House Bill 2133

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 2133

        By Representative Peaden






  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to correctional work programs;

  3         amending s. 946.002, F.S.; amending labor

  4         requirements pertaining to inmates; amending s.

  5         946.504, F.S.; providing for the Board of

  6         Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund

  7         to enter into leases with the corporation set

  8         up under this section to operate correctional

  9         work programs; amending s. 946.515, F.S.;

10         amending provisions specifying which

11         commodities may be produced and sold by the

12         corporation; creating s. 946.205, F.S.;

13         providing for responsibilities of the

14         Department of Corrections for cultivating and

15         selling food items and for supervising certain

16         work activities of inmates; creating s.

17         946.521, F.S.; requiring the corporation and

18         the Office of Program Policy Analysis and

19         Government Accountability to report annually to

20         the Governor and the Legislature; requiring

21         program reviews; providing that the corporation

22         is to be governed by specified accounting

23         principles; creating s. 946.523, F.S.;

24         providing for prison industry enhancement (PIE)

25         programs; providing purposes and objectives of

26         the programs; requiring workers' compensation

27         coverage to be provided to inmates who

28         participate in the programs; providing that

29         inmates are not entitled to unemployment

30         compensation; providing that this section is

31         inapplicable to correctional work programs

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 2133

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  1         operated under ss. 946.502-946.517, F.S.;

  2         creating s. 946.524, F.S.; providing for the

  3         corporation to establish work camps; providing

  4         for the corporation to designate certain lands

  5         as the sites for such work camps; providing

  6         that the corporation may use certain inmates as

  7         workers in the work camps and may enter into

  8         contracts, as specified, to operate the work

  9         camps; amending s. 320.06, F.S.; amending

10         provisions relating to manufacturing certain

11         tags and decals for the Department of Highway

12         Safety and Motor Vehicles; repealing ss.

13         946.006, 946.0061, 946.007, 946.008, 946.21,

14         946.31, 946.32, 946.33, 946.516, 946.519,

15         946.520(1), F.S., relating to correctional work

16         programs, the inapplicability of s. 946.006(4),

17         F.S., to those programs, correctional work

18         program objectives, financing correctional work

19         programs, penalties for selling goods made by

20         prisoners, sources of funds for the

21         correctional work program, the use of such

22         funds, the disbursement of the funds, reports

23         to the Governor and the Legislature, the use of

24         goods and services produced in correctional

25         work programs, and the assignment of inmates by

26         the Department of Corrections; providing an

27         effective date.

28

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

30

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 2133

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  1         Section 1.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section

  2  946.002, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

  3         946.002  Requirement of labor; compensation; amount;

  4  crediting of account of prisoner; forfeiture; civil rights;

  5  prisoner not employee or entitled to compensation insurance

  6  benefits.--

  7         (1)(a)  The department shall require of every

  8  able-bodied prisoner imprisoned in any institution as many

  9  hours of faithful labor in each day and every day during his

10  or her term of imprisonment as shall be prescribed by the

11  rules of the department.  Every able-bodied prisoner

12  classified as medium custody or minimum custody who does not

13  satisfactorily participate in any institutional work programs,

14  correctional work programs, prison industry enhancement (PIE)

15  programs, academic programs, or vocational programs shall be

16  required to perform work for such political subdivisions of

17  the state as might have entered into agreement with the

18  department pursuant to s. 946.40.

19         Section 2.  Subsection (1) of section 946.504, Florida

20  Statutes, is amended to read:

21         946.504  Organization of corporation to operate

22  correctional work programs; lease of facilities.--

23         (1)  The department shall lease buildings and land to

24  the nonprofit corporation authorized to operate the

25  correctional work programs, the members of which are appointed

26  by the Governor and confirmed by the Senate. The same

27  appointment process shall be followed to fill any vacancy. The

28  corporation shall be organized pursuant to chapter 617 and

29  shall possess all the powers granted by that chapter. The

30  Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund shall

31  enter into leases directly with the corporation, for a period

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 2133

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  1  of at least 20 years, for the lease of the lands that are

