HB 3456 — Relating to the powers and duties of the Commissioner of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation regarding Stevens Correctional Center

WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION ENGROSSEDENROLLED House Bill 3456 ByB DelegateYDELEGATE GreenGREEN (By(BYR RequestEQUEST ofOF theTHD DivisionIVISION ofCORRECTIONS CorrectionsANDR andEHABILITATI)N Rehabilitation)[Passed [IntroducedApril March9, 17, 2025;

referredin toeffect the90 Committeedays onfrom thepassage Judiciary](July Eng8, 2025)] Enr HB 3456 AAN BILLACT to amend and reenact §15A-3-12 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended;

and to amend the code by adding a new section, designated §15A-3-4a, relating to the powers and duties of the commissioner of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation generally regarding Stevens Correctional Center.Center;

clarifying the authority of the commissioner of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation to manage, direct, control, and govern Stevens Correctional Center;

authorizing the transfer of facilities, equipment, and assets of the Stevens Correctional Center to the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation;

clarifying the debt liability of Stevens Correctional Center;

authorizing the transfer of employees of the Stevens Correctional Center to the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation;

and clarifying that the Stevens Correctional Center is an institution managed by the commissioner of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Enr HB 3456 (2) All debt liability related to the operation of the Stevens Correctional Center in its capacity and previous agreements related to the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation currently owed by the County of McDowell have been paid and acquired by the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the State, or both.

Eng HB 3456 §15A-3-12.

Enr HB 3456 Parkersburg Correctional Center and Jail;

Eng HB 3456 Tygart Valley Regional Jail and Corrections Facility;

(b) The commissioner may contract with theYouth countyServices commissionSystem of McDowell County to house and incarceratedetain inmatesjuveniles at the StevensRonald CorrectionalMulholland Juvenile Center consistent with all the requirements and standards governing the division.

(c) (b) The commissioner may contractestablish withwork Youthand Servicesstudy Systemrelease tounits houseas extensions and detainsubsidiaries juvenilesof atthose thestate Ronaldinstitutions Mulhollandunder Juvenilehis Centeror consistenther withcontrol all the requirements and standardsauthority. governing the division.

(d) (c) The commissioner may establish work and study Enr HB 3456 release units asmay extensionsbe coeducational and subsidiariesshall ofbe thosemanaged, statedirected, institutionsand undercontrolled hisas orprovided herin controlthis andarticle. authority.

(d) The workcommissioner andmay studycontract releasewith unitsnonprofit mayor becharitable coeducationalentities andincluding, shallbut benot managed,limited directed,to, andnonprofit controlledcommunity asmental providedhealth clinics, operating half-way houses, or transitional housing facilities for the placement of persons in thisthe article.commissioner’s custody, whether confined or under parole supervision, as long as the facilities meet standards and criteria established by the commissioner.

(e) (d) The commissioner may contract with nonprofit or charitable entities including, but not limited to, nonprofit community mental health clinics, operating half-way houses, or transitional housing facilities for the placement of persons in the commissioner’s custody, whether confined or Eng HB 3456 under parole supervision, as long as the facilities meet standards and criteria established by the commissioner.

(2) The division shall provide the number of persons placed in a half-way house or a transitional housing facility as authorized in this section in its report made pursuant to §5-1-20 of this code, and shall describe its plans to use the authority provided under the provisions of §15A-3-§15A- 12(g)3-12 (f) of this code in furtherance of the duties and responsibilities imposed by this article.

(f) (e) All adult persons sentenced by a court to serve a sentence of incarceration in a prison, jail, or correctional institution under the jurisdiction of the commissioner shall be deemed to be sentenced to the custody of the commissioner.

The commissioner, or his or her designee, has the authority to and may order the transfer of any adult to any appropriate institution within the division.

(g) (f) The commissioner has full discretionary authority to may contract with any county jail, or other appropriate facility or institution for the incarceration and care of adult inmates.

If a felony sentenced inmate is held in Enr HB 3456 a jail facility or unit, under the jurisdiction of the commissioner, the commissioner shall pay a per diem rate, not subject to the limitations set forth in §15A-3-16(g) of this code.

Eng HB 3456 (h) (g) The commissioner, or his or her designee, may transfer any adult prisoner or inmate who is mentally disturbed and who would more appropriately be treated in an institution under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Health, to the Bureau, subject to the approval of the Director of Health, and may transfer any adult prisoner or inmate to an appropriate mental facility for specialized medical treatment.

(i) (h) The commissioner shall, no later than July 1, 2019, complete an evaluation of all facilities within his or her control for the most appropriate space to house each type of inmate, and shall consult with the Juvenile Justice Commission on any and all intended uses of current or prospective juvenile facilities.

Enr HB 3456 The Clerk of the House of Delegates and the Clerk of the Senate hereby certify that the foregoing bill is correctly enrolled.

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Clerk of the House of Delegates ...............................................................

Clerk of the Senate Originated in the House of Delegates.

In effect 90 days from passage.

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Speaker of the House of Delegates ...............................................................

President of the Senate __________ The within is ................................................

this the...........................................

Day of ..........................................................................................................., 2025.

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Governor 7