Ohio Revised Code
Chapter 9 | Miscellaneous
Section 9.06 | Private Operation and Management of Initial Intensive Program Prison.

Effective: March 21, 2017
Latest Legislation: House Bill 185 - 131st General Assembly
(A)(1) The department of rehabilitation and correction may contract for the private operation and management pursuant to this section of the initial intensive program prison established pursuant to section 5120.033 of the Revised Code, if one or more intensive program prisons are established under that section, and may contract for the private operation and management of any other facility under this section. Counties and municipal corporations to the extent authorized in sections 307.93, 341.35, 753.03, and 753.15 of the Revised Code may contract for the private operation and management of a facility under this section. A contract entered into under this section shall be for an initial term specified in the contract with an option to renew for additional periods of two years.
(2) The department of rehabilitation and correction, by rule, shall adopt minimum criteria and specifications that a person or entity, other than a person or entity that satisfies the criteria set forth in division (A)(3)(a) of this section and subject to division (I) of this section, must satisfy in order to apply to operate and manage as a contractor pursuant to this section the initial intensive program prison established pursuant to section 5120.033 of the Revised Code, if one or more intensive program prisons are established under that section.
(3) Subject to division (I) of this section, any person or entity that applies to operate and manage a facility as a contractor pursuant to this section shall satisfy one or more of the following criteria:
(a) The person or entity, at the time of the application, operates and manages one or more facilities accredited by the American correctional association.
(b) The person or entity satisfies all of the minimum criteria and specifications adopted by the department of rehabilitation and correction pursuant to division (A)(2) of this section, provided that this alternative shall be available only in relation to the initial intensive program prison established pursuant to section 5120.033 of the Revised Code, if one or more intensive program prisons are established under that section.
(4) Subject to division (I) of this section, before a public entity may enter into a contract under this section, the contractor shall convincingly demonstrate to the public entity that it can operate the facility with the inmate capacity required by the public entity and provide the services required in this section and realize at least a five per cent savings over the projected cost to the public entity of providing these same services to operate the facility that is the subject of the contract. No out-of-state prisoners may be housed in any facility that is the subject of a contract entered into under this section, unless the contractor can convincingly demonstrate to the director of rehabilitation and correction that all out-of-state prisoners will be functionally segregated from inmates from this state at all times.
(B) Subject to division (I) of this section, any contract entered into under this section shall include all of the following:
(1) A requirement that, if the contractor applied pursuant to division (A)(3)(b) of this section, the contractor continue complying with the applicable criteria and specifications adopted by the department of rehabilitation and correction pursuant to division (A)(2) of this section;
(2) A requirement that all of the following conditions be met:
(a) The contractor begins the process of accrediting the facility with the American correctional association no later than sixty days after the facility receives its first inmate.
(b) The contractor receives accreditation of the facility within twelve months after the date the contractor applies to the American correctional association for accreditation.
(c) Once the accreditation is received, the contractor maintains it for the duration of the contract term.
(d) If the contractor does not comply with divisions (B)(2)(a) to (c) of this section, the contractor is in violation of the contract, and the public entity may revoke the contract at its discretion.
(3) A requirement that the contractor comply with all rules promulgated by the department of rehabilitation and correction that apply to the operation and management of correctional facilities, including the minimum standards for jails in Ohio and policies regarding the use of force and the use of deadly force, although the public entity may require more stringent standards, and comply with any applicable laws, rules, or regulations of the federal, state, and local governments, including, but not limited to, sanitation, food service, safety, and health regulations. The contractor shall be required to send copies of reports of inspections completed by the appropriate authorities regarding compliance with rules and regulations to the director of rehabilitation and correction or the director's designee and, if contracting with a local public entity, to the governing authority of that entity.
