HB 2140 — prisoner injuries; monetary judgments; reimbursement

HB2140 - 542R - H-PublicH Safety-ProposedVer   Fifty-fourth  Legislature                                             PublicHouse SafetyEngrossed         State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-fourth Legislature Second Regular Session                                                 Session H.B.      HOUSE BILL 2140       AN ACT   amending section 12‑1721, Arizona Revised Statutes;

 relating PROPOSEDto HOUSEmonetary OFjudgment REPRESENTATIVESawarded AMENDMENTSto TOprisoners. H.B.

2140  (Reference  to(TEXT printedOF bill)BILL  BEGINS  ON NEXT PAGE)   PageBe 1,it afterenacted lineby 42,the insert:Legislature of the State of Arizona:

"Sec. 2.  SectionSection 1.  Section 31-254,12-1721, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE31-254.  CompensationSTART_STATUTE12-1721.  Monetary forjudgment laborawarded performed;to prisoners;

priceoutstanding ofrestitution, prisonmedical madecare articles;costs and incarceration costs;

distributiondefinition A.  In any civil action, a monetary judgment may not be paid to a person who is or was previously incarcerated in the state department of earnings;corrections before all restitution, medical care costs and incarceration costs owed by the person are paid if the monetary judgment is against this state, a political subdivision of this state, any prison, jail or correctional facility or any officer or agent of a prison, jail or correctional facility.  If the monetary judgment is not sufficient to pay both restitution, medical care costs and incarceration costs that are owed, the monetary judgment must first be used to pay any outstanding restitution and a portion of any remaining balance may be set off and used to pay outstanding incarceration costs pursuant to section 31‑238 and medical care costs.

workers'B.  If compensationthe A.  Eachvictim prisonerwas whoordered isby engagedthe incourt productiveto workreceive inrestitution anythrough statethe prisonclerk orof institutionthe undersuperior court, this state, the jurisdictionpolitical subdivision of this state or the departmentprison, jail or acorrectional privatefacility prisonthat underwas contractordered withto satisfy the departmentmonetary asjudgment ashall parttransfer enough of the prisonmonetary industriesjudgment programto shallpay receivethe forremaining balance of the prisoner'srestitution workorder to the compensationclerk thatof the directorsuperior determines.  Thecourt compensationfor shalldistribution beto inthe accordancevictim.   withC.  If money is transferred to a graduatedclerk scheduleof basedthe onsuperior quantitycourt andpursuant qualityto subsection B of workthis performedsection, andthis skillstate, requiredthe forpolitical itssubdivision performanceof butthis shallstate notor exceedthe oneprison, dollarjail fiftyor centscorrectional befacility must also provide the clerk with the following information at leastthe $12time perof hour.the transfer:

unless1.  A thecopy prisonerof is employed in an Arizona correctional industries program pursuant to title 41, chapter 11, article 3.  If the directormonetary entersjudgment. into a contract pursuant to section 41‑1624.01 with a private person, firm, corporation or association the director shall prescribe prisoner compensation of at least two dollars per hour.  Compensation shall not be paid to prisoners for attendance at educational training or treatment programs, but compensation may be paid for work training programs.

B.  Whenever2.  The adefendant's pricename isand fixed for any article, material, supply or service to be produced, manufactured, supplied or performed in connection with the industriescase programnumber of theeach department,case thewhere compensationrestitution paidis toowed. prisoners shall be included as an item of cost in fixing the price.

C.  The3.  The compensationname ofand prisonersaddress shall be paid out of the fundtransferring establishedentity. pursuant to section 41‑1624 or out of funds appropriated for that purpose by the legislature when required.

D.  IfD.  For the compensationpurposes dueof athis prisonersection, is"medical lesscare thancosts" twoincludes dollarsthe percosts hour,that mandatorythis deductionsstate shallincurs befor takena forperson's medical care while incarcerated and that are directly attributable to an injury the followingperson purposessuffered while engaged in productive work in any prison or correctional facility under the orderjurisdiction specified:of the state department of corrections or a private prison under contract with the state department of corrections as part of the prison industries program or while engaged in productive work for a private person, firm, corporation or association under a contract pursuant to section 41‑1624.01.

