A. From July 1, 1998, to June 30, 2000, the Board of Corrections shall not approve or commit additional funds for the state share of the cost of construction, enlargement, or renovation of a local or regional jail facility. The Board may grant exceptions for the following reasons:

1. To address emergency projects needed to comply with Board of Corrections' standards or life safety code requirements, or projects mandated through consent decrees or memoranda of understanding, pursuant to the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1997, et seq., and required by the United States Department of Justice;

2. To address those projects for which contracts for design, including architectural and engineering services, of a local or regional jail facility had been signed as of March 1, 1996;

3. To adjust a previously approved funding level, which had been based on planning study estimates, to the actual project cost as determined by competitive bid;

4. To adjust a previously approved regional jail construction project in any case where one or more additional localities have elected to join an existing regional jail authority in order to close one or more existing local jails, or in any case where one or more small jails with an average daily population of less than ten in fiscal year 1995 have developed a plan to implement a new regional program or facility in order to close one or more existing local jails, subject to certification by the Secretary of Administration that such an adjustment shall result in an actual cost savings to the Commonwealth; and

5. To replace facilities which have been decertified by the Board of Corrections or which do not comply with Board of Corrections standards when such replacement does not result in a net increase in the operational bed capacity as defined by the Department of Corrections. Exceptions for this purpose may be granted only when the Board of Corrections is satisfied that efforts by the requesting governmental entity to find a regional jail solution have been fully exhausted.

B. The Department of Corrections may enter into agreements with each local and regional jail to house state-responsible offenders and effect transfers of convicted state felons between and among such jails. Such agreements shall be governed by the provisions of Item 77, paragraph K of this act. The Department of Corrections shall provide quarterly reports on the status of this program to the Governor and the Chairmen of the Senate Finance and House Appropriations Committees.