South Carolina General Assembly
112th Session, 1997-1998

Bill 405


Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter


                    Current Status

Bill Number:                       405
Type of Legislation:               General Bill GB
Introducing Body:                  Senate
Introduced Date:                   19970220
Primary Sponsor:                   Thomas 
All Sponsors:                      Thomas 
Drafted Document Number:           res1226.dlt
Residing Body:                     Senate
Current Committee:                 Corrections and Penology
                                   Committee 03 SCP
Subject:                           Prisoners' Work and
                                   Overcrowding Act, television
                                   viewing, Inmate Incarceration
                                   Reimbursement, prison work,
                                   Corrections



History


Body    Date      Action Description                       Com     Leg Involved
______  ________  _______________________________________  _______ ____________
Senate  19970220  Introduced, read first time,             03 SCP
                  referred to Committee

View additional legislative information at the LPITS web site.


(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A BILL

TO AMEND CHAPTER 3, TITLE 24, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE STATE PRISON SYSTEM, BY ADDING SECTION 24-3-23, SO AS TO REQUIRE ABLE-BODIED INMATES INCARCERATED IN THE STATE PRISON SYSTEM AND IN COUNTY JAILS TO WORK FOR AT LEAST FORTY HOURS EACH WEEK AND TO PROHIBIT TELEVISION VIEWING BY PRISONERS, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS; AND TO AMEND TITLE 24, RELATING TO CORRECTIONS, JAILS, AND THE LIKE, SO AS TO ENACT THE "INMATE INCARCERATION REIMBURSEMENT ACT" WHICH REQUIRES INMATES IN THE STATE PRISON SYSTEM TO PAY PART OF THE COST OF THEIR INCARCERATION.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

SECTION 1. This act may be cited as the Prisoners' Work and Overcrowding Act of 1997.

SECTION 2. Article 1, Chapter 3, Title 24 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"Section 24-3-23. (A) The director and all persons charged with the operation of county jails shall establish the following requirements by rule:

(1) all convicted prisoners in any institution of the department or in a county jail who are able to do so must engage in work for at least forty hours each week;

(2) no television viewing will be provided to prisoners in any institution of the department or in a county jail, except that prisoners may view educational programs; and

(3) prisoners who are convicted of nonviolent offenses, or who are eligible for custody in minimum security institutions, may be assigned to work on chain gangs.

SECTION 3. Title 24 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:

"CHAPTER 4

Inmate Incarceration Reimbursement Act

Section 24-4-10. As used in this chapter:

(A)(1) `Assets' means property, tangible or intangible, real or personal, belonging to or due an offender or a former offender, including income or payments to such offender from social security, workers' compensation, veterans' compensation, pension benefits, previously earned salary or wages, bonuses, annuities, retirement benefits, or from any other source whatsoever, including any of the following:

(a) money or other tangible assets received by the offender as a result of a settlement of a claim against the State, any agency thereof, or any claim against an employee or independent contractor arising from and in the scope of said employee's or contractor's official duties on behalf of the State or any agency thereof;

(b) a money judgment received by the offender from the State as a result of a civil action in which the State, an agency thereof or any state employee or independent contractor where such judgment arose from a claim arising from the conduct of official duties on behalf of the State by said employee or subcontractor or for any agency of the State;

(c) a current stream of income from any source whatsoever, including a salary, wages, disability, retirement, pension, insurance or annuity benefits or similar payments;

(2) `Assets' shall not include:

(a) the homestead of the offender up to fifty thousand dollars in value;

(b) money saved by the offender from wages and bonuses up to two thousand five hundred dollars paid the offender while he or she was confined to a state correctional center.

(B) `Cost of care' means the cost to the Department of Corrections for providing transportation, room, board, clothing, security, medical, and other normal living expenses of offenders under the jurisdiction of the department, as determined by the director of the department;

(C) `Department' means the Department of Corrections.

(D) `Director' means the Director of the Department of Corrections.

(E) `Offender' means any person who is under the jurisdiction

of the department and is confined in any state correctional center or is under the continuing jurisdiction of the department.

