SB 322 — Department of Corrections; Deputy Commissioner for Prison Rehabilitation renamed; number of Deputy Commissioners further provided for; additional exempt and unclassified employees created; additional Joint Prison Oversight Committee duties created

SB322 ENGROSSEDENROLLED SB322 CM7HJWJ-27F97EEV-2 By Senator Chambliss RFD:

11-Apr-24 Page 0 SB322 EngrossedEnrolled 2Enrolled, 4An AAct, BILL3 TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT 9 Relating to the Department of Corrections;

to add Section 14-1-1.7 to the Code of Alabama 1975, to requireprovide that the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections tomay appoint exempt employees necessary to carry out the operations of the department and for constituent services,services; and to establish a sunset date;

and to require the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts, in consultation with the Joint Prison Oversight Committee, to employ an individual to assist the committee in its operations;operations.

and to create the Families of the Incarcerated Advisory Board within the committee and provide for its membership and duties.

Page 1 SB322 Engrossed "§14-1-1.5 (a) The commissioner may appoint no more than three five deputy commissioners, who shall serve at his or her pleasure, and the commissioner shall define their duties.

The deputy commissioners shall be individuals of good character, with good business, educational, or administrative experience, shall have no financial interest in any partnership, corporation, or association with which the department has any Page 1 SB322 Enrolled financial dealings, shall devote their full time to their official position, and shall have no other lucrative position while employed.

Page 2 SB322 Engrossed (b) The Department of Corrections department shall not rescind any employee position with the classification of "correctional officer" and replace them with an employee of a lower classification or pay.

(c) The rules and regulations of the State Personnel Department shall not be applicable to the appointment, tenure, or compensation of physicians, surgeons, psychiatrists, psychologists, dentists, or allied professional supportive Page 2 SB322 Enrolled personnel employed by the department.

(a)(1) The Commissioner of the Department of Corrections shallmay appoint 14 administrators to carry out the operations and management of correctional facilities, including facilities defined in Section 14-2-1, who:

(b)(1) By March 1, 2025, the commissioner shallmay appoint Page 3 SB322 Engrossed 15 employees for constituent services, who:

(2) One employee shall oversee departmental constituent services and shall serve as a liaison to the Joint Prison Page 3 SB322 Enrolled Oversight Committee, created by Section 29-2-20, for the purposes of studying and addressing services provided by the 95 department to constituents and the families of inmates.inmates and victims.

(4) The commissioner, as the appointing authority, shall consider information from the Joint Prison Oversight Committee and the Families of the Incarcerated Advisory Board through the Joint Prison Oversight Committee, created pursuant to Section 29-2-20, in establishing qualification requirements and duties of the 95 employees.

Create a standardized form to be used by the department for inquiries and complaints received by constituents and families of incarcerated individuals.individuals and victims.

Provide the electronic form on the department's Page 4 SB322 Engrossed website;

Respond to every inquiry and complaint form, following the department's procedures, and provide the Page 4 SB322 Enrolled responses to the Joint Prison Oversight Committee's liaison.

(c) This section shall be repealed on September 30, 2028.

Upon request of the chair, or by a majority vote of the members, the committee shall file reports of their report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature not later than the Page 5 SB322 Engrossed fifteenth legislative day of each regular session.

The Upon request of the chair, or by a majority vote of the members, the committee shall report the its findings to the Legislature not later than the fifteenth legislative day of each regular session, and shall work in Page 5 SB322 Enrolled conjunction with all of the following in studying and addressing the issues:

Page 6 SB322 Engrossed (17) Alabama Department of Senior Services.

The Upon request of the chair, or by a majority vote of the members, the committee shall report the its findings to the Legislature not later Page 6 SB322 Enrolled than the fifteenth legislative day of each regular session, and shall work in conjunction with all of the following in studying and addressing the issues:

(14) Two members from the Alabama District Attorneys Page 7 SB322 Engrossed Association, of which one shall be from a largely populated metropolitan judicial circuit and the other shall be from a small, rurally populated judicial circuit.

(e) The committee shall study and address capacity issues within the Department of Corrections to include, but not be limited to, the issue of design capacity and operational or functional capacity, as well as the construction of new prison correctional facilities and the Page 7 SB322 Enrolled renovation of current correctional facilities as they relate to prison overcrowding and public safety.

Page 8 SB322 Engrossed (12) Association of County Commissions of Alabama.

(f) The committee shall study and address issues Page 8 SB322 Enrolled related to services provided by the Department of Corrections to constituents and the families of inmates.

(g) By September 1, 2024, the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts, in consultation with the committee, shall employ an individualindividual, towho assistshall inbe thean operationsexempt ofemployee theunder committee,Section including,36-26-10, butto notassist limitedin to, overseeing the Familiesoperations of the Incarceratedcommittee. Advisory Board, established pursuant to subsection (h), and serve as a liaison between the committee and the Department of Corrections.

(h)(1)(f)(h) ByThe Septemberstudies 1,and 2024,collaborating thepartners Familiesprovided offor thein Pagethis 9section SB322shall Engrossedreflect Incarceratedthe Advisoryracial, Boardgender, shallgeographic, beurban/ruralurban, establishedrural, withinand economic diversity of the committee.state." Section 4.

(2) The board shall consist of all of the following, who shall be appointed by the membership of the committee:

a.

Two individuals who are a spouse, child, parent, grandparent, or sibling of an individual who is, at the time of the appointment, incarcerated in the Department of Corrections.

b.

Two individuals who are a spouse, child, parent, grandparent, or sibling of a deceased individual who died while in the department's custody.

c.

An individual who was formerly incarcerated in the department.

d.

A physician who holds, or previously held, a license to practice medicine in this state, who is or was board certified in family medicine or internal medicine.

e.

A mental health or behavioral health professional who holds, or previously held, a license in mental health counseling, and who has a background of providing mental health services or counseling to incarcerated individuals.

f.

A representative of a nonprofit prison advocacy organization.