1.  Twenty‑fiveEND_STATUTE percent of the prisoner's gross wages until the prisoner's dedicated discharge account registers a two hundred fifty dollar balance or, if the prisoner is serving a sentence of natural life, a fifty dollar balance.

2.  If the prisoner initiates a lawsuit, twenty percent from all deposits to the prisoner's spendable account until the court fees are collected in full.

3.  If the prisoner was not convicted of a violation of title 28, chapter 4, five percent of the prisoner's gross wages shall be used exclusively to fund the transition program established by section 31‑281.  All monies collected under this paragraph shall be deposited, pursuant to sections 35‑146 and 35‑147, in the transition program fund established by section 31‑284.

4.  Thirty percent of the prisoner's wages for court ordered dependent care.

E.  D.  If the compensation due a prisoner equals or exceeds two dollars per hour, The director shall credit to the prisoner's spendable account established pursuant to section 31‑230 an amount equaling fifty cents per hour for each hour compensation is due plus ten percent of the adjusted balance remaining after the mandatory deductions are taken.

Mandatory deductions shall be taken for the following purposes in the order specified:

1.  Twenty‑five percent of the prisoner's gross wages until the prisoner's dedicated discharge account registers a two hundred fifty dollar $250 balance or, if the prisoner is serving a sentence of natural life, a fifty dollar $50 balance.

2.  If the prisoner initiates a lawsuit, twenty percent from all deposits to the prisoner's spendable account until the court costs are collected in full.

3.  If the prisoner was not convicted of a violation of title 28, chapter 4, five percent of the prisoner's gross wages to fund the transition program established by section 31‑281.  All monies collected under this paragraph shall be deposited, pursuant to sections 35‑146 and 35‑147, in the transition program fund established by section 31‑284.

4.  Thirty percent of the prisoner's wages for the room and board costs of maintaining the prisoner at the facility.

5.  Thirty percent of the prisoner's wages for court ordered dependent care.

F.  E.  After the mandatory deductions and obligations are paid by the prisoner, the remaining monies shall be credited to the prisoner's retention account established by the director pursuant to section 31‑261, subsection B.

G.  F.  A prisoner may gain access to the prisoner's trust fund or retention account for emergency purposes at the sole discretion of the director.

H.  G.  Any monies not expended from the contributing prisoner's trust fund or retention account for the purposes prescribed in subsection E  D of this section shall be paid to the prisoner on release pursuant to section 31‑228.

I.  H.  If any prisoner escapes, the director shall determine what portion of the prisoner's earnings shall be forfeited, and the forfeited amount shall be deposited in the special services fund established by section 41‑1604.03.

J.  I.  This section is not intended to restore, in whole or in part, the civil rights of any prisoner.  A prisoner who is compensated under this section shall not be considered to be an employee of or employed by this state, the department or any private person, firm, corporation or association engaged in a contract pursuant to section 41‑1624.01, and the prisoner does not come within any of the provisions of the workers' compensation provided in title 23, chapter 6 and is not entitled to any benefits under title 23, chapter 6 whether on behalf of the prisoner or of any other person.  This subsection does not apply to prisoners who are employed pursuant to a federally certified prison industry enhancement program established pursuant to section 41‑1674.

END_STATUTE Sec. 3.  Section 31-284, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE31-284.  Transition program fund The transition program fund is established consisting of the monies collected pursuant to section 31‑254, subsection D, paragraph 3 and subsection E, paragraph 3 and section 31-285, subsection C.  The department shall administer the fund to pay for any costs related to the administration of the transition program and for transition program services.

 Monies in the fund are subject to legislative appropriation and are exempt from the provisions of section 35‑190 relating to lapsing of appropriations."END_STATUTE Amend title to conform     RICHARD C.

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