Colorado § 17-1-202 - Requests for competitive proposals and contract requirements.

§ 17-1-202. Requests for competitive proposals and contract requirements.

(1) Before entering into any contract for designing, financing, acquiring, constructing, or operating a private contract prison or any contract for any combination of these functions, the department may issue a request for competitive proposals. Prior to issuing a request for competitive proposals requiring new construction under this section, the department shall notify the capital development committee, established pursuant to section 2-3-1302, C.R.S. The department's rules, at a minimum, shall require that any contract proposed and awarded by the executive director pursuant to this part 2 shall be governed by the following principles:

(a) A contract shall be negotiated with the contractor which, in the determination of the department, is found to be the most qualified and the most competitive under the circumstances; except that a contract for private correctional facilities shall not be executed unless the executive director of the department of corrections determines that the contractor has demonstrated compliance with the following standards:

(I) The qualifications, experience, and management personnel necessary to carry out the terms of the contract. At a minimum, this standard shall prohibit the contractor from employing a person who is required to register pursuant to the provisions of the "Colorado Sex Offender Registration Act", article 22 of title 16, C.R.S., to work in the private correctional facility. In connection with this standard, the contractor shall require applicants for employment to submit a set of fingerprints to the Colorado bureau of investigation for a criminal background check as provided in section 17-1-204.

(II) The ability to expedite the location, design, and construction of a private correctional facility; and

(III) The ability to comply with applicable laws, court orders, and national correctional standards.

(b) A contractor shall agree to indemnify the state and the department of corrections, including their officials and agents, against any and all liability including but not limited to any civil rights claims. The department of corrections shall require proof of satisfactory insurance, the amount to be determined by the department of corrections following consultation with the division of insurance in the department of regulatory agencies.

(c) The contractor shall seek, obtain, and maintain accreditation by the association responsible for adopting national correctional standards. In addition, the contractor shall comply with the association's amendments to the accreditation standards upon approval of the amendments by the department of corrections.

(d) The proposed private contract prisons and the management plans for inmates shall meet applicable national correctional standards and the requirements of applicable court orders and state law.

(e) The contractor shall agree to abide by operations standards for correctional facilities adopted by the executive director of the department of corrections.

(f) The contractor shall be responsible for a range of dental, medical, and psychological services and diet, education, and work programs at least equal to those services and programs provided by the department of corrections at comparable state correctional facilities. The work and education programs shall be designed to reduce recidivism.

(g) The executive director shall monitor all private contract prisons. Each contractor shall bear the costs of monitoring associated with out-of-state inmates and shall reimburse the department on a per-inmate basis for out-of-state inmates, but shall not bear the costs of monitoring associated with Colorado inmates.

(1.5) For the purposes of a contract in existence as of April 1, 2004, if a contractor employs a person in a private correctional facility who is required to register as a sex offender pursuant to the provisions of the "Colorado Sex Offender Registration Act", article 22 of title 16, C.R.S., the contractor shall ensure that the person does not have unsupervised contact with an inmate on and after April 1, 2004. Failure to comply with the provisions of this subsection (1.5) shall constitute a breach and grounds for termination of the contract.

(2) A contract entered into under this part 2 does not accord third-party beneficiary status to any inmate or to any member of the general public.

(3) Each contract shall include any other requirements the department considers necessary and appropriate for carrying out the purposes of this part 2.

Source: L. 95: Entire part added, p. 1268, § 1, effective June 5. L. 2000: IP(1), (1)(d), and (1)(g) amended, p. 837, § 19, effective May 24. L. 2004: (1)(a)(I) amended and (1.5) added, p. 231, § 2, effective April 1; (1)(g) amended, p. 753, § 1, effective May 12; IP(1) and IP(1)(a) amended, p. 127, § 2, effective August 4. L. 2006: IP(1) amended, p. 1059, § 1, effective May 25.