North Carolina § 153A-221 - Minimum standards.

§ 153A-221. Minimum standards.

The Secretary shall develop and publish minimum standards for the operation of local confinement facilities and may from time to time develop and publish amendments to the standards. The standards shall be developed with a view to providing secure custody of prisoners and to protecting their health and welfare and providing for their humane treatment. The standards shall provide for all of the following: Secure and safe physical facilities. Jail design. Adequacy of space per prisoner. Heat, light, and ventilation. Supervision of prisoners. Personal hygiene and comfort of prisoners. Medical care for prisoners, including mental health, behavioral health, intellectual and other developmental disability, and substance abuse services. Sanitation. Food allowances, food preparation, and food handling. Any other provisions that may be necessary for the safekeeping, privacy, care, protection, and welfare of prisoners. In developing the standards and any amendments thereto, the Secretary shall consult with organizations representing local government and local law enforcement, including the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, the North Carolina League of Municipalities, the North Carolina Sheriffs' Association, and the North Carolina Police Executives' Association. The Secretary shall also consult with interested State departments and agencies, including the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Insurance, and the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission, and the North Carolina Sheriffs' Education and Training Standards Commission. Before the standards or any amendments thereto may become effective, they must be approved by the Commission and the Governor. Upon becoming effective, they have the force and effect of law. Notwithstanding any law or rule to the contrary, each dormitory in a county detention facility may house up to 64 inmates as long as the dormitory provides all of the following: A minimum floor space of 70 square feet per inmate, including both the sleeping and dayroom areas. One shower per eight inmates, one toilet per eight inmates, one sink with a security mirror per eight inmates, and one water fountain. A telephone jack or other telephone arrangement provided within the dormitory. Space designed to allow a variety of activities. Sufficient seating and tables for all inmates. A way for officers to observe the entire area from the entrance. History (1967, c. 581, s. 2; 1973, c. 476, ss. 128, 133, 138; c. 822, s. 1; 1983, c. 745, s. 6; c. 768, s. 20; 1991, c. 237, s. 1; 1997-443, s. 11A.118(a); 2008-194, s. 10(a), (b); 2011-145, s. 19.1(h); 2011-324, s. 1; 2014-22, s. 1; 2017-186, s. 2(eeeeeeeee); 2019-76, s. 30.) Cross References. - As to detention of juveniles in holdover facilities meeting the minimum standards of this section where no juvenile detention home is available, see G.S. 7B-505 , 7B-1905. As to exception for contracts for the purchase of food and supplies for county detention facilities by the sheriffs of certain counties, see G.S. 143-131.1. Use of Closed Facilites. - Session Laws 2017-57, s. 16C.1(a), (b), provides: "(a) In conjunction with the closing of prison facilities, youth detention centers, and youth development centers, the Department of Public Safety shall consult with the county or municipality in which the facility is located, with elected State and local officials, and with State and federal agencies about the possibility of converting that facility to other use. The Department may also consult with any private for-profit or nonprofit firm about the possibility of converting the facility to other use. In developing a proposal for future use of each facility, the Department shall give priority to converting the facility to other criminal justice use. Consistent with existing law and the future needs of the Department of Public Safety, the State may provide for the transfer or the lease of any of these facilities to counties, municipalities, State agencies, federal agencies, or private firms wishing to convert them to other use. G.S. 146-29.1(f) through (g) shall not apply to a transfer made pursuant to this section. The Department of Public Safety may also consider converting some of the facilities recommended for closing from one security custody level to another, where that conversion would be cost-effective. A prison unit under lease to a county pursuant to the provisions of this section for use as a jail is exempt for the period of the lease from any of the minimum standards adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services pursuant to G.S. 153A-221 for the housing of adult prisoners that would subject the unit to greater standards than those required of a unit of the State prison system. "(b) The Department may convert closed facilities for the following purposes: "(1) Training needs. "(2) Behavior modification facilities. "(3) Transitional housing. "Sixty days prior to converting facilities to these purposes, the Department shall report to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety. The report shall include the justification for the conversion, operational requirements for the facility, and