SB 456

Abstract

Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman; created. Creates, within the Office of the State Inspector General, the Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman (the Office) headed by an Ombudsman who is selected by a Corrections Oversight Committee (the Committee), also created by the bill. The bill provides that the Committee is made up of eight members of the General Assembly and 11 nonlegislative citizen members who monitor the activities of the Ombudsman and the Department of Corrections (the Department). The bill provides the Office with authority to conduct inspections at least once every three years and more often when warranted of Department or Board of Local and Regional Jails facilities and requires the Office to establish a confidential telephone hotline and paper and electronic forms for the submission of concerns, complaints, and inquiries by inmates, their family members and friends, and advocates. In addition, the bill requires the Committee to hold at least one public hearing per year and requires the Office to submit an annual report to the Governor, the Attorney General, the Senate Committee for Courts of Justice, the House Committee on Public Safety, the Committee, and the Director of the Department.

Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman;created. Creates, within the Office of the State Inspector General,the Office of the Department of Corrections Ombudsman (the Office) headed by an Ombudsman who is selected by a Corrections OversightCommittee (the Committee), also created by the bill. The bill providesthat the Committee is made up of four members of the General Assemblyand 11 nonlegislative citizen members who monitor the activitiesof the Ombudsman and the Department of Corrections (the Department).The bill provides the Office's authority to conduct inspections atleast once every three years and more often when warranted of Departmentor Board of Local and Regional Jails facilities and requires theOffice to establish confidential telephone hotlines and online formsfor concerns, complaints, and inquiries by inmates, their family members and advocates, and Department employees and contractors. In addition,the bill requires the Committee to conduct quarterly public hearingsand submit an annual report to the Governor, the Attorney General,the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, the House Committee on PublicSafety, and the Director of the Department.