose building facilities in Minnesota.  The commissioner may 
  3.9   consider proposals that involve multiple sites.  A proposal that 
  3.10  includes construction of new facilities must construct the new 
  3.11  facilities outside of the metropolitan counties, as defined in 
  3.12  Minnesota Statutes, section 473.121, subdivision 4.  The 
  3.13  Department of Corrections may submit a proposal.  A proposal 
  3.14  submitted by the department must be given the same consideration 
  3.15  as proposals from private vendors. 
  3.16     Subd. 2.  [MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS.] To qualify for 
  3.17  consideration, a vendor must: 
  3.18     (1) agree to house prisoners at a cost to the state that is 
  3.19  at least five percent below the Department of Correction's 
  3.20  current per diem; and 
  3.21     (2) meet or exceed the prison standards promulgated by the 
  3.22  American Correctional Association. 
  3.23     Subd. 3.  [SELECTION CRITERIA.] In establishing criteria 
  3.24  and preferences for vendors, the commissioner of administration 
  3.25  must consult with the commissioner of corrections, the executive 
  3.26  director of the Sentencing Guidelines Commission, and the 
  3.27  commissioner of human services, as appropriate.  The 
  3.28  commissioner must consider the following factors in issuing the 
  3.29  request for proposals: 
  3.30     (1) the level or levels of security for which custodial 
  3.31  care and services will be needed; 
  3.32     (2) the type and length of treatment, educational, and 
  3.33  other programs and services appropriate to offenders likely to 
  3.34  be housed in a private correctional facility; 
  3.35     (3) the transport of offenders to and from any private 
  3.36  facilities; 
  4.1      (4) the division of all costs associated with providing 
  4.2   care, custody, and rehabilitation for offenders committed to the 
  4.3   commissioner of corrections; and 
  4.4      (5) other factors deemed appropriate for consideration by 
  4.5   the commissioner of administration, corrections, or human 
  4.6   services, or by the executive director of the Sentencing 
  4.7   Guidelines Commission. 
  4.8      [EFFECTIVE DATE.] This section is effective the day 
  4.9   following final enactment.