  2  currently under sublease with the department and used by the

  3  corporation for correctional work programs and that are

  4  identified as subject to lease numbers 3513, 3311, 2946, 2675,

  5  2937, 2673, and 3236 with the Board of Trustees of the

  6  Internal Improvement Trust Fund.

  7         Section 3.  Subsection (3) of section 946.515, Florida

  8  Statutes, 1998 Supplement, is amended to read:

  9         946.515  Use of goods and services produced in

10  correctional work programs.--

11         (3)  Agricultural commodities, including, but not

12  limited to, sugar cane, vegetables, beef, and dairy products,

13  may be sold to private entities or may be sold or disposed of

14  as provided in subsections (1) and (2). The corporation may

15  contract with any political subdivision of this state to

16  operate a fish and seafood processing plant and to spawn and

17  grow fish and seafood for sale as provided in this subsection.

18  However, the corporation may not breed or sell live tropical

19  fish.

20         Section 4.  Section 946.205, Florida Statutes, is

21  created to read:

22         946.205  Institutional work.--The department may cause

23  to be cultivated by the inmates of the adult correctional

24  institutions that are under the control and supervision of the

25  department such food items as are grown on farms or gardens

26  generally, and as are needed and used in the state

27  institutions. The department may sell any surplus food items

28  to the corporation authorized under part II of this chapter.

29  The department may also use the services of inmates of the

30  adult correctional institutions that are under the control and

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 2133

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  1  supervision of the department to perform such work as is

  2  needed and used within the state institutions.

  3         Section 5.  Section 946.521, Florida Statutes, is

  4  created to read:

  5         946.521  Reports to Governor and Legislature by the

  6  corporation and by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and

  7  Government Accountability.--

  8         (1)  The corporation shall submit to the department,

  9  the Governor, and the Legislature an annual, independently

10  audited financial statement and such other information as the

11  Legislature requests. The corporation shall submit to the

12  Governor and the Legislature, on or before January 1 of each

13  year, a report on the status of the correctional work

14  programs. The report must include, but need not be limited to,

15  the proposed use of the profits from such programs, a

16  breakdown of the performance measurements, the total inmate

17  hours worked, profit earned, economic impact on the state,

18  amount paid to victim restitution, total inmate compensation,

19  total amount expended by the corporation on capital

20  improvements to state land and buildings, and the number of

21  inmates working in the correctional work programs at the time

22  of the report.

23         (2)  Upon the request of the Joint Legislative Auditing

24  Committee, the Office of Program Policy Analysis and

25  Government Accountability shall conduct a program review of

26  the corporation. The Office of Program Policy Analysis and

27  Government Accountability shall conduct a performance review

28  of the corporation which takes into consideration an

29  independent audit conducted by the auditors of the

30  corporation.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 2133

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  1         (3)  The corporation shall be governed by the generally

  2  accepted accounting principles established by the Financial

  3  Accounting Standards Board, in order to carry out the intent

  4  of s. 946.502(2) and (5).

  5         Section 6.  Section 946.523, Florida Statutes, is

  6  created to read:

  7         946.523  Prison industry enhancement (PIE) programs.--

  8         (1)  The corporation may operate or contract with the

  9  private sector for substantial involvement in a prison

10  industry enhancement (PIE) program that includes, but is not

11  limited to, contracts for the operation of a direct

12  private-sector business within a prison and the hiring of

13  inmates. Any contract authorized by this subsection must be in

14  compliance with federal law and must not result in the

15  significant displacement of employed workers in the community.

16  The purposes and objectives of this program are to:

17         (a)  Increase the benefits to the general public by

18  reimbursing the state for a portion of the costs of

19  incarceration.

20         (b)  Provide purposeful work for inmates.

21         (c)  Increase job skills.

22         (d)  Provide additional opportunities for

23  rehabilitating inmates who are otherwise ineligible to work

24  outside the prisons, such as maximum-security inmates.

25         (e)  Develop and establish new models for prison-based

26  businesses that create jobs approximating conditions of

27  private-sector employment.