(F) `State correctional center' means a facility or institution which houses an offender population under the jurisdiction of the department. State correctional center includes a correctional camp, community correction center, or state prison.

Section 24-4-20. (A) The department shall develop a form which shall be used by the department to obtain information from all offenders regarding their assets.

(B) Upon being developed , the form shall be submitted to each person who is an offender as of the date the form is developed and to every person thereafter who is sentenced to imprisonment under the jurisdiction of the department. The department may periodically resubmit the form to an offender for the purpose of obtaining current information regarding assets of the offender.

(C) Every offender shall either complete the form or provide for its completion and shall swear or affirm under oath that, to the best of his or her knowledge, the information provided is complete and accurate. Any person who shall knowingly provide false information on the form to state officials or employees shall be guilty of the crime of false swearing, as set forth in Section 16-9-30.

(D)(1) An offender's failure to fully, adequately and correctly complete the form may be considered by the Department of Probation, Parole and Pardon Services:

(a) for purposes of a parole determination; or

(b) in determining an offender's parole release date or eligibility.

(2) An offender's failure to fully, adequately and correctly complete the form shall constitute sufficient grounds for denial of parole.

(E) Prior to the release of an offender from imprisonment and again prior to the release of an offender from the jurisdiction of the department, the department shall request from the offender an assignment of ten percent of any wages, salary, benefits or payments from any source. Any such assignment shall be valid for the longer period of five years from the date of its execution, or five years from the date that the offender is released from the jurisdiction of the department or any of its divisions or agencies. The assignment shall ensure payment of the total cost of care of the offender executing the assignment.

Section 24-4-30. (A) The director shall forward a report to the Attorney General on each offender containing the following items:

(1) a copy of the form completed pursuant to the provisions of Section 24-4-20;

(2) all other information available on the assets of the offender; and

(3) an estimate of the total cost of care for that offender.

(B) The Attorney General may investigate or cause to be investigated all reports furnished pursuant to the provisions of subsection (A) of this section. In the course of the investigation, the Attorney General may seek information from any source that may have relevant information concerning an offender's assets. In completing his duties under this chapter, the Attorney General may request from the director all information possessed by the department and its divisions and agencies.

(C)(1) Upon completion of the investigation required by this section, the Attorney General may seek reimbursement of the state's expense for the cost of care of an offender or former offender if he has good cause to believe that an offender or former offender has sufficient assets to provide reimbursement of the cost of care as provided in item (2) of this subsection.

(2) The Attorney General has good cause to believe that the offender has sufficient assets to provide reimbursement of the cost of care if:

(a) the offender's assets permit the recovery of not less than ten percent of the estimated cost of care of the offender or not less than ten percent of the estimated cost of care of the offender for two years, whichever is less; or

(b) the offender has a stream of income sufficient to pay the amounts specified in subitem (a) within a five-year period.

(D) Neither the Attorney General nor a solicitor acting on behalf of the Attorney General may bring an action pursuant to this section against an offender or former offender after the expiration of five years after his release from the jurisdiction of the department.

Section 24-4-40. (A) Not more than ninety percent of the value of the assets of the offender may be used for purposes of securing costs and reimbursement pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

(B) The amount of reimbursement sought from an offender shall not exceed the per capita cost of care for maintaining an offender in the state correctional center in which the offender is housed for the period or periods during which the offender is housed in a state correctional center.

Section 24-4-50. (A)(1) The Attorney General may file a complaint in the court of common pleas for the county from which a prisoner was sentenced or in the court of common pleas in the county of the office of the director against any person under the jurisdiction of the department.

(2) The complaint filed must:

(a) state that the defendant is or has been an offender in a state correctional center;

(b) state that there is good cause to believe that the defendant has assets; and

(c) include a prayer that the assets be used to reimburse the State for the expenses incurred or to be incurred, or both, by the State for the cost of care of the defendant as an offender.

(B) The courts of common pleas shall have exclusive jurisdiction over all proceedings in which reimbursement is sought from offenders pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

(C) Upon the filing of the complaint, the court shall issue an order to show cause why the prayer of the complainant should not be granted. At least thirty days before the date of hearing on the complaint and order, the complaint and order shall be served upon the defendant by one of the following means:

(1) personal service; or

(2) if the defendant is confined in a state correctional center, by registered mail addressed to the defendant, in care of the chief administrator of the state correctional center where the person is housed.

