Session Laws

Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to facilitate the takeover by the commonwealth from the counties of the maintenance and operation of jails and houses of correction in the several counties of the commonwealth, and to provide for immediate relief to the counties and cities and towns by relieving them of the said costs, and to integrate and coordinate said facilities into a statewide modern correctional system, and to relieve the serious overcrowding problems in the correctional institutions of the commonwealth, which will lead to improved health, safety and sanitary conditions therein; therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Chapter 34 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 3, as appearing in the 1984 Official Edition, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 3. Each county shall provide suitable jails, houses of correction, fireproof offices and other public buildings, including both the structures and the land upon which such structures are sited, necessary for its use; provided, however, that the county of Dukes need not provide a house of correction; provided, further, that the city of Boston shall provide necessary public buildings, including both the structures and the land upon which such structures are sited, for Suffolk county; provided, further, that the obligation to provide suitable structures of jails and houses of correction shall become that of the commonwealth and shall cease to be that of such counties or city in the event that the commonwealth constructs such facilities for such county or city; provided, further, that in any such county or city which has been ordered by a court to construct a new correctional facility, state assumption of the responsibility to provide such structure shall occur when the state appropriates funds therefor and such county or city has complied with any conditions attached to such appropriation, if any; and, provided further, that notwithstanding the fact that the commonwealth may have assumed the responsibilities of providing a suitable structure for such facilities, the counties and the city shall retain the obligation to provide for the operation and maintenance of such facilities. No courtroom of the superior court shall contain a cage for defendants.

SECTION 2. Section 7 of chapter 126 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- In the event that the commonwealth constructs a house or houses of correction in a county, then such county shall no longer be responsible for providing for the structure of such facility or facilities, but shall continue to be required to maintain and operate such facility; provided, however, that in any county which has been ordered by a court to construct a new house of correction, state assumption of the responsibility to provide such structure shall occur when the state appropriates funds therefor and such county has complied with any conditions attached to such appropriation, if any.

SECTION 3. Item 4343-8831 of section 2 of chapter 347 of the acts of 1982 is hereby amended by inserting after the word "Shirley", in line 7, the words:- ; provided, however, that the division of capital planning and operations shall perform a study and design of a five hundred bed medium security facility; and provided that a grant of fifty thousand dollars shall be made available to the town of Shirley for a feasibility study of a solid waste disposal and cogeneration facility.

SECTION 4. To provide for a program of studies, preparation of plans, construction, reconstruction, alteration, improvement, lease and purchase of various state and county correctional facilities, the sums set forth in sections five, six, seven, eight and eleven of this act, for the several purposes and subject to the conditions specified under provisions of this act, are hereby made available, subject to the provisions of law regulating disbursement of public funds and the approval thereof.

SECTION 5. The division of capital planning and operations is hereby authorized to expend forty-three million dollars for studies, the preparation of plans, the acquisition of land, and the construction, including furnishings and equipment, of a new facility in Suffolk county to replace the Charles street jail; provided, that no funds appropriated herein shall be expended on the planning, design, and construction of a combined facility which replaces both the Suffolk county house of correction at Deer Island and said Charles street jail; provided, further, that no funds appropriated herein shall be expended for the planning, design or construction of any such replacement facility on the site of the existing Charles street jail; provided, further, that no funds appropriated herein shall be expended for the purposes of replacing said Charles street jail until such time as the city of Boston shall convey for one dollar to the division of capital planning and operations on behalf of the commonwealth, in a deed approved as to form by the attorney general, the title to the land and buildings at the site of the existing Charles street jail, including the Master's House so-called; provided, further, that the city of Boston is hereby authorized to convey such title to such land as provided herein; provided, however, that such action shall take place on or before February eighteen, nineteen hundred and eighty-six; provided, further, that said division is hereby authorized to acquire, by purchase and/or by land exchange, real property located in the vicinity of Nashua street in the city of Boston determined by said division to be necessary and appropriate as a site for the replacement facility for the Charles street jail, such acquired real property to be used, if necessary, in conjuction with real property currently owned by the commonwealth or by any subdivisions thereof; provided further, that, notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, said division is authorized to agree with present owners of real property so acquired for such replacement facility, to convey to said owners title to all or a portion of the Charles street jail site, as conveyed to the commonwealth by the city of Boston, provided that the fair market value of the real property for said replacement facility together with such other consideration, if any, to be paid to the commonwealth by such owners is comparable to the fair market value of that portion of the Charles street jail site to be conveyed; provided, however, that any such conveyance by the division to said owners shall be subject to the condition that control and possession of said Charles street jail site shall remain with the city of Boston until such time as said replacement facility is constructed and until all occupants of the present facility have been removed; provided, further, that all liability with respect to the land and buildings at said Charles street jail site including that for acts which occur after the effective date of this act shall continue to rest upon the same parties as it did prior to the effective date of this act and shall shift only upon the transfer of control and possession as herein provided; and provided, further, that the deputy commissioner of said division shall within thirty days of the effective date of this act file with the clerks of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report detailing the real property determined by the division to be necessary and appropriate for the construction of a replacement facility for said Charles street jail, and provided, further, that said report shall also include an analysis of the fair market value of the real property so detailed.

