North Carolina § 148-26 - State policy on employment of prisoners.

§ 148-26. State policy on employment of prisoners.

It is declared to be the public policy of the State of North Carolina that all able-bodied prison inmates shall be required to perform diligently all work assignments provided for them. The failure of any inmate to perform such a work assignment may result in disciplinary action. Work assignments and employment shall be for the public benefit to reduce the cost of maintaining the inmate population while enabling inmates to acquire or retain skills and work habits needed to secure honest employment after their release. The project or service involves a type of work by which inmates can develop a skill to better equip themselves to return to society; The project or service is of benefit to the citizens of North Carolina or units of State or local government thereof, regardless of whether the project or service is performed on public or private property; Repealed by Session Laws 1977, c. 824, s. 2. Wages shall be paid in an amount not exceeding one dollar ($1.00) per day per inmate by the local or State contracting agency. As many minimum custody prisoners as are available and fit for road work, who cannot appropriately be placed on work release, study release, or other full-time programs, and as many medium custody prisoners as are available, fit for road work and can be adequately guarded during such work without reducing security levels at prison units, shall be employed in the maintenance and construction of public roads of the State. The number and location of prisoners to be kept available for work on the public roads shall be agreed upon by the governing authorities of the Department of Transportation and the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety far enough in advance of each budget to permit proper provisions to be made in the request for appropriations submitted by the Department of Transportation. Any dispute between the Departments will be resolved by the Governor. Prisoners so employed shall be compensated, at rates fixed by the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety's rules and regulations for work performed; provided, that no prisoner working on the public roads under the provisions of this section shall be paid more than one dollar ($1.00) per day from funds provided by the Department of Transportation to the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety for this purpose. The Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety and the Department of Transportation shall develop a program to be implemented no later than July 1, 1982, to the extent money is herein appropriated, which shall include: The use of portable toilets for inmate road crews. As many of the male prisoners available and fit for forestry work shall be employed in the development and improvement of state-owned forests as can be used for this purpose by the agencies controlling these forests. The remainder of the able-bodied inmates of the State prison system shall be employed so far as practicable in prison industries and agriculture, giving preference to the production of food supplies and other articles needed by state-supported institutions or activities. The Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety may make such contracts with departments, institutions, agencies, and political subdivisions of the State for the hire of prisoners to perform other appropriate work as will help to make the prisons as nearly self-supporting as is consistent with the purposes of their creation. The Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety may contract with any person or any group of persons for the hire of prisoners for forestry work, soil erosion control, water conservation, hurricane damage prevention, or any similar work certified by the Secretary of Environmental Quality as beneficial in the conservation of the natural resources of this State. All contracts for the employment of prisoners shall provide that they shall be fed, clothed, quartered, guarded, and otherwise cared for by the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety. Such work may include but is not limited to work with State or local government agencies in cleaning, construction, landscaping and maintenance of roads, parks, nature trails, bikeways, cemeteries, landfills or other government-owned or operated facilities. The Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety may establish work assignments for inmates or allow inmates to volunteer in service projects that benefit units of State or local government or 501(c)(3) entities that serve the citizens of this State. The work assignments may include the use of inmate labor and the use of Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety resources in the production of finished goods. Any products made pursuant to this section shall not be subject to the provisions of Article 3A of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes and may be donated to the government unit or 501(c)(3) organization at no cost. Adult inmates of the State prison system shall be prohibited from working at or being on the premises of any schools or institutions operated or administered by the Youth Development Section of the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety unless a complete sight and sound barrier is erected and maintained during the course of the labor performed by the adult inmates. The Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety shall establish rules, standards, and procedures for establishing inmate labor services contracts with any county or municipality expressing interest in contracting for inmate labor. In exercising his power to enter into contracts to supply inmate labor as provided by this section, the Secretary of Public Safety shall not assign any inmate to work under any such contract who is eligible for work release as provided in this Article, study release as provided by G.S. 148-4(4), or who is eligible for a program of vocational rehabilitation services through the State Vocational Rehabilitation Agency, unless suitable work release employment or educational opportunity cannot be found for the inmate, and the inmate is not eligible for a program of vocational rehabilitation services through the State Vocational Rehabilitation Agency, and shall not agree to supply inmate labor for any project or service unless it meets all of the following criteria: History (1933, c. 172, ss. 1, 14; 1957, c. 349, s. 5; 1967, c. 996, s. 13; 1971, c. 193; 1973, c. 1262, s. 86; 1975, c. 278; c. 506, ss. 1, 2; c. 682, s. 2; c. 716, s. 7; 1977, c. 771, s. 4; c. 802, s. 25.36; c. 824, ss. 1-3; 1981, c. 516; 1981 (Reg. Sess., 1982), c. 1400; 1989, c. 727, s. 218(156); 1997-443, s. 11A.123; 1999-237, s. 18.21; 2001-95, s. 8; 2007-398, s. 1; 2011-145, s. 19.1(h), (i), ( l ); 2012-83, ss. 59, 61; 2015-241, s. 14.30(v); 2017-186, s. 2(rrrrrrr).) