Alabama § 14-1-1.7 - Appointment of Administrators; Employees Appointed for Constituent Services.

§ 14-1-1.7. Appointment of Administrators; Employees Appointed for Constituent Services.

(a)(1) The Commissioner of the Department of Corrections may appoint administrators to carry out the operations and management of correctional facilities, including facilities defined in Section 14-2-1, who: (i) shall serve at his or her pleasure; (ii) shall be deemed exempt employees under Section 36-26-10; and (iii) shall not be required to be certified as either a corrections officer or a law enforcement officer by the Alabama Peace Officers’ Standards and Training Commission.

(2) The commissioner, as the appointing authority, shall establish the positions, set the qualification requirements, define duties and personnel policies, and set salaries not to exceed the salary of the commissioner.

(b)(1) By March 1, 2025, the commissioner may appoint 15 employees for constituent services who: (i) shall serve at his or her pleasure; (ii) shall be deemed exempt employees under Section 36-26-10; and (iii) shall not be required to be certified as either a corrections officer or a law enforcement officer by the Alabama Peace Officers’ Standards and Training Commission.

(2) One employee shall oversee departmental constituent services and shall serve as a liaison to the Joint Legislative Prison Oversight Committee, created by Section 29-2-20, for the purposes of studying and addressing services provided by the department to constituents and the families of inmates and victims.

(3) The other 14 employees shall oversee constituent services for all department facilities.

(4) The commissioner, as the appointing authority, shall consider information from the Joint Legislative Prison Oversight Committee in establishing qualification requirements and duties of the employees. The commissioner shall also set salaries not to exceed the salary of the commissioner.

(5) At a minimum, employees appointed in constituent services shall:

a. Create a standardized form to be used by the department for inquiries and complaints received by constituents and families of incarcerated individuals and victims. The form shall contain a central physical address and email address to be used for submittal of the form;

b. Provide the electronic form on the department’s website;

c. Review inquiries and complaints received by the department via the electronic form. Every inquiry and complaint form shall be assigned to a constituent services employee and shall be provided to the Joint Legislative Prison Oversight Committee’s liaison; and

d. Respond to every inquiry and complaint form, following the department’s procedures, and provide the responses to the Joint Legislative Prison Oversight Committee’s liaison.