Bill
Number: S.B. 1523
Quezada Floor Amendment
Reference to: printed bill
Amendment drafted by: Leg. Council
FLOOR AMENDMENT EXPLANATION
Bill
Number: S.B. 1523
Quezada Floor Amendment
Reference to: printed bill
Amendment drafted by: Leg. Council
FLOOR AMENDMENT EXPLANATION
Second Regular Session S.B. 1523
QUEZADA FLOOR AMENDMENT
SENATE AMENDMENTS TO S.B. 1523
(Reference to printed bill)
Page 1, between lines 1 and 2, insert:
"Section 1. Section 41-1609.01, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
41-1609.01. Adult incarceration contracts; criteria; cost comparison review
A. On publication, any request for proposals shall be provided to the joint legislative budget committee for its review.
B. To be considered for an award of a contract, the proposer must demonstrate that it has:
1. The qualifications, operations and management experience and experienced personnel necessary to carry out the terms of the contract.
2. The ability to comply with applicable correctional standards and any specific court order, if required.
3. A demonstrated history of successful operation and management of other secure facilities.
C. The proposer of a contract for correctional services must agree that this state may cancel the contract at any time after the first year of operation, without penalty to this state, on giving ninety days' written notice.
D. A contract may provide for annual contract price or cost adjustments, except that any adjustments may be made only once each year effective on the anniversary of the effective date of the contract. If any adjustment is made pursuant to the terms of the contract, it shall be applied to the total payments made to the contractor for the previous contract year and shall not exceed the per cent percent of change in the average consumer price index as published by the United States department of labor, bureau of labor statistics between that figure for the latest calendar year and the next previous calendar year.
E. Any price or cost adjustments to a contract different than those authorized in subsection D of this section may be made only if the legislature specifically authorizes the adjustments and appropriates monies for that purpose, if required.
F. An award of a contract shall not be made unless an acceptable proposal is received pursuant to any request for proposals. For the purposes of this subsection, "acceptable proposal" means a proposal that substantially meets all of the requirements or conditions set forth in this section and that meets all of the requirements in the request for proposals.
G. A proposal shall not be accepted unless the proposal offers cost savings to this state. Cost savings shall be determined based on the standard cost comparison model for privatization established by the director.
H. A proposal shall not be accepted unless the proposal offers a level and quality of services that are at least functionally equal to those that would be provided by this state.
I. Notwithstanding section 41‑2546, a contract to provide correctional services as described in this section may be for an initial period of not more than ten years.
J. The initial contract may include an option to renew for two subsequent renewal periods of not more than five years each.
K. A contract for correctional services described in this section shall not be entered into unless the following requirements are met:
1. The contractor provides audited financial statements for the previous five years, or for each of the years the contractor has been in operation, if fewer than five years, and provides other financial information as requested.
2. The contractor provides an adequate plan of insurance, specifically including coverage or insurance for civil rights claims and liabilities as approved by the risk management division of the department of administration.
3. The contractor agrees to be liable for the costs of any emergency, public safety or security services provided to the contractor by the state or any political subdivision of the state and to reimburse the state or any political subdivision of the state for the cost of any such services.
L. The sovereign immunity of this state does not apply to the contractor. Neither the contractor nor the insurer of the contractor may plead the defense of sovereign immunity in any action arising out of the performance of the contract.
M. A contract for correctional services shall not authorize, allow or imply a delegation of authority or responsibility to a prison contractor for any of the following:
1. Developing and implementing procedures for calculating inmate release dates.
2. Developing and implementing procedures for calculating and awarding sentence credits.
3. Approving the type of work inmates may perform and the wages or sentence credits that may be given to inmates engaging in the work.
4. Granting, denying or revoking sentence credits, placing an inmate under less restrictive custody or more restrictive custody or taking any disciplinary actions.
N. The performance of the contractor shall be compared to the performance of this state in operating similar facilities, as provided in this section. The department shall conduct a biennial comparison of the services provided by the contractor to compare private versus public provision of services. The comparison of services shall be based on professional correctional standards specified by the director and incorporated into the contract and shall be used to determine if the contractor is providing at least the same quality of services as this state at a lower cost or if the contractor is providing services superior in quality to those provided by this state at essentially the same cost. In conducting the comparison of services, the director shall consider:
1. Security.
2. Inmate management and control.
3. Inmate programs and services.
4. Facility safety and sanitation.
5. Administration.
6. Food service.
7. Personnel practices and training.
8. Inmate health services.
9. Inmate discipline.
10. Inmate recidivism rates.
11. Other matters relating to services as determined by the director.
O. The director shall conduct a cost comparison of executed privatization contracts once every five years for each contract. The director shall provide the most recent service comparison and cost comparison for contractors that exclusively contract with the department to the joint legislative budget committee for its review.
Sec. 2. Title 41, chapter 11, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 41-1610.04, to read:
41-1610.04. Joint select committee on corrections; membership; meetings; staffing; duties; report; committee termination
A. The joint select committee on corrections is established consisting of the following members:
1. Three members of the senate, two of whom are appointed by the president of the senate and one of whom is appointed by the minority leader of the senate.
2. Three members of the house of representatives, two of whom are appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives and one of whom is appointed by the minority leader of the house of representatives.
3. The governor or the governor's designee.
4. The director of the state department of corrections or the director's designee.
5. The director of the department of administration or the director's designee.
B. Members of the committee shall elect a chairperson from the membership of the committee at the first committee meeting.