(4) A requirement that the contractor report for investigation all crimes in connection with the facility to the public entity, to all local law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction over the place at which the facility is located, and, for a crime committed at a state correctional institution, to the state highway patrol;
(5) A requirement that the contractor immediately report all escapes from the facility, and the apprehension of all escapees, by telephone and in writing to all local law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction over the place at which the facility is located, to the prosecuting attorney of the county in which the facility is located, to the state highway patrol, to a daily newspaper having general circulation in the county in which the facility is located, and, if the facility is a state correctional institution, to the department of rehabilitation and correction. The written notice may be by either facsimile transmission or mail. A failure to comply with this requirement regarding an escape is a violation of section 2921.22 of the Revised Code.
(6) A requirement that, if the facility is a state correctional institution, the contractor provide a written report within specified time limits to the director of rehabilitation and correction or the director's designee of all unusual incidents at the facility as defined in rules promulgated by the department of rehabilitation and correction or, if the facility is a local correctional institution, that the contractor provide a written report of all unusual incidents at the facility to the governing authority of the local public entity;
(7) A requirement that the contractor maintain proper control of inmates' personal funds pursuant to rules promulgated by the department of rehabilitation and correction for state correctional institutions or pursuant to the minimum standards for jails along with any additional standards established by the local public entity for local correctional institutions and that records pertaining to these funds be made available to representatives of the public entity for review or audit;
(8) A requirement that the contractor prepare and distribute to the director of rehabilitation and correction or, if contracting with a local public entity, to the governing authority of the local entity annual budget income and expenditure statements and funding source financial reports;
(9) A requirement that the public entity appoint and supervise a full-time contract monitor, that the contractor provide suitable office space for the contract monitor at the facility, and that the contractor allow the contract monitor unrestricted access to all parts of the facility and all records of the facility except the contractor's financial records;
(10) A requirement that if the facility is a state correctional institution designated department of rehabilitation and correction staff members be allowed access to the facility in accordance with rules promulgated by the department;
(11) A requirement that the contractor provide internal and perimeter security as agreed upon in the contract;
(12) If the facility is a state correctional institution, a requirement that the contractor impose discipline on inmates housed in the facility only in accordance with rules promulgated by the department of rehabilitation and correction;
(13) A requirement that the facility be staffed at all times with a staffing pattern approved by the public entity and adequate both to ensure supervision of inmates and maintenance of security within the facility and to provide for programs, transportation, security, and other operational needs. In determining security needs, the contractor shall be required to consider, among other things, the proximity of the facility to neighborhoods and schools.
(14) If the contract is with a local public entity, a requirement that the contractor provide services and programs, consistent with the minimum standards for jails promulgated by the department of rehabilitation and correction under section 5120.10 of the Revised Code;
(15) A clear statement that no immunity from liability granted to the state, and no immunity from liability granted to political subdivisions under Chapter 2744. of the Revised Code, shall extend to the contractor or any of the contractor's employees;
(16) A statement that all documents and records relevant to the facility shall be maintained in the same manner required for, and subject to the same laws, rules, and regulations as apply to, the records of the public entity;
(17) Authorization for the public entity to impose a fine on the contractor from a schedule of fines included in the contract for the contractor's failure to perform its contractual duties or to cancel the contract, as the public entity considers appropriate. If a fine is imposed, the public entity may reduce the payment owed to the contractor pursuant to any invoice in the amount of the imposed fine.
(18) A statement that all services provided or goods produced at the facility shall be subject to the same regulations, and the same distribution limitations, as apply to goods and services produced at other correctional institutions;
(19) If the facility is a state correctional institution, authorization for the department to establish one or more prison industries at the facility;
(20) A requirement that, if the facility is an intensive program prison established pursuant to section 5120.033 of the Revised Code, the facility shall comply with all criteria for intensive program prisons of that type that are set forth in that section;
(21) If the facility is a state correctional institution, a requirement that the contractor provide clothing for all inmates housed in the facility that is conspicuous in its color, style, or color and style, that conspicuously identifies its wearer as an inmate, and that is readily distinguishable from clothing of a nature that normally is worn outside the facility by non-inmates, that the contractor require all inmates housed in the facility to wear the clothing so provided, and that the contractor not permit any inmate, while inside or on the premises of the facility or while being transported to or from the facility, to wear any clothing of a nature that does not conspicuously identify its wearer as an inmate and that normally is worn outside the facility by non-inmates.
