ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Phoenix, Arizona
REVISED
department of corrections;
contracts; facilities
Purpose
Allows the Arizona
Department of Corrections (ADC) to include an option to purchase in contracts
with private facilities and, in contracts containing per diem provisions, to
apply a portion of per diem payments to reduce the purchase price of a private
prison. Waives private prison contract and
public notice requirements in instances where the Director of ADC confines
prisoners in private facilities during an emergency. Removes gender and numerical requirements for several corrections
facilities. Prohibits housing maximum
security prisoners in private prisons.
Background
Presently, ADC must follow
private prison contract and notice requirements when confining prisoners during
an emergency. For instance, statute
requires written notice of a contract with a private prison to be sent at least
60 days prior to incurring any obligation to the Legislature, the affected
county board of supervisors or governing body of a municipality and each member
of the governing board of the local school district. In addition, a hearing with additional notice requirements is
required. ADC believes that these
requirements are impractical in case of emergency.
ADC is in the process of
moving all female inmates to its Perryville complex. However, state laws regarding correctional facilities contain
references relating to gender and the number of inmates. This legislation removes those gender and
numerical references.
The fiscal impact of this
legislation is unknown.
Provisions
1. Allows an ADC contract with any private or public institution located within or outside of Arizona to include a purchase option.
2. Allows an ADC contract with any private or public institution located within or outside of this state that has a per diem provision to allow a portion of the per diem to be applied to reduce the purchase price.
3. Waives private prison contract and public notice requirements in instances where the Director of ADC confines prisoners in private facilities during an emergency.
4. Removes gender references and numerical specifics regarding funding uses for the Northern Arizona Correctional Release Center and the New Dawn Correctional Release Center and the number and gender of inmates to be housed in the Marana private prison.
5. Prohibits housing maximum security prisoners in private prisons.
6. Provides for a general effective date.
Amendments Adopted by Committee
Prohibits housing maximum security prisoners in
private prisons.
Senate Action
GOV 1/29/01 DPA 4-0-2-0
Prepared by Senate Staff
January 30, 2001