[First Reprint]

ASSEMBLY, No. 2034

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

INTRODUCED MAY 22, 1997

By Assemblyman KRAMER and Assemblywoman WRIGHT

An Act concerning certain private facilities under contract with the Department of Corrections and supplementing chapter 4 of Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. As used in this act:

    "Eligible inmate" means an inmate who (1) was not convicted of a violent crime and (2) has less than one year remaining to be served before his parole eligibility date.

    "Private facility" means a residential center, operated by a private entity, contracted by the Department of Corrections to provide for the care, custody, subsistence, treatment, education, training or welfare of inmates sentenced to the custody of the Commissioner of Corrections. The operator of a private facility may be organized as either a for profit or nonprofit entity.

    "Violent crime" means a violation of N.J.S.2C:11-3; N.J.S.2C:11-4; N.J.S.2C:13-1; subsection a. or c. of N.J.S.2C:14-2; N.J.S.2C:15-1 in which the inmate, while in the course of committing the theft, attempted to kill another, or purposely inflicted or attempted to inflict serious bodily injury, or was armed with or used or threatened the immediate use of a deadly weapon; N.J.S.2C:15-2; subsection a. of N.J.S.2C:17-1; N.J.S.2C:24-4; or an attempt to commit any of these offenses.

    2. On and after the effective date of P.L. , c. (C. ) (now pending before the Legislature as this bill), the Commissioner of Corrections shall authorize the confinement of eligible inmates in private facilities¹, subject to prior acceptance of the inmate for such confinement by the private facility¹.

    3. Whenever an eligible inmate is authorized for confinement in a private facility ¹and has been accepted by the private facility¹, the Commissioner of Corrections shall prepare a summary of all relevant information relating to that inmate's criminal history and background. The summary, along with a picture of the inmate, shall be transmitted to the chief law enforcement officer of the municipality wherein the private facility is located within five working days of the inmate's transfer to that facility.

    If the private facility is within 2,500 feet of the border of an adjacent municipality, the inmate summary and picture also shall be transmitted to the chief law enforcement officer of that adjacent municipality within five working days of the inmate's transfer to the facility.

    4. a. Every contract between the Department of Corrections and the operator of a private facility shall provide for the establishment of a community relations board. The board, except as hereinafter provided, shall include the following members: (1) the chief law enforcement officer of the municipality, or his designee; (2) a member of the governing body of the municipality, or a designee; (3) a representative of the operator of the private facility; (4) a representative of the Department of Corrections; and (5) public members, appointed by the governing body, to represent the community.

    If the private facility is within 2,500 feet of the border of an adjacent municipality, the board also shall include the chief law enforcement officer of that adjacent municipality, or his designee; a representative of the governing body of that adjacent municipality, or a designee; and public members, appointed by the governing body of the adjacent municipality, to represent the community. In those cases where the board consists of representatives from more than one municipality, the number of public member appointees from each of the participating municipalities shall be the same.

    b. The board shall monitor the operation of the private facility and shall provide the residents of the municipality with a forum for resolving community concerns relating to the facility's operation.

    5. The operator of a private facility shall, upon discovering that an inmate has escaped, notify:

    a. the chief law enforcement officer of the municipality in which the facility is located, or his designee;

    b. the Commissioner of Corrections, or his designee; and

    c. if the private facility is within 2,500 feet of an adjacent municipality, the chief law enforcement officer of that adjacent municipality, or his designee.

    The notice required under this section shall be given within one hour of the discovery of the escape and shall include a current summary of all relevant information relating to the escapee's criminal history and background.

    6. The Commissioner of Corrections, in accordance with the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), shall promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate the purposes of this act. Those regulations shall include, but not be limited to, guidelines specifying the particular security requirements for individual facilities. The guidelines shall address the appropriate perimeter security requirements for facilities located within urban, suburban and rural residential communities and within nonresidential areas.

    7. This act shall take effect immediately.

Establishes regulatory scheme for certain private facilities under contract with DOC.