(C) No contract entered into under this section may require, authorize, or imply a delegation of the authority or responsibility of the public entity to a contractor for any of the following:
(1) Developing or implementing procedures for calculating inmate release and parole eligibility dates and recommending the granting or denying of parole, although the contractor may submit written reports that have been prepared in the ordinary course of business;
(2) Developing or implementing procedures for calculating and awarding earned credits, approving the type of work inmates may perform and the wage or earned credits, if any, that may be awarded to inmates engaging in that work, and granting, denying, or revoking earned credits;
(3) For inmates serving a term imposed for a felony offense committed prior to July 1, 1996, or for a misdemeanor offense, developing or implementing procedures for calculating and awarding good time, approving the good time, if any, that may be awarded to inmates engaging in work, and granting, denying, or revoking good time;
(4) Classifying an inmate or placing an inmate in a more or a less restrictive custody than the custody ordered by the public entity;
(5) Approving inmates for work release;
(6) Contracting for local or long distance telephone services for inmates or receiving commissions from those services at a facility that is owned by or operated under a contract with the department.
(D) A contractor that has been approved to operate a facility under this section, and a person or entity that enters into a contract for specialized services, as described in division (I) of this section, relative to an intensive program prison established pursuant to section 5120.033 of the Revised Code to be operated by a contractor that has been approved to operate the prison under this section, shall provide an adequate policy of insurance specifically including, but not limited to, insurance for civil rights claims as determined by a risk management or actuarial firm with demonstrated experience in public liability for state governments. The insurance policy shall provide that the state, including all state agencies, and all political subdivisions of the state with jurisdiction over the facility or in which a facility is located are named as insured, and that the state and its political subdivisions shall be sent any notice of cancellation. The contractor may not self-insure.
A contractor that has been approved to operate a facility under this section, and a person or entity that enters into a contract for specialized services, as described in division (I) of this section, relative to an intensive program prison established pursuant to section 5120.033 of the Revised Code to be operated by a contractor that has been approved to operate the prison under this section, shall indemnify and hold harmless the state, its officers, agents, and employees, and any local government entity in the state having jurisdiction over the facility or ownership of the facility, shall reimburse the state for its costs in defending the state or any of its officers, agents, or employees, and shall reimburse any local government entity of that nature for its costs in defending the local government entity, from all of the following:
(1) Any claims or losses for services rendered by the contractor, person, or entity performing or supplying services in connection with the performance of the contract;
(2) Any failure of the contractor, person, or entity or its officers or employees to adhere to the laws, rules, regulations, or terms agreed to in the contract;
(3) Any constitutional, federal, state, or civil rights claim brought against the state related to the facility operated and managed by the contractor;
(4) Any claims, losses, demands, or causes of action arising out of the contractor's, person's, or entity's activities in this state;
(5) Any attorney's fees or court costs arising from any habeas corpus actions or other inmate suits that may arise from any event that occurred at the facility or was a result of such an event, or arise over the conditions, management, or operation of the facility, which fees and costs shall include, but not be limited to, attorney's fees for the state's representation and for any court-appointed representation of any inmate, and the costs of any special judge who may be appointed to hear those actions or suits.
(E) Private correctional officers of a contractor operating and managing a facility pursuant to a contract entered into under this section may carry and use firearms in the course of their employment only after being certified as satisfactorily completing an approved training program as described in division (A) of section 109.78 of the Revised Code.
(F) Upon notification by the contractor of an escape from, or of a disturbance at, the facility that is the subject of a contract entered into under this section, the department of rehabilitation and correction and state and local law enforcement agencies shall use all reasonable means to recapture escapees or quell any disturbance. Any cost incurred by the state or its political subdivisions relating to the apprehension of an escapee or the quelling of a disturbance at the facility shall be chargeable to and borne by the contractor. The contractor shall also reimburse the state or its political subdivisions for all reasonable costs incurred relating to the temporary detention of the escapee following recapture.
