North Carolina § 148-36 - Secretary of Public Safety to control classification and operation of prison facilities.

§ 148-36. Secretary of Public Safety to control classification and operation of prison facilities.

All facilities established or acquired by the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety shall be under the administrative control and direction of the Secretary of Public Safety, and operated under rules and regulations proposed by the Secretary and adopted by the Division of Adult Correction and Juvenile Justice of the Department of Public Safety as provided in G.S. 148-11. Subject to such rules and regulations, the Secretary shall classify the facilities of the State prison system and develop a variety of programs so as to permit proper segregation and treatment of prisoners according to the nature of the offenses committed, the character and mental condition of the prisoners, and such other factors as should be considered in providing an individualized system of discipline, care, and correctional treatment of persons committed to the Division. The Secretary of Public Safety, or his authorized representative, shall designate the places of confinement where sentences to imprisonment in the State's prison system shall be served. The Secretary or his representative may designate any available facility appropriate for the individual in view of custodial and correctional considerations. History (1931, c. 145, s. 28; c. 277, s. 8; 1933, c. 46, ss. 3, 4; c. 172, ss. 4, 17; 1943, c. 409; 1955, c. 238, s. 7; 1957, c. 349, s. 10; 1967, c. 996, s. 7; 1973, c. 1262, s. 10; 2011-145, s. 19.1(h), (i); 2012-83, s. 61; 2017-186, s. 2(zzzzzzz).) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2017-57, ss. 16C.1(a), (b), provide: "(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." 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 2017-186, s. 2(zzzzzzz), effective December 1, 2017, inserted "and Juvenile Justice" twice in the first sentence of the section.