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 1975, c. 682, s. 4, provided: "Nothing in this act shall be construed as altering or amending G.S. 148-26(b) or G.S. 148-18(a) as set out in Chapter 506 of the 1975 Session Laws." Session Laws 2007-323, s. 17.4, provides: "Funding authorized in this act is intended to increase participation in the Inmate Construction Program in order to improve inmate job skills and reduce recidivism. By April 1, 2008, the Department of Correction [Division of Adult Correction of the Department of Public Safety] shall report to the Joint Legislative Corrections, Crime Control, and Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee and the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Justice and Public Safety on the Inmate Construction Program. The report shall summarize the 2007-2008 Inmate Construction Program projects, including a description of each project, the number of inmate workers, and the estimated total cost of the project compared to the cost if the project was conducted without inmate workers. The report shall also estimate the number of inmate workers that will be used in the program during the 2008-2009 fiscal year." Session Laws 2007-323, s. 1.2, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2007'." Session Laws 2007-323, s. 32.3, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2007-2009 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2007-2009 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2007-323, s. 32.5, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2009-451, s. 19.1, provides: "Of the funds appropriated to the Department of Transportation in this act, the sum of nine million forty thousand dollars ($9,040,000) per year shall be transferred by the Department to the Department of Correction [Division of Adult Correction of the Department of Public Safety] during the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 fiscal years for the cost of operating medium custody inmate road squads, as authorized by G.S. 148-26.5, and minimum custody inmate litter crews. This transfer shall be made quarterly in the amount of two million two hundred sixty thousand dollars ($2,260,000). The Department of Transportation may use funds appropriated in this act to pay an additional amount exceeding the nine million forty thousand dollars ($9,040,000), but those payments shall be subject to negotiations among the Department of Transportation, the Department of Correction, and the Office of State Budget and Management prior to payment by the Department of Transportation. "The Office of State Budget and Management shall conduct a study, in consultation with the Department of Correction and the Department of Transportation, to determine the actual cost and cost/benefit of operating medium custody road squads and minimum custody litter crews. The Office of State Budget and Management shall report the results of this study to the Joint Legislative Corrections, Crime Control, and Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee and to the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee by March 1, 2010. The study shall include a recommendation on whether or not the amount transferred from the Department of Transportation to the Department of Correction for this work is adequate." For prior similar provisions, see Session Laws 2007-323, s. 17.2. Session Laws 2009-451, s. 1.2, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2009'." Session Laws 2009-451, s. 28.3, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2009-2011 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2009-2011 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2009-451, s. 28.5 is a severability clause. Session Laws 2011-145, s. 17.10(a) and (b), provides: "(a) The Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention [Division of Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety] and the Department of Correction [Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety] in consultation with the Governor's Crime Commission shall establish policies regarding the appropriate use of inmate construction crews provided by the Department of Correction [Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety] for repair and renovation projects located on property owned or controlled by the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The policies shall require that a sight and sound barrier be maintained between the adults and juveniles at the center at any time that inmate construction crews are used for repair and renovation projects on property owned or controlled by the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. The policies shall be developed and ready for implementation by September 1, 2011. "(b) Effective September 1, 2011, and notwithstanding G.S. 148-26(f), the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention and the Department of Correction may use inmate construction crews provided by the Department of Correction for repair and renovation projects located on property owned or controlled by the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention pursuant to the policies developed and implemented under subsection (a) of this section." Session Laws 2011-145, s. 28.26, provides: "The Office of State Budget and Management, in consultation with the Department of Correction [Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety] and Department of Transportation, shall study performance-based reimbursement as an alternative to the current funding mechanism for inmate litter pickup, which consists of a direct appropriation from the Department of Transportation's Highway Fund budget to the Department of Correction. Measures for an alternative funding mechanism may include reimbursements based on total mileage of highways cleaned, per hour reimbursements for non-litter pickup activities, or other factors, as appropriate. "The Office of State Budget and Management shall report to the Joint Legislative Transportation Oversight Committee and to the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations no later than March 1, 2012. It is intended that the report contain recommendations for reimbursement rates that have been agreed upon by the Department of Correction and the Department of Transportation and that the recommended rate structure will be included in the report. The report shall also include any statutory changes to be considered by the General Assembly in relation to this report." Session Laws 2011-145, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2011.'" Session Laws 2011-145, s. 32.2, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2011-2013 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2011-145, s. 32.5, is a severability clause. For prior similar provisions, see Session Laws 2007-323, ss. 17.2, 17.4 and Session Laws 2007-323, s. 19.1. Session Laws 2014-100, s. 16C.3, provides: "The Division of Adult Correction of the Department of Public Safety [Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety] shall prioritize inmate labor contracts in areas where prisons were closed during the 2013-2014 fiscal year. The Division shall charge a transportation fee equivalent to the mileage cost of transporting inmates to and from the contract site. The Division shall also charge an administrative fee as part of the inmate labor contract that reflects the other costs associated with providing the inmate labor." Session Laws 2014-100, s. 1.1, provides: "This act shall be known as 'The Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2014.'" Session Laws 2014-100, s. 38.4, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2014-2015 fiscal year, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2014-2015 fiscal year." Session Laws 2014-100, s. 38.7, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2017-57, s. 16C.4, provides: "Notwithstanding any other provision of law but subject to Article 3 of Chapter 148 of the General Statutes, during the 2017-2019 fiscal biennium, the State Construction Office may utilize inmates in the custody of the Division of Adult Correction of the Department of Public Safety through the Inmate Construction Program for repair and renovation projects on State-owned facilities, with priority given to Department of Public Safety construction projects. State agencies utilizing the Inmate Construction Program shall reimburse the Division of Adult Correction of the Department of Public Safety for the cost of transportation, custody, and wages for the inmate crews." 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. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2007-398, s. 1, effective August 21, 2007, added subsection (e1). Session Laws 2015-241, s. 14.30(v), effective July 1, 2015, substituted "Secretary of Environmental Quality" for "Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources" in subsection (e). Session Laws 2017-186, s. 2(rrrrrrr), effective December 1, 2017, inserted "and Juvenile Justice" throughout the section; and inserted "Adult Correction and" in subsection (f). Legal Periodicals. - For review of this section and those following, see 11 N.C.L. Rev. 252 (1933). For a survey of 1996 developments in the law regarding prisoner rights, see 75 N.C.L. Rev. 2428 (1997).