House Bill 3711

    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HB 3711

        By Representative Lacasa






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to privately operated

  3         correctional facilities; amending s. 957.04,

  4         F.S.; requiring such facilities to operate

  5         under the same conditions as publicly operated

  6         facilities; creating s. 957.061, F.S.;

  7         requiring the creation of a cooperative

  8         transfer agreement; amending s. 957.08, F.S.;

  9         revising standards for use in determining

10         capacity requirements for such facilities;

11         prohibiting such facilities from housing

12         certain inmates; providing an effective date.

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14  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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16         Section 1.  Subsection (9) is added to section 957.04,

17  Florida Statutes, to read:

18         957.04  Contract requirements.--

19         (9)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the

20  contrary, a contract for the private operation of a

21  correctional facility entered into on or after January 1,

22  1998, must provide that the facility will operate under the

23  same conditions as publicly operated facilities with regard to

24  air conditioning of inmate housing, use and acquisition of

25  recreational facilities, permitted reading materials, use of

26  televisions, and use of inmate labor for chain gangs and other

27  public works. Such contracts may not impose a maximum on the

28  cost of individual inmate health care.

29         Section 2.  Section 957.061, Florida Statutes, is

30  created to read:

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HB 3711

    574-136-98






  1         957.061  Cooperative Transfer Agreement.--The

  2  commission, the contractor and a representative of the

  3  department shall develop and implement a cooperative transfer

  4  agreement for each private correctional facility for

  5  transferring inmates between a correctional facility operated

  6  by the department and the private correctional facility. The

  7  department, the commission, and the contractor must comply

  8  with the cooperative transfer agreement. The Corrections

  9  Commission shall routinely monitor and document compliance

10  with the agreement, mediate disputes between the department

11  and the commission, and make recommendations to the Governor

12  for final resolution.

13         Section 3.  Section 957.08, Florida Statutes, is

14  amended to read:

15         957.08  Capacity requirements.--The department shall

16  transfer and assign inmates prisoners, at a rate to be

17  determined by contract the commission, to each private

18  correctional facility opened pursuant to this chapter in an

19  amount not less than 90 percent or more than 100 percent of

20  the capacity of the facility pursuant to the contract with the

21  commission. The types of inmates prisoners transferred by the

22  department must adhere to the cooperative transfer agreement

23  adopted pursuant to s. 957.06 (2) and shall represent a

24  statistical cross-section cross section of the general inmate

25  population, based on the grade of custody or the offense of

26  conviction, the physical and mental health grade, and the

27  level of education, at the most comparable facility operated

28  by the department.

29         Section 4.  A private correctional facility in this

30  state may not house inmates from outside this state who were

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1998                HB 3711

    574-136-98






  1  convicted of violent crimes, including murder, rape, child

  2  molestation, or sexual battery.

  3         Section 5.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1998.

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  6                          SENATE SUMMARY

  7    Revises provisions related to the operation of private
      correctional facilities. Requires such facilities to
  8    operate under the same conditions as publicly operated
      facilities. Prohibits such facilities from housing
  9    certain violent inmates from other states. Provides for a
      cooperative transfer agreement for transferring inmates
10    between a private facility and one operated by the state.
      Revises standards for use in determining capacity
11    requirements of such facilities.

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