available resources for staffing and operating the facility. If the proposed facility will require additional funding in the future, the report shall provide a five-year projection of those funding needs." For prior similar provisions, see Session Laws 2003-284, s. 16.5, Session Laws 2005-276, s. 17.5, Session Laws 2007-323, s. 17.7, Session Laws 2009-451, s. 19.4(a) and (b), Session Laws 2011-145, s. 18.3, Session Laws 2013-360, s. 16A.3, as amended by Session Laws 2014-100, s. 16C.10, and Session Laws 2015-241, s. 16C.3. Use of Closed Prison Facilities. - Session Laws 2013-360, s. 16A.3, as amended by Session Laws 2014-100, s. 16C.10, provides: "In conjunction with the closing of prison facilities, youth detention centers, and youth development centers, the Department of Public Safety shall consult with the county or municipality in which the facility is located, with the elected State and local officials, and with State and federal agencies about the possibility of converting that facility to other use. The Department may also consult with any private for-profit or nonprofit firm about the possibility of converting the facility to other use. In developing a proposal for future use of each facility, the Department shall give priority to converting the facility to other criminal justice use. Consistent with existing law and the future needs of the Department of Public Safety, the State may provide for the transfer or the lease of any of these facilities to counties, municipalities, State agencies, federal agencies, or private firms wishing to convert them to other use. The Department of Public Safety may also consider converting some of the facilities recommended for closing from one security custody level to another, where that conversion would be cost-effective. A prison unit under lease to a county pursuant to the provisions of this section for use as a jail is exempt for the period of the lease from any of the minimum standards adopted by the Secretary of Health and Human Services pursuant to G.S. 153A-221 for the housing of adult prisoners that would subject the unit to greater standards than those required of a unit of the State prison system. "In addition, the Department of Public Safety may use available funds to reopen and convert closed facilities for use as treatment and behavior modification facilities for offenders serving a period of confinement in response to violation pursuant to G.S. 15A-1344(d2)." Editor's Note. - Session Laws 1999-237, s. 18.11 provides that the Department of Corrections shall consult with State and local government officials and may consult with private for-profit or nonprofit firms regarding the transfer, lease, or conversion to other use of prison facilities closed or consolidated under the Government Performance Audit Committee. Session Laws 2008-194, s. 10(a), (b), effective August 8, 2008, has been codified as subsection (d) of this section at the direction of the Revisor of Statutes. Session Laws 2013-360, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2013.'" Session Laws 2013-360, s. 38.2, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2013-2015 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2013-360, s. 38.5 is a severability clause. Session Laws 2017-57, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations Appropriations Act of 2017.'" Session Laws 2017-57, s. 39.4, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2017-2019 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2017-2019 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2017-57, s. 39.6, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2019-76, s. 33, provides: "Parts I and II of this act do not affect the coverage, eligibility, rights, responsibilities, or provision of State or federal services or benefits for individuals who have been diagnosed with mental retardation and whose diagnosis has not been changed to a diagnosis of intellectual disability." Session Laws 2019-76, s. 34, made the amendments by Session Laws 2019-76, s. 30, effective October 1, 2019, and applicable to proceedings commenced or services rendered on or after that date. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2011-324, s. 1, effective June 27, 2011, in subsection (d), substituted "64 inmates" for "56 inmates" in the introductory paragraph, and substituted "300,000" for "600,000" in the last paragraph. Session Laws 2014-22, s. 1, effective June 24, 2014, deleted the former ending undesignated paragraph of subsection (d), which read: "This subsection applies only to those counties that have a population in excess of 300,000, according to the most recent decennial federal census." Session Laws 2017-186, s. 2(eeeeeeeee), effective December 1, 2017, inserted "and Juvenile Justice" in the last sentence of subsection (b). Session Laws 2019-76, s. 30, effective October 1, 2019, inserted "all of the following" at the end of subsection (a); substituted "behavioral health, intellectual and other developmental disability" for "mental retardation" in subdivision (a)(7); and made stylistic changes. For effective date and applicability, see editor's note. Legal Periodicals. - For note, "North Carolina County Jail Inmates' Right of Access to Courts," see 66 N.C.L. Rev. 583 (1988).