SECTION 6. The division of capital planning and operations is hereby authorized to expend fifty-one million two hundred and forty thousand dollars for studies, the preparation of plans, and the renovation, upgrading, and expansion of existing state correctional facilities, including the costs of furnishings and equipment, located at Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Shirley; Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Concord; Lancaster pre-release center; Norfolk pre-release center; Bay State correctional center; Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Bridgewater; Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Warwick; Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Plymouth; Northeastern Correctional Center; Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Cedar Junction; North Central Correctional Institution; the South Middlesex pre-release center at Massachusetts Correctional Institution, Framingham; provided, however, that no more than nine million, six hundred thousand dollars shall be expended on maximum security facilities; provided, further, that no more than thirteen million, one hundred forty thousand dollars shall be expended on medium security facilities; provided, further, that two million five hundred thousand dollars is authorized to be expended for the study, preparation of plans, demolition, renovation, and alteration of certain buildings owned by the department of correction on Commonwealth avenue in the town of Concord, known as "White Row," and on Elm Place in said town, known as "Green Row," and for the construction of certain replacement facilities, including the cost of furnishings and equipment; and, provided further, that said existing or newly constructed buildings known as "White Row" and "Green Row" shall not be used for inmate housing.

SECTION 7. The division of capital planning and operations is hereby authorized to expend thirty million dollars for the study, design, and construction of projects in accordance with a deferred maintenance program for correctional facilities of the commonwealth; provided, however, that within four months of the effective date of this act and on a quarterly basis thereafter, the deputy commissioner of said division shall submit a schedule to the house and senate committees on ways and means identifying the locations and estimated construction costs of deferred maintenance projects to be undertaken hereunder.

SECTION 8. The secretary of the executive office of human services, hereinafter in this act called the secretary, is hereby authorized to expend one hundred thirty-four million dollars for the purpose of a grant program to assist counties in undertaking feasibility studies, acquiring land, including buildings thereon, making preliminary plans, and designing, constructing, expanding, reconstructing, rehabilitating, renovating, or finishing a jail, house of correction or other correctional facility and a grant program of study, design, and construction of projects for deferred maintenance of such a jail, house of correction, or other correctional facility.

The secretary shall provide grant monies to the counties up to the limits established herein; provided, however, that no grant shall be made without the approval of the commissioner of administration and the house and senate committees on ways and means. The maximum amounts to be provided to counties under each program are as follows:

thirty-five million dollars for design and construction of the Bristol county house of correction;

five million dollars for feasibility studies and for designs of Norfolk and Essex county houses of correction;

thirty million dollars for construction of Norfolk county house of correction;

thirty million dollars for construction of Essex county house of correction;

twenty-four million dollars for land acquisition, a feasibility study, a design of and construction of a regional house or regional houses of correction combining medium and minimum levels of security to be used solely for female prisoners; and

ten million dollars for the study, design, and construction of projects for deferred maintenance.