28         (f)  Draw upon the economic base of operations for

29  deposit into the Crimes Compensation Trust Fund.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 2133

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  1         (g)  Substantially involve the private sector and its

  2  capital, management skills, and expertise in the design,

  3  development, and operation of businesses.

  4         (h)  Provide the financial basis for an inmate to

  5  contribute to the support of his or her family.

  6         (i)  Provide for the payment of state and federal taxes

  7  on an inmate's wages, which are paid at the rate of the

  8  prevailing or minimum wage rate.

  9         (j)  Provide savings for the inmate to have available

10  for his or her use upon the inmate's eventual release from

11  prison.

12         (2)  Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary,

13  including s. 440.15(9), private-sector employers shall provide

14  workers' compensation coverage to inmates who participate in

15  prison industry enhancement (PIE) programs under subsection

16  (1). Inmates are not entitled to unemployment compensation.

17  This subsection is inapplicable to correctional work programs

18  that are operated under ss. 946.502-946.517.

19         Section 7.  Section 946.524, Florida Statutes, is

20  created to read:

21         946.524  Corporation work camps.--

22         (1)  The corporation may establish work camps that the

23  corporation maintains and operates in accordance with chapter

24  951.

25         (2)  The corporation may designate appropriate land

26  that is owned or leased by the corporation, or may use state,

27  county, or municipal land, as the site of the proposed

28  facility. The work camp operated by the corporation may use

29  inmates who are incarcerated in county or municipal jails for

30  labor in correctional work programs or prison industry

31  enhancement programs authorized by s. 946.523, and the

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 2133

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  1  corporation may enter into contracts to operate the work camps

  2  in accordance with s. 946.5025.

  3         Section 8.  Subsection (4) of section 320.06, Florida

  4  Statutes, is amended to read:

  5         320.06  Registration certificates, license plates, and

  6  validation stickers generally.--

  7         (4)(a)  In order to enable the Department of

  8  Corrections to manufacture the license plates authorized

  9  herein, the department is authorized to prepay to the

10  Department of Corrections the amount required to purchase the

11  materials needed for the manufacture of reflectorized license

12  plates.  The amount prepaid may not exceed the amount of the

13  appropriation made to the Department of Highway Safety and

14  Motor Vehicles, but shall be sufficient to enable the

15  Department of Corrections to meet the requirements of this

16  chapter.

17         (b)  For the purposes of authorizing The corporation

18  organized under pursuant to chapter 946 may to manufacture

19  license plates and validation stickers, as well as temporary

20  tags, disabled hang tags, vessel decals, and fuel use decals,

21  for the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles as

22  provided in this chapter., the reference to the Department of

23  Corrections in paragraph (a) means the Department of

24  Corrections or the corporation organized pursuant to chapter

25  946, and The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles

26  is not required to obtain competitive bids in order to

27  contract with the such corporation.

28         Section 9.  Sections 946.006, 946.0061, 946.007,

29  946.008, 946.21, 946.31, 946.32, 946.33, 946.516, and 946.519,

30  Florida Statutes, and subsection (1) of section 946.520,

31  Florida Statutes, are repealed.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999                HB 2133

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  1         Section 10.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1999.

  2

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  4                          HOUSE SUMMARY

  5
      Revises correctional work programs and labor requirements
  6    pertaining to inmates. Provides for the Board of Trustees
      of the Internal Improvement Trust Fund to enter into
  7    leases with the corporation created under chapter 946,
      F.S. Changes the commodities which the corporation may
  8    produce and sell. Requires the corporation and the Office
      of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
  9    to report annually to the Governor and the Legislature.

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      Declares inmates ineligible for unemployment
11    compensation. Permits the establishment of work camps and
      authorizes the corporation to use certain inmates as
12    workers and to operate the work camp. Also amends
      provisions relating to manufacturing certain tags and
13    decals for the Department of Highway Safety and Motor
      Vehicles. Repeals several sections of chapter 946, F.S.,
14    relating to correctional work programs.

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