SB 175: "An Act relating to correctional institutions and their administration; providing the Department of Corrections with the authority to require prisoners to assist in paying for medical treatment; relating to the authority of a law enforcement agency to charge a prisoner for medical costs for a preexisting condition; and relating to service of criminal sentences."
00SENATE BILL NO. 175 01 "An Act relating to correctional institutions and their administration; providing the 02 Department of Corrections with the authority to require prisoners to assist in 03 paying for medical treatment; relating to the authority of a law enforcement 04 agency to charge a prisoner for medical costs for a preexisting condition; and 05 relating to service of criminal sentences." 06 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 * Section 1. This Act may be known as the "Alaska No Frills Prison Act." 08 * Sec. 2. AS 33.30.011 is amended to read: 09 Sec. 33.30.011. DUTIES OF COMMISSIONER. The commissioner shall, in 10 a manner consistent with AS 33.30.015, 11 (1) establish, maintain, operate, and control correctional facilities 12 suitable for the custody, care, and discipline of persons charged or convicted of 13 offenses against the state or held under authority of state law; 14 (2) classify prisoners;
01 (3) for persons committed to the custody of the commissioner, establish 02 programs, including furlough programs, that are reasonably calculated to 03 (A) protect the public; 04 (B) maintain health; 05 (C) create or improve occupational skills; 06 (D) enhance educational qualifications; 07 (E) support court-ordered restitution; and 08 (F) otherwise provide for the rehabilitation and reformation of 09 prisoners, facilitating their reintegration into society; 10 (4) subject to AS 33.30.028, provide necessary medical services for 11 prisoners in correctional facilities or who are committed by a court to the custody of 12 the commissioner, including examinations for communicable and infectious diseases; 13 (5) subject to AS 33.30.028, provide necessary psychological or 14 psychiatric treatment if a physician or other health care provider, exercising ordinary 15 skill and care at the time of observation, concludes that 16 (A) a prisoner exhibits symptoms of a serious disease or injury 17 that is curable or may be substantially alleviated; and 18 (B) the potential for harm to the prisoner by reason of delay or 19 denial of care is substantial; 20 (6) establish minimum standards for sex offender treatment programs 21 offered to persons who are committed to the custody of the commissioner; and 22 (7) provide for fingerprinting in correctional facilities in accordance 23 with AS 12.80.060. 24 * Sec. 3. AS 33.30 is amended by adding a new section to read: 25 Sec. 33.30.015. WORK REQUIREMENT AND LIVING CONDITIONS FOR 26 PRISONERS. (a) In implementing this chapter, the commissioner 27 (1) may not 28 (A) provide 29 (i) living conditions and opportunities to prisoners within 30 a correctional facility that are more luxurious than those conditions and 31 opportunities the average prisoner would have experienced if the
01 prisoner were not incarcerated; 02 (ii) living or work quarters for a prisoner into which the 03 view into the quarters is obstructed; 04 (iii) food exceeding in quality or quantity food that is 05 available to enlisted personnel in the United States Army; 06 (iv) equipment or facilities for publishing or 07 broadcasting material the content of which is not subject to prior 08 approval by the department as consistent with keeping order in the 09 institution and prisoner discipline; 10 (v) cable television service in a correctional facility; 11 (B) provide or allow a prisoner to 12 (i) make unmonitored telephone calls, except for calls 13 between the prisoner and the prisoner's legal counsel or the prisoner's 14 immediate family; 15 (ii) possess a television in the prisoner's cell; 16 (iii) view movies rated "R," "X," or "NC-17," or that do 17 not have a rating; 18 (iv) possess pornographic material; 19 (v) receive instruction in person, or by broadcast or 20 printed medium, in boxing, wrestling, judo, karate, or other martial art, 21 or bodybuilding or weightlifting; 22 (vi) possess or have access to equipment for use in the 23 activities listed in (v) of this subparagraph; 24 (vii) use or possess an electric or electronic musical 25 instrument or practice or play another type of musical instrument for 26 more than one hour each day, except when possession or use of the 27 musical instrument is required as part of the prisoner's employment; 28 (viii) possess in the prisoner's cell a coffee pot, hot 29 plate, appliance, or heating element for food preparation; 30 (ix) possess or appear in a state of dress, hygiene, 31 grooming, or appearance other, than as permitted as uniform or standard
