GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1993

H	1 

HOUSE BILL 235

Short Title:  Prison Bonds/Raise Cap.	(Public)
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Sponsors: Representatives Barnes; Bowman, Ives, Nichols, J. Preston, Russell, and Wood.
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Referred to:  Appropriations.
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February 23, 1993

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO APPROPRIATE THE BALANCE OF THE FUNDS FROM THE PROCEEDS OF THE TWO HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS IN GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS AUTHORIZED FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF STATE PRISON AND YOUTH SERVICES FACILITIES AND TO RAISE THE PRISON POPULATION CAP.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  General Purposes.  The appropriations hereby made by the 1993 General Assembly for capital improvements from the proceeds of the $200,000,000 State of North Carolina Prison and Youth Services Facilities Bonds authorized by Chapter 935 of the 1989 Session Laws (the "bond act" ) and approved by the qualified voters of the State who voted thereon on November 6, 1990, as said bonds may be issued from time to time (the "bonds" ), are for the purposes of financing the cost of $87,500,000 of State prison facilities and youth services facilities, including, without limitation, the cost of constructing capital facilities, renovating or reconstructing existing facilities, acquiring equipment related thereto, purchasing land, paying costs of issuance of bonds and notes, and paying contractual services necessary for the partial implementation of the purposes of the bond act, all as defined in and authorized by the bond act and as more particularly described in this act.
Sec. 2.  Appropriation Procedures.  The appropriations hereby made by the 1993 General Assembly for the purposes under the bond act shall be disbursed for the particular projects authorized by this act.  Expenditure of funds shall not be made by any State department, institution, or agency, until an allotment has been approved by the Governor as Director of the Budget.  The allotment shall be approved only after full compliance with the Executive Budget Act, Article 1 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes.
Where direct capital improvement appropriations include furnishing fixed and movable equipment for any project, funds for equipment shall not be subject to transfer into construction accounts except as authorized by the Director of the Budget.  The expenditure of funds for fixed and movable equipment and furnishings shall be reviewed and approved by the Director of the Budget prior to commitment of funds.
Capital improvement projects authorized by this act shall be completed, including fixed and movable equipment and furnishings, within the limits of the amounts of the appropriations provided, except as otherwise provided in this act.
Sec. 3.  Descriptions, Custodial Levels, Beds, Projected Allocations.  Appropriations are made from bond proceeds for use by the Department of Correction to provide for capital improvement projects as herein provided.
The proceeds of bonds and notes shall be expended for paying the cost, as defined in the bond act, of prison and youth services facilities, to the extent and as provided in this act and subject to change as herein provided, for the following projects: 

Project Description	Custodial	Beds
	Level

	Subtotal

Contingencies	____________

TOTAL	$87,500,000.
Sec. 4.  Increases in Projected Allocations.  Projected allocations set forth above may be increased to reflect the availability of other funds, including, without limitation, contingency funds, income earned on the investment of bond and note proceeds, and the proceeds of any grants.
Sec. 5.  Contingency Funds.  The amount allocated for contingencies set forth above shall be placed by the State Treasurer in a special account in the State Prison and Youth Services Facilities Bond Fund to be designated the "State Prison and Youth Services Facilities Contingency Account." The funds in the State Prison and Youth Services Facilities Contingency Account shall be disbursed in accordance with the procedures herein established for disbursements from the State Prison and Youth Services Facilities Bond Fund.  The funds in the State Prison and Youth Services Facilities Contingency Account shall be expended for paying the cost of projects, including, without limitation, the costs of issuance of bonds and notes, increased project costs resulting from construction costs exceeding projected costs, inflationary factors and changes in projects and allocations.
Sec. 6.  Administration.  The facilities authorized under this act shall be constructed in accordance with the provisions of general law applicable to the construction of State facilities.  The Office of State Construction of the Department of Administration shall have a verifiable ten percent (10%) goal for participation by minority and women-owned businesses.  All contracts for the design, construction, or demolition of prison facilities shall include a penalty for failure to complete the work by a specified date.
The Office of State Construction of the Department of Administration shall consider alternative delivery systems that could expedite the delivery of prison facilities.  Such delivery systems as design-build, using modular or conventional building systems, shall be considered.  However, in order for such alternatives to be used, the Department of Correction must approve the proposed design for operational programming and cost of operations and maintenance.
Sec. 7.  Changes.  To the extent that funds are not required to be expended for the specific projects described in this act, appropriations authorized herein may be used to construct, reconstruct, or renovate prison industrial and forestry enterprises, facilities, as mentioned in G.S. 148-2, at prison facilities statewide, as replacement projects, and to make necessary prison facility repairs and renovations, but no such funds may be used for operating expenditures.  Prior to taking any action under this section, the Governor may consult with the Advisory Budget Commission.
Sec. 8.  Quarterly Reports.  The Office of State Construction of the Department of Administration shall provide quarterly reports to the Chairman of the Appropriations Committee and the Base Budget Committee in the Senate, the Chairmen of the Appropriations Committee in the House, the Joint Legislative Commission on Governmental Operations, and the Fiscal Research Division as to any changes in projects and allocations made under this act. The report shall include any changes in the projects and allocations made pursuant to this act, information on which contractors have been selected, what contracts have been entered into, the projected and actual occupancy dates of facilities contracted for, the number of beds to be constructed on each project, the location of each project, and the projected and actual cost of each project. To the extent that funds remain unexpended, they shall be subject to further reallocation or reappropriation by the General Assembly for purposes permitted by the Bond Act.
Sec. 9.  G.S. 148-4.1(d) reads as rewritten:
	"(d) If the number of prisoners housed in facilities owned or operated by the State of North Carolina for the Division of Prisons exceeds ninety-eight percent (98%) of for 15 consecutive days, the Secretary of Correction shall notify the Governor and the Chairman of the Parole Commission of this fact.  Upon receipt of this notification, the Parole Commission shall within 90 days release on parole a number of inmates sufficient to reduce the prison population to ninety-seven percent (97%) of.
From the date of the notification until the prison population has been reduced to ninety-seven percent (97%) of, the Secretary may not accept any inmates ordered transferred from local confinement facilities to the State prison system under G.S. 148-32.1(b).  Further, the Secretary may return any inmate housed in the State prison system under an order entered pursuant to G.S. 148-32.1(b) to the local confinement facility from which the inmate was transferred."
Sec. 10.  G.S. 148-4.1(e) reads as rewritten:
"(e)	In addition to those persons otherwise eligible for parole, from the date of notification in subsection (d) until the prison population has been reduced to ninety-seven percent (97%) of, any person imprisoned only for a misdemeanor also shall be eligible for parole and immediate termination upon admission, notwithstanding any other provision of law, except:
(1)	Those persons convicted under G.S. 20-138.1 of driving while impaired or any offense involving impaired driving, and
(2)	Those persons convicted pursuant to G.S. 130A-25 of failing to obtain the treatment required by Part 3 or Part 5 of Article 6 of Chapter 130A or of violating G.S. 130A-144(f) or G.S. 130A-145."
Sec. 11.  G.S. 148-4.1(f) reads as rewritten:
"(f)	In complying with the mandate of subsection (d), the Parole Commission may exercise the discretion granted to refuse parole by G.S. 15A-1371 in selecting felons to be paroled under this section so long as the prison population does not exceed."
Sec. 12.  This act is effective upon ratification.