§1208-B. Standards, policies and procedures applicable to jails
1. Establishment. The commissioner shall establish mandatory standards, policies and procedures for jails. The standards, policies and procedures must be established by rule and must be evidence-based, must take into consideration cost impact and must reflect best practices for the administration and operation of jails. The rules must include policies and procedures for assisting jails to achieve compliance and for imposing penalties for noncompliance.
A. The standards, policies and procedures must address record keeping and reporting of financial data, capital improvement planning, jail staffing, administration and management of prisoners, transfer of inmates, notification to prisoners of prohibition on contact with victims and other persons, pretrial assessments and services, evidence-based programming, literacy programs, mental health and substance use disorder programs and correctional officer training. [PL 2017, c. 407, Pt. A, §152 (AMD).]
B. In administering and distributing funding to the jails pursuant to section 1210‑D, subsection 4, the commissioner shall:
(1) Require reporting of data that indicates average daily population of prisoners, that excludes federal prisoners, that indicates sending and receiving jails for transferred prisoners and that is useful in calculating the distributions to the counties pursuant to section 1210‑D, subsection 4; and
(2) Consider the performance of each jail in meeting the standards established pursuant to this section. The commissioner shall work with the jails to assist them in achieving compliance with the standards. The commissioner shall enforce the standards by imposition of monetary penalties upon a county for noncompliance by the county jail or regional jail. A monetary penalty imposed under this subsection may not in any fiscal year exceed the County Jail Operations Fund distribution payable to a county for a fiscal year pursuant to section 1210‑D, subsection 4. [RR 2019, c. 2, Pt. A, §32 (COR).]
[PL 2021, c. 171, §2 (AMD).]
2. Rulemaking. Rules adopted pursuant to this section are routine technical rules as defined by Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
[PL 2021, c. 171, §2 (AMD); PL 2021, c. 263, §1 (AMD).]
3. Gender affirmation. The standards, policies and procedures established pursuant to this section for the county jails and regional jail must require the jails to respect and acknowledge an incarcerated person's consistently held gender identity irrespective of anatomy or physique. Housing placements and search practices must be consistent with the person's consistently held gender identity except when such placement or search would present significant management or security problems to the jail or threaten the health and safety of the person. A person must have access to commissary items, clothing, personal property, programming and educational materials that are consistent with the person's consistently held gender identity. County and regional jail staff shall address a person in a manner that is consistent with the person's consistently held gender identity.
[PL 2021, c. 263, §2 (NEW).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 2015, c. 335, §22 (NEW). PL 2017, c. 407, Pt. A, §152 (AMD). RR 2019, c. 2, Pt. A, §32 (COR). PL 2021, c. 171, §2 (AMD). PL 2021, c. 263, §§1, 2 (AMD).