Arizona § 31-253 - Use of prisoners in prison construction; definition

§ 31-253. Use of prisoners in prison construction; definition

A. The director of the state department of corrections and the director of the department of administration shall use prisoner labor to the maximum extent feasible in the construction of all prison facilities.

B. Prisoner labor shall be used exclusively for all fencing and concrete flatwork as well as in the construction, renovation, conversion and maintenance of all of the following types of buildings:

1. Administrative.

2. Warehouse.

3. Vehicle and maintenance.

4. Educational and vocational.

5. Arizona correctional industries.

6. Multipurpose.

7. Laundry.

C. Subsection B of this section does not apply if any of the following conditions apply:

1. The director of the state department of corrections, after consultation with the department of administration, determines that use of prisoner labor is not feasible because highly technical skills are needed in the construction and this need cannot be met by prisoner labor.

2. The director determines that the use of prisoner labor is not feasible due to considerations of public or institutional security.

3. The director declares, and the governor certifies, that there is a shortage of beds available for inmates which requires the emergency construction of new beds.

D. Before the publication of the notice inviting sealed bids for any prison construction, the director of the department of administration shall review the listing of work crews maintained by the director of the state department of corrections pursuant to section 31-251, subsection B, paragraph 4. If a work crew exists or can be assembled that possesses the skills to fulfill the requirements of all or any part of the proposed construction contract, the bid for that portion of the proposed construction which can be accomplished by prisoner labor shall not be published and that portion of the proposed construction shall be performed by inmate work crews under the project supervision of the director of the state department of corrections or the director of the department of administration, or both. That portion of the proposed construction contract that cannot be performed entirely by prisoner labor may be let for bid. An estimate of the approximate number of available prisoners with skill levels appropriate for the construction project shall be contained within the contract documents, and notice of the requirement to make maximum feasible use of prisoner labor shall be published with the notice inviting sealed bids.

E. Contractors may employ prisoners in a prison construction project. The compensation paid by contractors to prisoners employed in prison construction is subject to the provisions of section 41-1674.

F. In this section, "prison construction" means any construction or major maintenance, renovation or conversion of any prison facility.