SB322INTRODUCED
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SB322
FX6TDDC-1
By Senator Chambliss
RFD: County and Municipal Government
First Read: 11-Apr-24
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5 FX6TDDC-1 04/11/2024 CNB (L)bm 2024-1448
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First Read: 11-Apr-24
SYNOPSIS:
Under existing law, the position of Deputy
Commissioner for Prisoner Rehabilitation is responsible
for the development, implementation, and improvement of
programs designed to reduce recidivism.
This bill would rename the Deputy Commissioner
for Prisoner Rehabilitation as the Deputy Commissioner
for Inmate Rehabilitation.
This bill would provide that the Commissioner of
the Department of Corrections may appoint
administrators, who are exempt employees under the
state Merit System, necessary to carry out the
operations and management of correctional facilities.
This bill would provide that the Commissioner of
the Department of Corrections may appoint 15 employees
in unclassified positions for the purpose of studying
and addressing services provided by the department to
constituents and families of inmates.
Under existing law, the Joint Prison Oversight
Committee exists to examine Alabama's present and long-
term correctional needs.
This would require the Joint Prison Oversight
Committee to study and address issues related to
services provided by the Department of Corrections to
constituents and families of inmates.
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constituents and families of inmates.
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to the Department of Corrections; to amend
Sections 14-1-1.5 and 14-1-4, Code of Alabama 1975, to rename
the position of Deputy Commissioner for Prisoner
Rehabilitation; to provide that the Commissioner of the
Department of Corrections may appoint exempt and unclassified
employees necessary to carry out the operations of the
department; to amend Section 29-2-20, Code of Alabama 1975, to
further provide for the responsibilities of the Joint Prison
Oversight Committee; and to amend Section 36-26-10, as last
amended by Act 2023-538, 2023 Regular Session, Code of Alabama
1975, to establish the number of unclassified employees
allowed to be employed by the Department of Corrections.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. Sections 14-1-1.5 and 14-1-4, Code of
Alabama 1975, are amended to read as follows:
"§14-1-1.5
(a)(1) The commissioner may appoint no more than three
deputy commissioners, who shall serve at his or her pleasure,
and the commissioner shall define their duties. The deputy
commissioners shall be individuals of good character, with
good business, educational, or administrative experience,
shall have no financial interest in any partnership,
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shall have no financial interest in any partnership,
corporation, or association with which the department has any
financial dealings, shall devote their full time to their
official position, and shall have no other lucrative position
while employed. Their salaries shall be set by the
commissioner, but shall not exceed the salary paid the
commissioner.
(b)(2) One deputy commissioner shall be known as the
Deputy Commissioner for Prisoner Inmate Rehabilitation. The
Deputy Commissioner for Prisoner Inmate Rehabilitation shall
be responsible for the development, implementation, and
improvement of programs designed to reduce recidivism.
(b) The commissioner may appoint administrators as
necessary to carry out the operations and management of
correctional facilities, including facilities defined in
Section 14-2-1, who: (i) shall serve at his or her pleasure;
(ii) shall be deemed exempt employees under Section 36-26-10;
and (iii) shall not be required to be certified as a
corrections officer or law enforcement officer by the Alabama
Peace Officers' Standards and Training Commission. The
commissioner, as the appointing authority, shall establish the
positions, set the qualification requirements, define duties
and personnel policies, and set salaries not to exceed the
salary of the commissioner.
(c)(1) The commissioner may appoint up to 15 employees
in unclassified positions for constituent services. One
employee shall oversee departmental constituent services and
shall serve as a liaison to the Joint Prison Oversight
Committee, created by Section 29-2-20, for the purposes of
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Committee, created by Section 29-2-20, for the purposes of
studying and addressing services provided by the department to
constituents and the families of inmates. The employees
appointed to the other unclassified positions shall oversee
constituent services for all department facilities.
(2) The salaries of the unclassified employees shall be
set by the commissioner, but shall not exceed the salary paid
to the commissioner. "
"§14-1-4
(a) The department may appoint officers and employees
as it may require for the performance of its duties and shall
fix and determine their qualifications, duties, and authority.
The employees of the department, except the Commissioner of
Corrections and commissioner, the deputy commissioners of
corrections, not to exceed three , appointed administrators,
and other exempt or unclassified positions allowed by law
shall be subject to the law with respect to the method,
selection, classification, and compensation of state employees
on a basis of merit.