01 in the correctional facility; 02 (C) allow a prisoner to use a computer other than those that 03 may be provided by the correctional facility as part of the prisoner's 04 employment; 05 (2) shall require a prisoner to work at least 40 hours per week at a job 06 that either offsets the expenses of incarcerating the prisoner or provides resources 07 toward restitution of victims, payment of child support and support for dependents, or 08 payment of fines. 09 (b) If a prisoner is serving a sentence for a crime against a person that resulted 10 in serious physical injury to a person other than the prisoner, in addition to the 11 requirements of (a) of this section, the commissioner 12 (1) shall 13 (A) incarcerate those prisoners separately from other prisoners 14 in cell blocks or facilities intended for violent offenders that are designed to 15 emphasize punishment rather than rehabilitation; 16 (B) require those prisoners to engage in eight hours of physical 17 labor each day instead of the 40 hours of work per week required under (a) of 18 this section; if a prisoner is not able to perform physical labor under this 19 subparagraph, the commissioner shall require the prisoner to perform alternate 20 labor; if a prisoner refuses to perform the labor required by this subparagraph, 21 the commissioner shall confine the prisoner to the prisoner's cell for at least 23 22 hours each day; 23 (2) may not allow a prisoner to 24 (A) leave the cell blocks or facilities described in (1)(A) of this 25 subsection, whether by furlough or another manner, unless the prisoner, while 26 away from the cell block or facility, is at all times under physical or 27 mechanical restraints, including handcuffs, and under the constant escort and 28 supervision of at least one correctional officer; 29 (B) view television; 30 (C) travel outside the prison to participate in, or be a spectator 31 of, competitive sports;
01 (D) engage in sports or exercise for more than two hours a day; 02 (E) possess personal property 03 (i) exceeding 75 pounds in total weight; and 04 (ii) that cannot be stowed in a standard size United 05 States military issue duffle bag. 06 (c) In this section, "serious physical injury" has the meaning given in 07 AS 11.81.900. 08 * Sec. 4. AS 33.30 is amended by adding a new section to read: 09 Sec. 33.30.028. MEDICAL CARE FOR PRISONERS. The commissioner shall 10 develop a program under which prisoners are required to reimburse the department for 11 medical, psychological, and psychiatric care the department has provided to the 12 prisoner, either by paying 13 (1) the entire cost, or a portion of the costs, of the care if the prisoner 14 has the resources, insurance coverage, or benefits; or 15 (2) a partial fee for the care that involves the prisoner in the decision 16 to seek and provide care and the responsibility for that care. 17 * Sec. 5. AS 33.30.071(a) is amended to read: 18 (a) Notwithstanding AS 33.30.011(1), the commissioner of public safety shall 19 provide for the custody, care, and discipline of prisoners pending arraignment, 20 commitment by a court to the custody of the commissioner of corrections, or 21 admission to a state correctional facility. Except as provided in (c) of this section, the 22 responsibility for providing necessary medical services for prisoners remains with the 23 commissioner of corrections under AS 33.30.011(4), subject to AS 33.30.028. The 24 commissioner of corrections and the commissioner of public safety are not responsible 25 for providing custody, care, and discipline for a person detained under AS 47.30.705 26 or AS 47.37.170 [,] unless the person is admitted into a state correctional facility. 27 * Sec. 6. AS 33.30.071(c) is amended to read: 28 (c) Medical services for a prisoner who is unconscious or in immediate need 29 of medical attention before admission to a correctional facility or commitment by a 30 court to the custody of the commissioner of corrections shall be provided by the law 31 enforcement agency having custody of the prisoner. The law enforcement agency may
01 require the prisoner to compensate the agency for the cost of medical services provided 02 for any [A] preexisting medical condition [NOT ARISING OUT OF THE 03 PRISONER'S ARREST].