SECTION 9. The secretary shall establish rules and regulations which shall govern the application for and distribution of grant funds for counties under the provisions of this act. Any such rules and regulations, or any amendment or repeal of any such rules or regulation shall, after compliance with all applicable provisions of chapter thirty A of the General Laws, be filed with the clerk of the house of representatives and the clerk of the senate. Any such regulation may require a commitment on the part of a county to accept persons who are housed in state correctional facilities and may require a county to develop housing units at all security levels.

Such regulations shall require that all construction and design of facilities undertaken by counties pursuant to this act shall be in accordance with the provisions of chapter five hundred and seventy-nine of the acts of nineteen hundred and eighty, and that, except for the deferred maintenance program, the county commissioners convey to the commonwealth sufficient land, by a deed approved by the commissioner of correction and the commissioner of administration, on which to construct said facility, and upon completion thereof shall be operated and maintained by the county as county house of correction; provided, however, that two or more counties may jointly operate and maintain a regional house of correction.

SECTION 10. Any county, except Suffolk county or Nantucket county, may, by a vote of the county commissioners make application to said secretary for financial assistance in undertaking a project described in section eight. In Suffolk county said application shall be made by the mayor of Boston and in Nantucket county the board of selectmen. A joint application requires the approval of each county involved in such application in like manner. Such application shall include the proposed cost of the project, the proposed location of such project and any such other information specified by such rules or regulations. The amount of assistance for any project shall not exceed one hundred per cent of the total cost of any one project.

In determining the level of such funding the secretary shall consider among others, the following factors: (a) the existing space available in the county, (b) the condition of existing facilities, (c) the current inmate population, (d) the existence of separate facilities to house male and female inmates, and (e) recent legislation which may affect inmate population.

Said secretary shall make such determination within one hundred and eighty days of the date of such application. Upon the approval of said application, as provided for herein and in sections eight and nine, the secretary shall notify the applicant of the amount of such financial assistance for such projects.

SECTION 11. Said secretary is also hereby authorized to expend fifteen million dollars for the purpose of a grant program to assist cities and towns to finance infrastructure repairs, purchases, replacement, or construction which is necessitated by the increased demands placed on such cities and towns due to the expansion of existing state correctional facilities provided for in section six or due to construction of a regional house of correction provided for in section eight. Such infrastructure repairs, purchases, replacement or construction shall include, but not be limited to, sewers, water mains, streets and highways, public safety communication equipment, other public safety equipment and vehicles, solid waste recovery or disposal facilities, street lighting, and traffic lights.

Said secretary may provide grant monies to such city or town in an amount which shall be no greater than twenty-five per cent of the amount expended within such city or town pursuant to the provisions of section six or the applicable provisions of section eight; provided, however, that no grant shall be made without the approval of the commissioner of administration and the house and senate committees on ways and means.

SECTION 12. Said secretary shall establish rules and regulations which shall govern the application for and distribution of grant funds to cities and towns under the provisions of this act. Any such rules or regulations, or any amendment or repeal of any such rules or regulations shall, after compliance with all applicable provisions of chapter thirty A of the General Laws, be filed with the clerk of the house of representatives and the clerk of the senate. Any such regulation shall require a commitment on the part of the city or town to allow the expansion of existing state correctional facilities or construction of a regional house of correction in the city or town to proceed without delay.

In any city such application for such a grant shall be made by the mayor, except that in a city with a plan D or plan E form of government, such application shall be made by the city council, and in a town such application shall be made by the selectmen.

Such application shall include the proposed cost of the infrastructure project, the proposed location of such project and any such other information required by such rules or regulations. The amount of assistance for any such project shall not exceed one hundred per cent of the total cost of any such project.

Said secretary shall forward any such application to the department of correction and to any other appropriate state agency which has experience with or jurisdiction over the subject matter of the infrastructure project for their comments and recommendations.

In determining the appropriateness of such an infrastructure project and the level of funding for such project, said secretary shall consider, among others, the following factors: (a) the degree of impact on the infrastructure of the city or town expected to be caused by the construction or expansion of the correctional facility in such city or town, (b) the extent to which the proposed infrastructure project addresses such expected impact; and (c) the extent to which such infrastructure projects further related goals and objectives of the state.

