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 $1,100,000 the first year and $1,100,000 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 Commonwealth Accounting and Reporting System 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 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. The Commonwealth of Virginia shall convey 45 acres (more or less) of property, being a portion of Culpeper County Tax Map No. 75, parcel 32, lying in the Cedar Mountain Magisterial District of Culpeper County, Virginia, in consideration of the County's construction of water capacity and service line(s) adequate to serve the needs of the Department of Corrections' Coffeewood Facility and the Department of Juvenile Justice's Culpeper Juvenile Correctional Facility (hereinafter "the facilities"). The cost of the water improvements necessary to serve the facilities, including an eight-inch water service line, and including engineering and land/easement acquisition costs, shall be paid by the Commonwealth, less and except (i) the value of the property for the jail conveyed by the Commonwealth to the County ($150,382, based on valuation by the Culpeper County Assessor), and (ii) the cost of increasing the size of the water service line from eight inches to twelve inches, in order to accommodate planned county needs.
G. 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.
H. 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.
I. 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.
J. 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.
K. 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 chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance Committees, the Secretary of Public Safety and Homeland Security, and the Department of Planning and Budget on the use of this funding.
L. Included in the appropriation for this Item is $370,125 the first year and $426,832 the second year from the general fund and four positions to assist the Board of Corrections 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.
M.1. Consistent with the provisions of Chapter 198 of the 2017 Session of the General Assembly, the Director, Department of Corrections, shall implement the recommendations relating to the Department of Corrections made by the Department of Medical Assistance Services in its November 30, 2017 report on streamlining the Medicaid application and enrollment process for incarcerated individuals.
2. For the purpose of implementing these recommendations, included in the appropriation for this item are $37,400 the first year and $37,400 the second year from the general fund, and $420,993 the first year and $112,200 the second year from nongeneral funds and two positions.
N. 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 Chairmen of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance 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.
O. The Department of Corrections is authorized to purchase from the Town of Craigsville approximately 122 acres, more or less, located adjacent to the Augusta Correctional Center. In consideration for this acreage, the Department will provide wastewater treatment services to the Town at no cost for a period adequate to equal the value of the property conveyed. The value of the property shall be established by averaging the value of one appraisal provided by the Department of Corrections and one by the Town of Craigsville.
P. The Commonwealth of Virginia shall convey 65 acres of property consisting of Clarke County Tax Map No. 27, new parcel A, situated in the Greenway Magisterial District of Clarke County, Virginia, to the Virginia Port Authority (VPA), on behalf of the Virginia Inland Port (VIP). The VPA, on behalf of the VIP, shall collaborate with representatives of Clarke County to promote the use of the land for economic development purposes. The VIP shall enter into a memorandum-of-understanding with Clarke County on the development and execution of mutually advantageous economic development proposals.
Q. Included within the appropriation for this item is $10,807,975 the first year and $16,217,315 the second year from the general fund and $7,592,004 the first year and $1,000,000 the second year from the Contract Prisoners Special Revenue Fund for implementation of an electronic health records system in all facilities.
R. The Department of Corrections shall evaluate and determine the costs for assuming state management of Lawrenceville Correctional Center at the end of the current contract and report on its findings to the Chairs of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees by October 15, 2020. The report shall include an implementation timeline for transitioning from private management to state agency management and propose a structure and cost estimate for the delivery of healthcare services to offenders housed in the facility.
S. Out of this appropriation, $370,125 the first year and $426,832 the second year from the general fund is provided for four full-time jail death investigators for the Board of Corrections.
T. Out of this appropriation, $500,000 the first year from the general fund is provided to contract with third parties for an evaluation of the Department of Corrections' medical services delivery model that may include best practices in correctional healthcare, quality management, and other innovative strategies in creating a more efficient system of providing cost effective and quality healthcare. The department shall provide an update with any findings or recommendations to the Chairs of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees by December 1, 2020.
U. The Department of Corrections shall evaluate options to increase programs that increase hours of exposure to mental health or behavioral health counseling, spiritual counseling, and or recreation, for persons in restrictive housing and report its findings to the Chairs of the House Appropriations and Senate Finance and Appropriations Committees by January 1, 2021.
V. Included in the appropriation for this Item is $950,000 $1,100,000 the first year from the general fund for the estimated net increase in the operating cost of adult correctional facilities resulting from the enactment of sentencing legislation as listed below. This amount shall be paid into the Corrections Special Reserve Fund, established pursuant to § 30-19.1:4, Code of Virginia.
1. House Bill 2 and Senate Bill 70 -- $50,000
2. House Bill 4 and Senate Bill 36 -- $50,000
3. House Bill 123 and Senate Bill 838 -- $50,000
4. House Bill 253 -- $50,000
5. House Bill 298 and Senate Bill 724 -- $50,000
6. House Bill 557 -- $50,000
7. House Bill 618 -- $50,000
8. House Bill 623 -- $50,000
9. House Bill 666 -- $50,000
10. House Bill 674 and Senate Bill 240 -- $50,000
11. House Bill 1004 and Senate Bill 479 -- $50,000
12. House Bill 1211 -- $50,000
13. House Bill 1414 and Senate Bill 890 -- $50,000
14. House Bill 1524 -- $50,000
15. House Bill 1553 -- $50,000
16. Senate Bill 14 -- $50,000
17. Senate Bill 42 -- $50,000
18. Senate Bill 64 -- $50,000
19. Senate Bill 439 -- $50,000
20. House Bill 5045 and Senate Bill 5030 -- $50,000
21. House Bill 5049 -- $50,000
22. House Bill 5098 -- $50,000
W.1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, upon the declaration by the Governor of a state of emergency pursuant to § 44-146.17 of the Code of Virginia in response to a communicable disease of public health threat as defined in § 44-146.16 of the Code of Virginia, the Director shall, during the duration of the declared emergency, have the authority to (i) discharge from incarceration or (ii) place into a lower level of supervision, including probation supervision, home electronic incarceration, or other forms of community corrections, any prisoner committed to the Department who has less than one year of his sentence remaining to be served prior to his scheduled release if the Director determines that (a) any such discharge or placement during the declared emergency will assist in maintaining the health, safety, and welfare of any prisoner discharged or placed or the prisoners remaining in state correctional facilities and (b) any such discharge or placement is compatible with the interests of society and public safety.
2. The provisions of this section shall not apply to a prisoner convicted of a Class 1 felony or a sexually violent offense as defined in § 37.2-900 of the Code of Virginia.
3. The Director shall develop procedures for implementing the provisions of this section which shall include provisions addressing reentry planning in accordance with § 53.1-32.2 of the Code of Virginia. To the extent practicable, the Director shall comply with all provisions of the Virginia Code relating to providing notice of a prisoner's discharge; however, any failure to comply with such notice provisions shall not affect the Director's authority to discharge a prisoner pursuant to this section.
4. The provisions of this section shall expire on July 1, 2021.
X. Included in the appropriation for this item is $1,304,753 in the first year and $4,486,555 in the second year and twelve positions from the general fund for the Department to implement the time computation provisions of House Bill 5148 and Senate Bill 5034 of the 2020 Special Session I.