Senate Bill 2783

AN ACT TO CREATE THE CORRECTIONS INSPECTION COUNCIL; TO SERVE IN AN ADVISORY CAPACITY TO THE GOVERNOR, ATTORNEY GENERAL, CORRECTIONS COMMISSIONER, AND THE LEGISLATURE; TO ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN A CONTINUING PROGRAM OF INSPECTION OF EACH STATE CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION USED FOR CUSTODY, CONTROL, TRAINING, AND REHABILITATION OF PERSONS CONVICTED OF A CRIME BY THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. (1) There is hereby created a Corrections Inspection Council to serve in an advisory capacity to the Governor, Mississippi Attorney General, Commissioner of Department of Corrections, and Legislature.

(2) The council shall consist of ten (10) members and shall be comprised as follows:

(a) An employee of the Attorney General's office to be selected by the Attorney General;

(b) The State Public Defender or a member of the Mississippi Public Defenders Association selected by the State Public Defender;

(c) A member of the Mississippi Prosecutors Association to be selected by the President of the Mississippi Prosecutors Association;

(d) A circuit judge to be selected by the Chief Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court;

(e) The director of an organization engaged in delivery of reentry services to be selected by the Lieutenant Governor;

(f) A person licensed by the State of Mississippi to provide mental health services to be selected by the Governor;

(g) A person licensed as a physician by the State of Mississippi specializing in family medicine or internal medicine to be selected by the Governor;

(h) The Director of the Mississippi office of FWD.us;

(i) The President of Mississippi Clergy for Prison Reform or another member of the clergy to be selected by the President of Mississippi Clergy for Prison Reform; and

(j) A faculty member from a state institution of higher learning specializing in law, criminal justice, or social work to be selected by the Mississippi Commissioner of Higher Education. (3) Members of the council shall serve three-year terms and may be reappointed to a single additional three-year term.

(4) A member of the Legislature may not serve on the council.

(5) No Mississippi Department of Corrections employee or family member of a Mississippi Department of Corrections employee may serve on the council.

SECTION 2. The council shall select from its membership a chairperson, vice chairperson, and a secretary ("council officers"). The members of the council shall serve without compensation but shall be reimbursed for their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of their official duties.

SECTION 3. (1) The council shall:

(a) Subject to subsection (4) of this section, establish and maintain a continuing program of inspection of each state correctional institution used for the custody, control, training, and rehabilitation of persons convicted of a crime by the State of Mississippi including, but not limited to, each state prison, private correctional institution, regional correctional institution, technical violation center, and restitution center. Subject to subsection (4) of this section contained herein, the council may inspect any local correctional institution used for the same purposes. Subject to subsection (4) of this section contained herein, the council, and each member of the council, for the purpose of making an inspection pursuant to this section, shall have access to any state or local correctional institution. Council members shall be given access to all areas of each such facility, and shall be permitted to conduct private interviews with any inmate or Department of Corrections employee. The council is not required to give advance notice of, or to make prior arrangements before conducting, an inspection. Subject to subsection (4) contained herein, members must comply with all departmental policies and procedures and institution security practices regarding access to the correctional institution and must, subject only to the exceptions set forth herein, adhere to all federal and state law regarding confidentiality;

(b) Examine during each inspection the physical condition of the facility; the health, safety, and treatment of persons incarcerated in each facility; the adequacy of staffing at each facility; the adequacy of the administrative complaint process available to persons incarcerated at each facility; whether the correctional institution has adequate policies and procedures in place to keep safe those persons incarcerated in each facility and to carry out the mission of the Department of Corrections; and whether the correctional institution is following its existing policies and procedures;

(c) Assist the Legislature and Department of Corrections in the development of programs to improve the condition or operation of correctional institutions including, but not limited to, staffing, delivery of medical and mental health services, access to rehabilitative and reentry programs, and administrative complaint procedures;

(d) Prepare a report of each inspection conducted by the council to be submitted to the Governor, Attorney General, Commissioner of the Department of Corrections, Chairperson of the Corrections Committee of the House of Representatives, and Chairperson of the Corrections Committee of the Senate; and

(e) Prepare an annual report for submission to the Governor, Attorney General, Commissioner of the Department of Corrections, Chairperson of the Corrections Committee of the House of Representatives, and Chairperson of the Corrections Committee of the Senate. The annual report shall set forth the findings of the council as a result of its inspections of correctional institutions and recommendations regarding policies and programs the council has determined will improve the condition or operation of correctional institutions. The council's annual report shall be made available to the public on the websites of the Department of Corrections and Legislature. The version of the annual report made available to the public shall not identify any employee of the Mississippi Department of Corrections or incarcerated person by name.

(2) The council is hereby permitted to access, inspect, and copy all relevant information, records, or documents in the possession or control of the Department of Corrections that the council considers necessary as part of any inspection or of any inquiry arising from a specific complaint. Following receipt of a written demand from the council for access to department records, the designated department staff must provide the council with copies of, or access to, the requested documentation not later than twenty (20) business days after the council's written request for the records. Where the records requested by the council pertain to an inmate death, threats of bodily harm, including, but not limited to, sexual or physical assaults, or the denial of necessary medical or mental health treatment, the records must be provided within five (5) days unless the council consents to an extension of time within which to comply.

(3) Subject to subsection (4) of this section contained herein, the council may conduct inspections as it deems appropriate and necessary. The council shall make an inspection:

(a) Of each state and private correctional institution at least once every two (2) years; and

(b) Of each regional correctional institution, technical violation center, restitution center, or other correctional institution at least once every three (3) years.

(4) An inspection of a state correctional institution, a private correctional institution, a local correctional institution, a regional correctional institution, a technical violation center, a restitution center, or other correctional institution under subsection (1) or (2) of this section, is subject to and shall be conducted in accordance with all of the following:

(a) The inspection shall not be conducted unless a majority of the council officers grants prior approval for the inspection.

(b) Each inspection shall be conducted by at least four (4) members of the council.

(c) Unless a majority of the council officers determines that the inspection must be conducted outside of normal business hours for any reason, including emergency circumstances or a justifiable cause that perpetuates the mission of the council, and the council officers specify in the grant of prior approval for the inspection that the council officers have so determined, the inspection shall be conducted only during normal business hours.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2020.