Said secretary shall make a determination within one hundred and eighty days of the date of such application. Upon the approval of such application, as provided for herein and in section eleven, said secretary shall notify such applicant of the amount of such grant for such project.

SECTION 12A. To meet the expenditures necessary in carrying out the provisions of section five of this act, the state treasurer, upon request of the governor, shall issue and sell bonds of the commonwealth in an amount to be specified by the governor from time to time, but not exceeding, in the aggregate, the sum of forty-three million dollars. All bonds issued by the commonwealth, as aforesaid shall be designated on their face, Suffolk County Jail Facility Loan Act of 1985, and shall be issued for such maximum term of years, not exceeding twenty years, as the governor may recommend to the General Court pursuant to section 3 of Article LXII of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth; provided, however, that all such bonds shall be payable not later than June thirtieth, in the year two thousand and ten. All interest and payments on account of the principal of such obligations shall be payable from the Local Aid Fund. Bonds and the interest thereon issued under the authority of this section, notwithstanding any other provision of this act, shall be general obligations of the commonwealth.

SECTION 13. To meet the expenditures necessary in carrying out the provisions of section six of this act, the state treasurer, upon the request of the governor, shall issue and sell bonds of the commonwealth in an amount to be specified by the governor from time to time, but not exceeding, in the aggregate, the sum of fifty-one million two hundred and forty thousand dollars. All bonds issued by the commonwealth, as aforesaid, shall be designated on their face Correctional Loan Act of 1985, and shall be issued for such maximum term of years, not exceeding twenty years, as the governor may recommend to the General Court pursuant to section 3 of Article LXII of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth; provided, however, that all such bonds shall be payable not later than June thirtieth, two thousand and ten. All interest and payments on account of the principal of such obligations shall be payable from the General Fund. Bonds and the interest thereon issued under the authority of this section, notwithstanding any other provision of this act, shall be general obligations of the commonwealth.

SECTION 14. To meet the expenditures necessary in carrying out the provisions of section seven of this act, the state treasurer, upon request of the governor, shall issue and sell bonds of the commonwealth in an amount to be specified by the governor from time to time, but not exceeding, in the aggregate, the sum of thirty million dollars. All bonds issued by the commonwealth, as aforesaid shall be designated on their face Deferred Maintenance-Correctional Loan Act of 1985, and shall be issued for such maximum term of years, not exceeding ten years, as the governor may recommend to the General Court pursuant to section 3 of Article LXII of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth; provided, however, that all such bonds shall be payable not later than June thirtieth, in the year two thousand. All interest and payments on account of the principal of such obligations shall be payable from the General Fund. Bonds and the interest thereon issued under the authority of this section, notwithstanding any other provision of this act, shall be general obligations of the commonwealth.

SECTION 15. To meet the expenditures necessary in carrying out the provisions of section eight of this act, the state treasurer, upon the request of the governor, shall issue and sell bonds of the commonwealth in an amount to be specified by the governor from time to time, but not exceeding, in the aggregate, the sum of one hundred thirty-four million dollars. All bonds issued by the commonwealth, as aforesaid, shall be designated on their face County Correctional Facilities Loan Act of 1985 and shall be issued for such maximum term of years, not exceeding twenty years, as the governor may recommend to the General Court pursuant to section 3 of Article LXII of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth; provided, however, that all such bonds shall be payable not later than June thirtieth, two thousand and ten. All interest payments on account of the principal of such obligations shall be payable from the Local Aid Fund. Bonds and the interest thereon issued under the authority of this section, notwithstanding any other provision of this act, shall be general obligations of the commonwealth.

