January 24, 2006, Introduced by Senators GOSCHKA, GARCIA, TOY, GILBERT, McMANUS, KUIPERS, BISHOP, JOHNSON, ALLEN, JELINEK, BIRKHOLZ, PATTERSON and BARCIA and referred to the Committee on Commerce and Labor.
A bill to amend 1968 PA 15, entitled
"Correctional industries act,"
by amending section 6 (MCL 800.326), as amended by 1996 PA 537, and
by adding section 11a.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 6. (1) Correctional industries products may be sold,
exchanged,
or purchased by institutions any of the following:
(a) An institution of this or any other state or political
subdivision of this or any other state, the federal government or
agencies of the federal government, a foreign government or
agencies of a foreign government, or a private vendor that operates
the
youth correctional facility. , or any
(b) Any organization that is a tax exempt organization under
section 501(c)(3) of the internal revenue code, but only if the
same or similar product is not available for purchase by the
organization from a private business.
(2) An agricultural product that is produced on a correctional
farm may be utilized within the correctional institutions or within
a youth correctional facility notwithstanding its operation by a
private vendor or sold to an institution, governmental agency, or
organization described in subsection (1) or sold for utilization in
the food production facilities of the department of corrections
notwithstanding the operation of those facilities by a private
vendor. An agricultural product that is not utilized or sold as
provided in this subsection shall be made available without charge
to nonprofit charitable organizations or to the family independence
agency for use in food banks, bulk food distributions, or similar
charitable food distribution programs. This subsection does not
apply to an agricultural product that is not in a form suitable for
use in the manner prescribed in this section, such as bulk grain,
live cattle, and hogs, which may be sold on the open market.
(3) Except as provided in subsections (4) and (5), the labor
of inmates shall not be sold, hired, leased, loaned, contracted
for, or otherwise used for private or corporate profit or for any
purpose other than the construction, maintenance, or operation of
public works, ways, or property as directed by the governor. This
act does not prohibit the sale at retail of articles made by
inmates for the personal benefit of themselves or their dependents
or the payment to inmates for personal services rendered in the
correctional institutions, subject to regulations approved by the
department of corrections, or the use of inmate labor upon
agricultural land that has been rented or leased by the department
of corrections upon a sharecropping or other basis.
(4) If more than 80% of a particular product sold in the
United States is manufactured outside the United States and none of
that product is manufactured in this state, or if a particular
service is not performed in this state, as determined by the
department of corrections in conjunction with the advisory council
for correctional industries, inmate labor may be used in the
manufacture of that product or the rendering of that service in a
private manufacturing or service enterprise established under
section 7a. A determination by the department of corrections under
this subsection shall be made at the time the individual or
business entity applies to the department for approval to produce
that product or render that service pursuant to section 7a.
(5) Inmate labor may be used in the youth correctional
facility notwithstanding the operation of that facility by a
private vendor.
Sec. 11a. The Michigan state industries advisory board created
by Executive Reorganization Order No. 1993-8, MCL 800.341, shall
submit a written report to the legislature not later than January 1
of each year, beginning January 1, 2007. The report shall summarize
the activities of correctional industries for the preceding state
fiscal year and shall include recommendations on ways to better
integrate correctional industries into the business community and
foster its growth while ensuring that competition with the private
sector is minimized. Copies of the report shall be delivered to the
chairpersons of the standing committees of the house and senate
responsible for legislation concerning corrections and to the
chairpersons of the house and senate appropriations committees.