(G) Any offense that would be a crime if committed at a state correctional institution or jail, workhouse, prison, or other correctional facility shall be a crime if committed by or with regard to inmates at facilities operated pursuant to a contract entered into under this section.
(H) A contractor operating and managing a facility pursuant to a contract entered into under this section shall pay any inmate workers at the facility at the rate approved by the public entity. Inmates working at the facility shall not be considered employees of the contractor.
(I) In contracting for the private operation and management pursuant to division (A) of this section of any intensive program prison established pursuant to section 5120.033 of the Revised Code, the department of rehabilitation and correction may enter into a contract with a contractor for the general operation and management of the prison and may enter into one or more separate contracts with other persons or entities for the provision of specialized services for persons confined in the prison, including, but not limited to, security or training services or medical, counseling, educational, or similar treatment programs. If, pursuant to this division, the department enters into a contract with a contractor for the general operation and management of the prison and also enters into one or more specialized service contracts with other persons or entities, all of the following apply:
(1) The contract for the general operation and management shall comply with all requirements and criteria set forth in this section, and all provisions of this section apply in relation to the prison operated and managed pursuant to the contract.
(2) Divisions (A)(2), (B), and (C) of this section do not apply in relation to any specialized services contract, except to the extent that the provisions of those divisions clearly are relevant to the specialized services to be provided under the specialized services contract. Division (D) of this section applies in relation to each specialized services contract.
(J) If, on or after June 30, 2011, a contractor enters into a contract with the department of rehabilitation and correction under this section for the operation and management of any facility described in Section 753.10 of the act in which this amendment was adopted, if the contract provides for the sale of the facility to the contractor, if the facility is sold to the contractor subsequent to the execution of the contract, and if the contractor is privately operating and managing the facility, notwithstanding the contractor's private operation and management of the facility, all of the following apply:
(1) Except as expressly provided to the contrary in this section, the facility being privately operated and managed by the contractor shall be considered for purposes of the Revised Code as being under the control of, or under the jurisdiction of, the department of rehabilitation and correction.
(2) Any reference in this section to "state correctional institution," any reference in Chapter 2967. of the Revised Code to "state correctional institution," other than the definition of that term set forth in section 2967.01 of the Revised Code, or to "prison," and any reference in Chapter 2929., 5120., 5145., 5147., or 5149. or any other provision of the Revised Code to "state correctional institution" or "prison" shall be considered to include a reference to the facility being privately operated and managed by the contractor, unless the context makes the inclusion of that facility clearly inapplicable.
(3) Upon the sale and conveyance of the facility, the facility shall be returned to the tax list and duplicate maintained by the county auditor, and the facility shall be subject to all real property taxes and assessments. No exemption from real property taxation pursuant to Chapter 5709. of the Revised Code shall apply to the facility conveyed. The gross receipts and income of the contractor to whom the facility is conveyed that are derived from operating and managing the facility under this section shall be subject to gross receipts and income taxes levied by the state and its subdivisions, including the taxes levied pursuant to Chapters 718., 5747., 5748., and 5751. of the Revised Code. Unless exempted under another section of the Revised Code, transactions involving a contractor as a consumer or purchaser are subject to any tax levied under Chapters 5739. and 5741. of the Revised Code.
(4) After the sale and conveyance of the facility, all of the following apply:
(a) Before the contractor may resell or otherwise transfer the facility and the real property on which it is situated, any surrounding land that also was transferred under the contract, or both the facility and real property on which it is situated plus the surrounding land that was transferred under the contract, the contractor first must offer the state the opportunity to repurchase the facility, real property, and surrounding land that is to be resold or transferred and must sell the facility, real property, and surrounding land to the state if the state so desires, pursuant to and in accordance with the repurchase clause included in the contract.