SECTION 16. To meet the expenditures necessary in carrying out the provisions of section eleven of this act, the state treasurer, upon request of the governor, shall issue and sell bonds of the commonwealth in an amount to be specified by the governor from time to time, but not exceeding, in the aggregate, the sum of fifteen million dollars. All bonds issued by the commonwealth, as aforesaid shall be designated on their face, Local Infrastructure Projects Loan Act of 1985, and shall be issued for such maximum term of years, not exceeding ten years, as the governor may recommend to the General Court pursuant to section 3 of Article LXII of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth; provided, however, that all such bonds shall be payable not later than June thirtieth, in the year two thousand. All interest and payments on account of the principal of such obligations shall be payable from the Local Aid Fund. Bonds and the interest thereon issued under the authority of this section, notwithstanding any other provision of this act, shall be general obligations of the commonwealth.

SECTION 17. The state treasurer may borrow from time to time on the credit of the commonwealth such sums of money as may be necessary for the purposes of meeting payments as authorized by this act, and may issue and renew from time to time notes of the commonwealth thereof, bearing interest payable at such time and at such rate as shall be fixed by the state treasurer. Such notes shall be issued and may be renewed one or more times for such term, not exceeding one year, as the governor may recommend to the General Court in accordance with section 3 of Article LXII of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth, but the final maturities of such notes, whether original or renewal, shall not be later than June thirtieth, nineteen hundred and ninety-six. Notes and the interest thereon issued under the authority of this act, notwithstanding any other provisions of this act, shall be general obligations of the commonwealth.

SECTION 18. The amount appropriated by this act shall be in addition to previous appropriations made for the development of state and county correctional facilities, including amounts made available pursuant to chapter three hundred and forty-seven of the acts of nineteen hundred and eighty-two and chapter seven hundred and twenty-three of the acts of nineteen hundred and eighty-three.

SECTION 19. For the purpose of alleviating overcrowded conditions in the state correctional facilities in as little time as possible while maintaining economy of construction, the deputy commissioner of capital planning and operations, with respect to the projects authorized by sections five and six of this act, may after consultation with the director of the office of project management, the commissioner of correction, the secretary, and such other persons as said deputy commissioner deems appropriate, recommend to the general court, in accordance with the provisions of this section, alternative methods for procurement of design and construction services, including but not limited to construction management, fast-tracked or phased construction, turnkey procurement, design and build procurement, lease-purchase of facilities, the utilization of modular buildings, and the utilization of inmate work crews.

For the purposes of alleviating the conditions at the Charles Street jail in as little time as possible, the deputy commissioner of capital planning and operations, with respect to the replacement of the Charles Street jail, may after consultation with the director of the office of project management, the commissioner of correction, the sheriff of Suffolk county, the secretary and such other persons as said deputy commissioner deems appropriate, recommend to the general court, in accordance with the provisions of this section, alternative methods for the acquisition of any real property owned by the Commonwealth or any agency or subdivision thereof deemed necessary and appropriate for said replacement, for the procurement of design and construction services, including but not limited to construction management, fast-tracked or phase construction, turnkey procurement, design and build procurement, lease-purchase of facilities, the utilization of modular buildings and the utilization of inmate work crews.

In making a recommendation to the general court, said deputy commissioner shall, as to each project for which an alternative method is recommended, set forth in full the procedures by which design and construction services for that project would be procured; provided, however, that a study shall be completed pursuant to section seven K of chapter twenty-nine of the General Laws prior to contracting for any services for the design or construction of such project; and provided, further, that such recommended procedures shall provide for an open competition for design and construction publicly advertised pursuant to paragraph one of section forty-four J of chapter one hundred and forty-nine of the General Laws. Said deputy commissioner shall file with his recommendation a report to the general court specifying his reasons for determining that such recommended alternative method is necessary and feasible and setting forth a comparison of costs, time schedules, and quality of construction between the recommended alternative and the procurement procedures that will apply if the alternative method is not approved.

Said deputy commissioner shall file his recommendation and report with the inspector general at least fifteen days before said deputy commissioner files said recommendation and report with the general court. The inspector general shall review the recommendation and report with respect to the prevention of fraud, waste and abuse and shall make such comments as said inspector general deems warranted. At the request of said inspector general, said deputy commissioner shall annex the comments of said inspector general to the report of said deputy commissioner to the general court.

Said deputy commissioner shall file his recommendation and report, together with the comments, if any, of the inspector general with the clerks of the senate and the house of representatives, the senate and house committees on ways and means, the joint committee on human services and elderly affairs, and the joint committee on state administration.

