Authority: §§ 53.1-1 and 53.1-10, Code of Virginia.

A.1. Any plan to modernize and integrate the automated systems of the Department of Corrections shall be based on developing the integrated system in phases, or modules. Furthermore, any such integrated system shall be designed to provide the department the data needed to evaluate its programs, including that data needed to measure recidivism.

2. The appropriation in this Item includes $600,000 the first year and $600,000 the second year from the Contract Prisoners Special Revenue Fund to defray a portion of the costs of maintaining and enhancing the offender management system.

B. Included in this appropriation is $550,000 the first year and $550,000 the second year from nongeneral funds to be used for installation and operating expenses of the telemedicine program operated by the Department of Corrections. The source of the funds is revenue from inmate fees collected for medical services.

C. Included in this appropriation is $3,000,000 the first year and $3,000,000 the second year from nongeneral funds to be used by the Department of Corrections for the operations of its Corrections Construction Unit. The State Comptroller shall continue the Corrections Construction Unit Special Operating Fund on the books of the Commonwealth to reflect the activities of contracts between the Corrections Construction Unit and (i) institutions within the Department of Corrections for work not related to a capital project and (ii) agencies without the Department of Corrections for work performed for those agencies.

D. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 53.1-20 A. and B., Code of Virginia, the Director, Department of Corrections, shall receive offenders into the state correctional system from local and regional jails at such time as he determines that sufficient, secure and appropriate housing is available, placing a priority on receiving inmates diagnosed and being treated for HIV, mental illnesses requiring medication, or Hepatitis C. The director shall maximize, consistent with inmate and staff safety, the use of bed space in the state correctional system. The director shall report monthly to the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security and the Director of the Department of Planning and Budget on the number of inmates housed in the state correctional system, the number of inmate beds available, and the number of offenders housed in local and regional jails that meet the criteria set out in § 53.1-20 A. and B.

E. Notwithstanding any requirement to the contrary, any building, fixture, or structure to be placed, erected or constructed on, or removed or demolished from the property of the Commonwealth of Virginia under the control of the Department of Corrections shall not be subject to review and approval by the Art and Architectural Review Board as contemplated by § 2.2-2402, Code of Virginia. However, if the Department of Corrections seeks to construct a facility that is not a secure correctional facility or a structure located on the property of a secure correctional facility, then the Department of Corrections shall submit that structure to the Art and Architectural Review Board for review and approval by that board. Such other structures could include probation and parole district offices or regional offices.

F. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 58.1-3403, Code of Virginia, the Department of Corrections shall be exempt from the payment of service charges levied in lieu of taxes by any county, city, or town.

G. The Department of Corrections shall serve as the Federal Bonding Coordinator and shall work with the Virginia Community College System and its workforce development programs and services to provide fidelity bonds to those offenders released from jails or state correctional centers who are required to provide fidelity bonds as a condition of employment. The department is authorized to use funds from the Contract Prisoners Special Revenue Fund to pay the costs of this activity.

H. In the event the Department of Corrections closes a correctional facility for which it has entered into an agreement with any locality to pay a proportionate share of the debt service for the establishment of utilities to serve the facility, the department shall continue to pay its agreed upon share of the debt service, subject to the schedule previously agreed upon.

I. Included in the appropriation for this Item is $1,000,000 the first year and $1,000,000 the second year from the general fund for the costs of security technology and hardware for the inmate telephone system.

J. From the appropriation in this Item, $500,000 the first year and $500,000 the second year from the general fund shall be used to present seminars on overcoming obstacles to re-entry and to promote family integration in the correctional centers designated for intensive re-entry programs. The department shall submit a report by October 15 of each year to the Chairs of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees, the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, and the Director of the Department of Planning and Budget on the use of this funding.

K. Included in the appropriation for this Item is $426,832 the first year and $426,832 the second year from the general fund and four positions to assist the State Board of Local and Regional Jails in carrying out its duties under the authority of § 53.1-69.1, Code of Virginia, to review deaths of inmates in local correctional facilities. One of the positions provided is for an Executive Director.

L. By September 1 of each year, the Department of Corrections shall remit data to the Director of the Department of Planning and Budget and the Chairs of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees regarding medical treatment provided to offenders at each facility. The data shall include, as a proportion of average daily population at each facility, the levels of inmates who received care, including: the specific proportions of inmates from each facility who were treated as inpatients, the specific proportion of inmates from each facility who were treated as outpatients, data on prescription drug administration, and the proportion of inmates from each facility who received other discrete services. When negotiating contracts with healthcare vendors, the Department of Corrections shall include the reporting of data required under this paragraph as a requirement within the contract.

M. Included within the appropriation for this item is $1,988,000 the first year and $1,988,000 the second year from the general fund and $2,000,000 the first year and $2,000,000 the second year from the Contract Prisoners Special Revenue Fund for implementation of an electronic health records system in all facilities. The Department shall utilize its nongeneral funds appropriated for this purpose prior to using the general fund appropriation.

N. Included in the appropriation for this item is $8,125,783 in the first year and $8,125,783 in the second year and 105 positions from the general fund for the Department to implement the earned-sentence-credit structure set forth in Chapters 50 and 52 of the 2020 Acts of Assembly, Special Session.