(D)(1) At the time of the hearing on the complaint and order, if it appears that the defendant has any assets which ought to be subjected to the claim of the State pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, the court shall issue an order requiring any person, corporation, or other legal entity possessed or having custody of such assets, to appropriate and apply such assets or a portion thereof to satisfy such claim.

(2) If the person, corporation, or other legal entity shall neglect or refuse to comply with an order issued pursuant to item (1) of this subsection, the court shall order the person, corporation, or other legal entity to appear before the court at such time as the court may direct and to show cause why the person, corporation, or other legal entity should not be considered in contempt of court.

(E) At the hearing on the complaint and the order to show cause, and before entering any order on behalf of the State against the defendant, the court shall take into consideration any legal obligation of the defendant to support a spouse, minor children, or other dependents and any moral obligation to support dependents to whom the defendant is providing or has in fact provided support.

(G) If, in the opinion of the court, the assets of the prisoner are sufficient to pay the costs of the proceedings undertaken pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, the assets shall be liable for those costs upon order of the court.

Section 24-4-60. (A) Except as provided in subsection (C) of this section, the Attorney General may use any remedy, interim order, or enforcement procedure allowed by law or court rule, including, but not limited to, an ex parte restraining order to restrain the offender or any other person or legal entity in possession or having custody of the estate of the offender from disposing of certain property in avoidance of an order issued pursuant to the provisions of Section 24-4-50.

(B) To protect and maintain assets pending resolution of proceedings initiated pursuant to the provisions of Section 24-4-50, the court, upon request, may appoint a receiver.

(C) Neither the Attorney General nor a solicitor shall enforce any judgment obtained pursuant to the provisions of Section 24-4-50 by means of execution against the homestead of the prisoner.

(D) The state's right to recover the cost of care pursuant to an order issued pursuant to the provisions of Section 24-4-50 shall have priority over all other liens, debts, or other encumbrances against real property or any other assets which are part of an offender's estate.

Section 24-4-70. (A) The Attorney General shall enforce the provisions of this chapter, except that the Attorney General may request the solicitor for the county in which the offender was sentenced or the solicitor for the county in which any asset of an offender is located to make an investigation or assist in legal proceedings undertaken pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

(B) The sentencing judge, the sheriff, the county or city, the chief administrator of the state correctional center, and the state treasurer shall furnish to the Attorney General or solicitor all information and assistance possible to enable the Attorney General or solicitor to secure reimbursement for the State pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

(C) Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law protecting the confidentiality of any information possessed by the State, its officials and agencies, the Secretary of State, the Director of the Department of Revenue, the Director of the Department of Social Services, the director of the Department of Corrections, the Director of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation, the Director of the Department of Public Safety, and the State Budget and Control Board, and each division or agency within or assigned to such departments, shall provide the Attorney General or solicitor with all information requested pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

(D) Any county or municipal official having custody of records of the estate or real property of any offender or former offender shall surrender said records or certified copies thereof without fee to the Attorney General or solicitor who requests such records pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

Section 24-4-80. (A) There is hereby established in the state treasury the "Inmate Incarceration Reimbursement Act Revolving Fund." All reimbursements collected pursuant to the provisions of this chapter shall be paid to the fund. The costs of any investigations shall be paid from the fund. The investigative costs shall be presumed to be twenty percent of the reimbursements recovered, unless the Attorney General shall demonstrate to the court otherwise. Monies in the fund shall be appropriated to the Attorney General in order to defray the costs of the Attorney General in connection with his duties provided by this act. All remaining balances shall be appropriated to the department for purposes of construction and operation of state correctional facilities. Monies in the fund shall not lapse, be transferred or appropriated to or placed to the credit of the general revenue fund or any other fund of the State.

(B) The state treasurer may determine the amount due the State for the cost of care of an offender and may render a sworn statements of the amount, which shall be considered prima facie evidence of the amount due."

SECTION 4. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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