For the purposes of section forty-two B of chapter seven of the General Laws, the alternative method recommended in a report by said deputy commissioner for the procurement of design and construction services for a specified project filed with the general court on or before the effective date of this act is hereby approved.

SECTION 20. The deputy commissioner of capital planning and operations shall establish a special unit to be assigned exclusively to expedite the planning, design, and construction of capital facility projects funded by this act. A similar special unit shall also be established by the commissioner of correction. Said deputy commissioner or the commissioner of correction may, in accordance with a schedule annually approved by the commissioner of administration, temporarily hire additional employees or consultants and assign any employee of the division of capital planning and operations or the department of correction, respectively, to the special units required for the supervision of said projects; provided, however, that the salaries and administrative expenses for both of the special units shall be paid from funds made available by this act as a part of the cost of the development and construction of said projects; and, provided further, that thirty days prior to the hiring or transfer of said additional employees, said deputy commissioner or the commissioner of correction shall notify the house and senate committees on ways and means.

SECTION 21. The commissioner of correction is hereby authorized and directed to report quarterly on the status of overcrowding in the state and county correction facilities. Such report shall include, by facility, the average daily census for the period of the report and the actual census on the first and last days of the report period. Said report shall also contain such information for the previous twelve months and a comparison to the rated capacity of each such facility.

Said commissioner shall file such report with the supreme judicial court, the chief administrative justice of the trial court, the secretary, the commissioner of administration, the deputy commissioner of capital planning and operations, and the house and senate committees on ways and means and shall make sufficient copies available to the general public.

Until such time as said reports indicate that the census of no state or county correctional facility exceeds the rated capacity of each such facility, the deputy commissioner of capital planning and operations is hereby authorized and directed to take all lawful steps necessary to bring state and county correction capacity up to adequate levels in as short a time as possible, including the development of additional alternative methods of construction as authorized by section forty-two B of chapter seven of the General Laws.

SECTION 22. Said secretary, said commission of correction, and said deputy commissioner of capital planning and operations are hereby authorized and directed to develop additional plans to eliminate overcrowding in state and county correctional facilities. Said plans shall be based on a recalculation of the projected excess census over rated capacity that will exist when the expansion of capacity authorized by this and prior acts is completed. The governor shall submit a special message to the general court making recommendations relative to said additional plans within one hundred twenty days of the effective date of this act.

SECTION 23. A special commission consisting of three members of the senate and six members of the house of representatives is hereby established to make an investigation and study of the feasibility of the department of corrections contracting for correctional services for correctional facilities, to include jails and houses of correction, from private entities. Said investigation shall include, but not be limited to a comprehensive analysis of all the financial, legal, security, and public safety aspects of such contracts. Said study shall also include an analysis of similar contracting in other states and any impact on the quality of life of the inmates including the opportunity for their rehabilitation.

Said study shall also include an analysis of the correctional needs of women including but not limited to prerelease placements, diversion programs, drug and alcohol programs, educational and training programs, housing needs of women released from prison; and programs to maintain ties between prisoners and their children.

Said commission (1) shall be provided with quarters in the state house; (2) may expend for expenses and for expert, legal, clerical and other assistance such sums as may be appropriated therefore; (3) may travel within and without the commonwealth; (4) may hold hearings; (5) shall report to the general court the results of its investigation and study and its recommendations, if any, together with drafts of legislation necessary to carry out its recommendations, by filing the same with the clerks of both branches; (6) may report from time to time but shall file its final report not later than the last Wednesday in December nineteen hundred and eighty-six.

SECTION 24. The department of correction is hereby authorized to enter into a land use agreement with the town of Concord regarding land owned by said department in said town.

SECTION 25. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, the commissioner of correction is hereby authorized to enter into a contract with a private organization for the financing, operation, and maintenance of one state correctional facility constructed pursuant to this act. Said commissioner shall not so contract with a private organization in which an employee of the department of correction has a direct or indirect financial interest.

SECTION 26. This act shall take effect upon its passage.