(b) The Department of Corrections department shall not
rescind any employee position with the classification of
"correctional officer" and replace them with an employee of a
lower classification or pay.
(c) The rules and regulations of the State Personnel
Department shall not be applicable to the appointment, tenure,
or compensation of physicians, surgeons, psychiatrists,
psychologists, dentists, or allied professional supportive
personnel employed by the department.
(d) The deputy commissioners and all other appointed
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(d) The deputy commissioners and all other appointed
personnel shall serve at the pleasure of the Commissioner of
the Department of Corrections commissioner."
Section 2. Section 29-2-20, Code of Alabama 1975, is
amended to read as follows:
"§29-2-20
(a) A permanent legislative committee, to be known as
the Joint Legislative Prison Oversight Committee, which shall
be composed of eight members, two of whom shall be ex officio
members and six of whom shall be appointed members, three each
to be appointed by the President of the Senate and Speaker of
the House, who shall both serve as the ex officio members,
shall be formed to examine all aspects of the operations of
the Department of Corrections. The chair of the committee
shall be selected by and from among the membership.
(b) The committee shall examine Alabama's present and
long term prison correctional needs and they shall file
reports of their findings and recommendations to the
Legislature not later than the fifteenth legislative day of
each regular session.
(c) The committee shall study and address mental health
issues for prisoners inmates reentering the community after a
term of imprisonment in order to streamline the sharing of
critical mental health information and in order to address
barriers to accessing mental health treatment for
prisonersinmates. The committee shall report the findings to
the Legislature not later than the fifteenth legislative day
of each regular session, and shall work in conjunction with
all of the following in studying and addressing the issues:
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all of the following in studying and addressing the issues:
(1) Department of Corrections.
(2) Board of Pardons and Paroles.
(3) Department of Mental Health.
(4) Administrative Office of Courts.
(5) Office of Prosecution Services.
(6) Office of the Attorney General.
(7) Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency.
(8) Association of County Commissions of Alabama.
(9) Alabama Probate Judges Association.
(10) Alabama Sheriffs ' Association.
(11) Alabama Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.
(12) Alabama Circuit Judges' Association.
(13) Department of Public Health.
(14) Office of the Governor.
(15) Alabama District Attorneys Association.
(16) Alabama Drug Abuse Task Force.
(17) Any other advocacy groups as determined by the
committee.
(d) The committee shall study and address issues
related to felony restitution collection in order to improve
rates of collection for restitution obligations in felony
cases and establish best practices relating to a defendant's
ability to pay obligations owed. The committee shall report
the findings to the Legislature not later than the fifteenth
legislative day of each regular session, and shall work in
conjunction with all of the following in studying and
addressing the issues:
(1) Department of Corrections.
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(1) Department of Corrections.
(2) Board of Pardons and Paroles.
(3) Administrative Office of Courts.
(4) Office of Prosecution Services.
(5) Office of the Attorney General.
(6) Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency.
(7) Alabama Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.
(8) Alabama Circuit Judges' Association.
(9) Association of County Commissions of Alabama.
(10) Alabama Sheriffs ' Association.
(11) Alabama Crime Victims Compensation Commission.
(12) The Alabama Circuit Clerk's Association.
(13) Two crime victims' rights advocates designated by
the Attorney General.
(14) Two members from the Alabama District Attorneys
Association, of which one shall be from a largely populated
metropolitan judicial circuit and the other shall be from a
small, rurally populated judicial circuit.
(15) Any other advocacy groups as determined by the
committee.
(e) The committee shall study and address capacity
issues within the Department of Corrections to include, but
not be limited to, the issue of design capacity and
operational or functional capacity, as well as the
construction of new prison correctional facilities and the
renovation of current correctional facilities as they relate
to prison overcrowding and public safety. The committee shall
report the findings to the Legislature not later than the
fifteenth legislative day of each regular session, and shall
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fifteenth legislative day of each regular session, and shall
work in conjunction with the following in studying and
addressing the issues:
(1) Department of Corrections.
(2) Board of Pardons and Paroles.
(3) Department of Mental Health.
(4) Department of Public Health.
(5) Administrative Office of Courts.
(6) Office of Prosecution Services.
(7) Office of the Attorney General.