(b) Upon the default by the contractor of any financial agreement for the purchase of the facility and the real property on which it is situated, any surrounding land that also was transferred under the contract, or both the facility and real property on which it is situated plus the surrounding land that was transferred under the contract, upon the default by the contractor of any other term in the contract, or upon the financial insolvency of the contractor or inability of the contractor to meet its contractual obligations, the state may repurchase the facility, real property, and surrounding land, if the state so desires, pursuant to and in accordance with the repurchase clause included in the contract.
(c) If the contract entered into under this section for the operation and management of a state correctional institution is terminated, both of the following apply:
(i) The operation and management responsibilities of the state correctional institution shall be transferred to another contractor under the same terms and conditions as applied to the original contractor or to the department of rehabilitation and correction.
(ii) The department of rehabilitation and correction or the new contractor, whichever is applicable, may enter into an agreement with the terminated contractor to purchase the terminated contractor's equipment, supplies, furnishings, and consumables.
(K) Any action asserting that section 9.06 of the Revised Code or Section 753.10 of the act in which this amendment was adopted violates any provision of the Ohio Constitution and any claim asserting that any action taken by the governor or the department of administrative services or the department of rehabilitation and correction pursuant to section 9.06 of the Revised Code or Section 753.10 of the act in which this amendment was adopted violates any provision of the Ohio Constitution or any provision of the Revised Code shall be brought in the court of common pleas of Franklin county. The court shall give any action filed pursuant to this division priority over all other civil cases pending on its docket and expeditiously make a determination on the claim. If an appeal is taken from any final order issued in a case brought pursuant to this division, the court of appeals shall give the case priority over all other civil cases pending on its docket and expeditiously make a determination on the appeal.
(L) If, on or after the effective date of this amendment , the department of rehabilitation and correction enters into a contract with an owner, operator, or manager of a facility described in division (M)(5)(c) of this section for the housing of inmates, all of the following apply:
(1) Except as expressly provided to the contrary under this section, the facility that is privately owned, operated, or managed by the contractor shall be considered for purposes of the Revised Code to be under the control of, or under the jurisdiction of, the department of rehabilitation and correction.
(2) Any reference in this section to "state correctional institution," any reference in Chapter 2967. of the Revised Code to "state correctional institution," other than the definition of that term set forth in section 2967.01 of the Revised Code, or to "prison," and any reference in Chapter 2929., 5120., 5145., 5147., or 5149. or any other provision of the Revised Code to "state correctional institution" or "prison" shall be considered to include a reference to the facility being privately owned, operated, or managed by the contractor, unless the context makes the inclusion of that facility clearly inapplicable.
(M) As used in this section:
(1) "Public entity" means the department of rehabilitation and correction, or a county or municipal corporation or a combination of counties and municipal corporations, that has jurisdiction over a facility that is the subject of a contract entered into under this section.
(2) "Local public entity" means a county or municipal corporation, or a combination of counties and municipal corporations, that has jurisdiction over a jail, workhouse, or other correctional facility used only for misdemeanants that is the subject of a contract entered into under this section.
(3) "Governing authority of a local public entity" means, for a county, the board of county commissioners; for a municipal corporation, the legislative authority; for a combination of counties and municipal corporations, all the boards of county commissioners and municipal legislative authorities that joined to create the facility.
(4) "Contractor" means a person or entity that enters into a contract under this section to operate and manage a jail, workhouse, or other correctional facility.
(5) "Facility" means any of the following:
(a) The specific county, multicounty, municipal, municipal-county, or multicounty-municipal jail, workhouse, prison, or other type of correctional institution or facility used only for misdemeanants that is the subject of a contract entered into under this section;
(b) Any state correctional institution that is the subject of a contract entered into under this section, including any facility described in Section 753.10 of the act in which this amendment was adopted at any time prior to or after any sale to a contractor of the state's right, title, and interest in the facility, the land situated thereon, and specified surrounding land;
(c) Any other correctional institution located in this state that is owned, operated, or managed by a person or entity that meets the criteria established in division (A)(3)(a) of this section.
(6) "Person or entity" in the case of a contract for the private operation and management of a state correctional institution, includes an employee organization, as defined in section 4117.01 of the Revised Code, that represents employees at state correctional institutions.

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