BILL REQ. #:  S-2534.3 

READ FIRST TIME 03/25/11.   

     AN ACT Relating to prison safety and implementing the policy recommendations resulting from the national institute of corrections review of prison safety; amending RCW 41.80.020; adding new sections to chapter 72.09 RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   It is the intent of the legislature to promote safe state correctional facilities. Following the tragic murder of officer Jayme Biendl, the governor and department of corrections requested the national institute of corrections to review safety procedures at the Monroe reformatory. While the report found the Monroe reformatory is a safe institution, it recommends changes that would enhance safety. The legislature recognizes that operating safe institutions requires ongoing efforts including collective bargaining to address areas where improvements can be made to enhance the safety of state correctional facilities. This act addresses ways to increase safety at state correctional facilities and implements changes recommended in the report of the national institute of corrections.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) The department shall establish a statewide security advisory committee to conduct comprehensive reviews of the department's total confinement security-related policies and procedures.
     (2) The statewide security advisory committee shall make recommendations to the secretary regarding methods to provide consistent application of the policies and procedures regarding security issues in total confinement correctional facilities.
     (3) The statewide security advisory committee shall include a balance of institutional staff including, but not limited to, custody staff. At a minimum, the statewide security advisory committee shall include:
     (a) The director of prisons or his or her designee;
     (b) A nonsupervisory classified employee and/or sergeant from each local advisory committee of a major facility and one nonsupervisory classified employee and/or sergeant representative from a minimum facility;
     (c) A senior-ranking security custody staff member from each major correctional facility and a senior-ranking custody staff member from a minimum correctional facility; and
     (d) A delegate from the union that represents department employees located at correctional facilities.
     (4) The statewide security advisory committee shall develop guidelines to establish local security advisory committees for each total confinement correctional facility within the department. The chair of each local security advisory committee shall be the captain at a major facility and the lieutenant at a minimum security facility. The local security advisory committee should consist of a wide range of nonsupervisory classified employees and/or sergeants from the facility, such as medical staff, class counselors, program staff, and mental health staff.
     (5) The department shall report back to the governor and appropriate committees of the legislature by November 1, 2011, and annually thereafter. The report shall include:
     (a) Recommendations raised by either the statewide or local security advisory committees;
     (b) Recommendations for improving the ability of nonsupervisory classified employees to provide input on safety concerns including staff allocation, labor and industries mandated safety committees, and the inclusion of safety issues in collective bargaining;
     (c) Minutes from each meeting of the statewide security advisory committee meetings;
     (d) Actions taken by the department as a result of recommendations by the statewide security advisory committee; and
     (e) Recommendations for additional resources or legislation to address security concerns in total confinement correctional facilities.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   (1) The department shall establish multidisciplinary teams at each total confinement correctional facility that will evaluate offenders' placements in inmate job assignments and custody promotions. The teams at each facility shall determine suitable placements based on the offender's risk, behavior, or other factors considered by the team.
     (2) At a minimum, each team shall have representation from a wide range of nonsupervisory classified employees and/or sergeants from the facility, such as medical staff, class counselors, program staff, and mental health staff.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   (1) The department shall develop training curriculum regarding staff safety issues at total confinement correctional facilities. At a minimum, the training shall address the following issues:
     (a) Security routines;
     (b) Physical plant layout;
     (c) Offender movement and program area coverage; and
     (d) Situational awareness and de-escalation techniques.
     (2) The department shall seek the input of both the statewide security and local advisory committees in developing the curriculum.
     (3) The department shall deliver such training to applicable correctional staff at in-service training by July 1, 2012.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   (1) The department may pilot the use of body alarms and proximity cards within available resources.
     (2) The department shall hire a consultant to study the feasibility of implementing a statewide system for staff safety, utilizing body alarms and proximity cards for staff within the department's total confinement correctional facilities and report findings and recommendations to the governor and appropriate committees of the legislature by November 1, 2011. At a minimum, the report shall include:
     (a) Recommendations for the use of body alarms by security level;
     (b) Recommendations for specific positions that should require the use of body alarms;
     (c) The information technological and infrastructure requirements needed for body alarms and proximity cards;
     (d) The training requirements for body alarms;
     (e) Lessons learned from any pilot project the department may implement in the interim;
     (f) The estimated cost of the alarms and proximity cards and needed supporting infrastructure, staffing, and training requirements.
     (3) The consultant shall seek the input of both the statewide and local security advisory committees in preparing his or her report.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   (1) The department shall hire a consultant to study the deployment of video monitoring cameras within the department to make recommendations regarding statewide standards for the positioning and use of video monitoring cameras in total confinement correctional facilities and report findings and recommendations to the governor and appropriate committees of the legislature by November 1, 2011. At a minimum, the report shall include:
     (a) Recommendations for the use of video monitoring cameras by security level;
     (b) Recommendations for specific locations within a total confinement correctional facility which would benefit from the use of video monitoring cameras;
     (c) The information technological and infrastructure requirements needed for effective use of video monitoring cameras;
     (d) Recommendations for how video monitoring cameras would best be deployed in current total confinement correctional facilities;
     (e) Recommendations about how video monitoring cameras should be incorporated into future prison construction to insure consistency in camera use system-wide;
     (f) The estimated cost of the video monitoring cameras, supporting infrastructure needed, and staffing required by the total confinement correctional facility.
     (2) The consultant shall seek the input of both the statewide and local security advisory committees in preparing his or her report.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   (1) The department shall develop a comprehensive plan for the use of oleoresin capsicum aerosol products, commonly referred to as pepper spray, as a security measure available for staff at total confinement correctional facilities.
     (2) The department may initiate a pilot project, within available funds, to expand the deployment of oleoresin capsicum aerosol products within total confinement correctional facilities.
     (3) The department's plan for the deployment of oleoresin capsicum aerosol products to staff shall include findings, if any, from the pilot project, recommendations regarding which facility's use should be limited to, what the training requirements should be, the estimated costs, and an implementation schedule.
     (4) The department shall seek the input of both the statewide and local security advisory committees in developing its plan.
     (5) The department shall report its plan, including costs, to the governor and appropriate committees of the legislature by November 1, 2011.