(8) Alabama State Law Enforcement Agency.
(9) Alabama Drug Abuse Task Force.
(10) Alabama Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.
(11) Alabama Circuit Judges' Association.
(12) Association of County Commissions of Alabama.
(13) Two members from the Alabama Sheriffs '
Association, of which one shall be from a largely populated
metropolitan judicial circuit and the other shall be from a
small, rurally populated judicial circuit.
(14) Two members from the Alabama District Attorneys
Association, of which one shall be from a largely populated
metropolitan judicial circuit and the other shall be from a
small, rurally populated judicial circuit.
(f) The committee shall study and address issues
related to services provided by the Department of Corrections
to constituents and the families of inmates. As needed, the
committee may report the findings to the Legislature and may
work in conjunction with all of the following in studying and
addressing the issues:
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addressing the issues:
(1) Department of Corrections.
(2) Board of Pardons and Paroles.
(3) Department of Mental Health.
(4) Alabama Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.
(f)(g) The studies and collaborating partners provided
for in this section shall reflect the racial, gender,
geographic, urban/ruralurban, rural, and economic diversity of
the state."
Section 3. Section 36-26-10, as last amended by Act
2023-538, 2023 Regular Session, Code of Alabama 1975, is
amended to read as follows:
"§36-26-10
(a) Positions in the service of the state shall be
divided into the exempt, the unclassified, and the classified
service.
(b) The exempt service shall include all of the
following:
(1) Officers elected by the vote of the people.
(2) Officers and employees of the Legislature.
(3) All employees of a district attorney's office.
(4) Members of boards and commissions, whether
appointed or self-perpetuating, and heads of departments
required by law to be appointed by the Governor or by boards
or commissions with the approval of the Governor.
(5) All officers and employees of the state's
institutions of higher learning, teacher-training institutions
and normal schools, educational, eleemosynary, and
correctional institutions which are governed and controlled by
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correctional institutions which are governed and controlled by
boards of trustees or similar governing bodies, and secondary
agricultural schools and vocational schools.
(6) All inmate help in all charitable, penal, and
correctional institutions.
(7) All commissioned and warrant officers and enlisted
personnel of the national guard and naval militia of the state
in their respective military and naval grades.
(8) The Governor's private secretary, legal advisor,
recording secretary, and those employees of the Governor's
office paid exclusively out of the Governor's Emergency or
Contingent Funds.
(9) The employees of the Alabama State Port Authority
engaged in railroad service and subject to the provisions of
an act of Congress known as the Railway Labor Act as amended
or as it may hereafter be amended.
(10) For each agency, up to three employees in addition
to any other exempt positions as otherwise allowed by law;
provided no classified employees or positions are eliminated
and these positions may not be occupied by the head of an
agency.
(11) For the Department of Conservation and Natural
Resources, the Department of Corrections, the Department of
Human Resources, the Department of Mental Health, the Alabama
Department of Public Health, the Department of Revenue, the
Department of Transportation, and the Alabama State Law
Enforcement Agency, one employee in addition to the number of
employees provided for in subdivision (10), and in addition to
any other exempt positions otherwise allowed by law, provided
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any other exempt positions otherwise allowed by law, provided
this position may not be occupied by the head of an agency.
The services listed in this subsection as exempt shall
in no respect be subject to the provisions of this article,
anything to the contrary notwithstanding.
(c) The unclassified service shall include all of the
following:
(1) One confidential assistant or secretary for each
board, commission, and elected officer and, when requested by
the Governor, for each department head appointed by the
Governor; and.
(2) All employees of the Governor's office not
exempted. The positions in the unclassified service enumerated
in this subsection may at the request of the appointing
authority be filled by classified employees. Each of the
employees thus appointed, at the conclusion of his or her
occupancy of such position, shall resume his or her previous
status in the classified service.
(3) For the Department of Corrections, 15 employees.
(d) The classified service shall include all other
officers and positions in the state service.
(e) Except as to services denominated as exempt or
unclassified services in subsections (b) and (c), the Governor
shall have the power by executive order to extend the
provisions of this article to include additional positions or
classes of positions.
(f) Employees in the unclassified service shall be
subject to the same rules of employment as apply to employees
in the classified service except as to appointment and
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in the classified service except as to appointment and
dismissal."
Section 4. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2024.
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