C. Members serving pursuant to subsection A, paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 of this section are nonvoting members and are not members for purposes of determining a quorum. A quorum consists of four voting members.
D. The committee shall meet at least two times each year and any other time that the chairperson deems necessary or on the call of the majority of the voting committee members.
E. Members of the committee are not eligible to receive compensation but are eligible for reimbursement of expenses pursuant to title 38, chapter 4, article 2.
F. The legislature shall provide staff and clerical support to the committee and shall advise and assist the committee in performing its responsibilities. Persons representing the state department of corrections and the department of administration shall provide information and technical assistance to the committee.
G. The committee shall receive testimony from the department of administration regarding the construction schedule of prison beds previously authorized by the legislature.
H. The committee shall receive testimony from the state department of corrections regarding the actual and anticipated growth or decline in the department's inmate population and the conditions of confinement of the inmate population, including information and data on:
1. The number and causes of death of inmates.
2. Complaints filed by inmates and the department's responses to those complaints.
3. Inmate food services.
4. Air conditioning and heating systems within each prison.
I. The committee shall review and make recommendations to the legislature regarding future prisons and capital investments to improve the conditions of confinement and working conditions for corrections staff.
J. The committee may consider other matters relating to prison construction or prison operations and may make recommendations to the legislature.
K. The committee shall review the final site determination of a private incarceration facility pursuant to section 41-1609.02.
L. The committee shall prepare and submit an annual report of its recommendations to the governor, the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives on or before October 15 and provide a copy of this report to the secretary of state.
M. The committee established by this section ends on July 1, 2026 pursuant to section 41-3103.
Sec. 3. Section 41-2405, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
41-2405. Arizona criminal justice commission; powers and duties; staff
A. The Arizona criminal justice commission shall:
1. Monitor the progress and implementation of new and continuing criminal justice legislation.
2. Facilitate research among criminal justice agencies and maintain criminal justice system information.
3. Facilitate coordinated statewide efforts to improve criminal justice information and data sharing.
4. Prepare for the governor a biennial criminal justice system review report. The report shall contain:
(a) An analysis of all criminal justice programs created by the legislature in the preceding two years.
(b) An analysis of the effectiveness of the criminal code, with a discussion of any problems and recommendations for revisions if deemed necessary.
(c) A study of the level of activity in the several areas of the criminal justice system, with recommendations for redistribution of criminal justice revenues if deemed necessary.
(d) An overall review of the entire criminal justice system, including crime prevention, criminal apprehension, prosecution, court administration and incarceration at the state and local levels as well as funding needs for the system.
(e) Recommendations for constitutional, statutory and administrative revisions that are necessary to develop and maintain a cohesive and effective criminal justice system.
5. Provide supplemental reports on criminal justice issues of special timeliness.
6. In coordination with other governmental agencies, gather information on programs that are designed to effectuate community crime prevention and education using citizen participation and on programs for alcohol and drug abuse prevention, education and treatment and disseminate that information to the public, political subdivisions, law enforcement agencies and the legislature.
7. Make recommendations to the legislature and the governor regarding the purposes and formula for allocation of fund monies as provided in section 41‑2401, subsection D and section 41‑2402 through the biennial agency budget request.
8. Adopt rules for the purpose of allocating fund monies as provided in sections 41‑2401, 41‑2402 and 41‑2407 that are consistent with the purposes set forth in those sections and that promote effective and efficient use of the monies.
9. Make reports to the governor and the legislature as they require.
10. Oversee the research, analyses, studies, reports and publication of crime and criminal justice statistics prepared by the Arizona statistical analysis center, which is an operating section of the Arizona criminal justice commission.
11. Prepare an annual report on law enforcement activities in this state that are funded by the drug and gang enforcement fund or the criminal justice enhancement fund and that relate to illicit drugs and drug related gang activity. The report shall be submitted by October 31 of each year to the governor, the president of the senate and the speaker of the house of representatives and a copy shall be submitted to the secretary of state. The report shall include:
(a) The name and a description of each law enforcement program dealing with illegal drug activity or street gang activity, or both.
(b) The objective and goals of each program.
(c) The source and amount of monies received by each program.
(d) The name of the agency or entity that administers each program.
(e) The effectiveness of each program.
12. Compile and disseminate information on best practices for cold case investigations, including effective victim communication procedures. For the purposes of this paragraph, "cold case" means a homicide or a felony sexual offense that remains unsolved for one year or more after being reported to a law enforcement agency and that has no viable and unexplored investigatory leads.
B. The Arizona criminal justice commission, as necessary to perform its functions, may:
1. Request any state or local criminal justice agency to submit any necessary information.
2. Form subcommittees, make studies, conduct inquiries and hold hearings.
3. Subject to chapter 4, article 4 of this title, employ consultants for special projects and such staff as deemed necessary or advisable to carry out this section.
4. Delegate its duties to carry out this section, including:
(a) The authority to enter into contracts and agreements on behalf of the commission.
(b) Subject to chapter 4, article 4 and, as applicable, articles 5 and 6 of this title, the authority to appoint, hire, terminate and discipline all personnel of the commission, including consultants.
5. Establish joint research and information facilities with governmental and private agencies.
6. Accept and expend public and private grants of monies, gifts and contributions and expend, distribute or allocate monies appropriated to the commission for the purpose of enhancing efforts to investigate or prosecute and adjudicate any crime and to implement this chapter."
Renumber to conform
Amend title to conform