Sec. 8   RCW 41.80.020 and 2010 c 283 s 16 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, the matters subject to bargaining include wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment, and the negotiation of any question arising under a collective bargaining agreement.
     (2) The employer is not required to bargain over matters pertaining to:
     (a) Health care benefits or other employee insurance benefits, except as required in subsection (3) of this section;
     (b) Any retirement system or retirement benefit; or
     (c) Rules of the director of personnel or the Washington personnel resources board adopted under section 203, chapter 354, Laws of 2002.
     (3) Matters subject to bargaining include the number of names to be certified for vacancies, promotional preferences, and the dollar amount expended on behalf of each employee for health care benefits. However, except as provided otherwise in this subsection for institutions of higher education, negotiations regarding the number of names to be certified for vacancies, promotional preferences, and the dollar amount expended on behalf of each employee for health care benefits shall be conducted between the employer and one coalition of all the exclusive bargaining representatives subject to this chapter. The exclusive bargaining representatives for employees that are subject to chapter 47.64 RCW shall bargain the dollar amount expended on behalf of each employee for health care benefits with the employer as part of the coalition under this subsection. Any such provision agreed to by the employer and the coalition shall be included in all master collective bargaining agreements negotiated by the parties. For institutions of higher education, promotional preferences and the number of names to be certified for vacancies shall be bargained under the provisions of RCW 41.80.010(4).
     (4) For employees of the department of corrections, matters subject to bargaining also include issues of employee safety as relating to staff allocation, equipment, policy, and protocol.
     (5) The employer and the exclusive bargaining representative shall not agree to any proposal that would prevent the implementation of approved affirmative action plans or that would be inconsistent with the comparable worth agreement that provided the basis for the salary changes implemented beginning with the 1983-1985 biennium to achieve comparable worth.
     (((5))) (6) The employer and the exclusive bargaining representative shall not bargain over matters pertaining to management rights established in RCW 41.80.040.
     (((6))) (7) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, if a conflict exists between an executive order, administrative rule, or agency policy relating to wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment and a collective bargaining agreement negotiated under this chapter, the collective bargaining agreement shall prevail. A provision of a collective bargaining agreement that conflicts with the terms of a statute is invalid and unenforceable.
     (((7))) (8) This section does not prohibit bargaining that affects contracts authorized by RCW 41.06.142.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   Sections 2 through 7 of this act are each added to chapter 72.09 RCW.