(1) The executive director shall have
and exercise:
(a) All the right and power to transfer an inmate between correctional
facilities.
(b) Repealed.
(c) The authority to enter into contracts and agreements with other
jurisdictions, including other states, the federal government, and political
subdivisions of this state, for the confinement and maintenance in state
correctional facilities of inmates sentenced to imprisonment by the courts of such
other jurisdictions. The executive director shall notify the appropriate authorities of
other jurisdictions, as the executive director deems appropriate, of the availability
of space in state correctional facilities for the confinement and maintenance of
inmates from other jurisdictions.
(d) The authority to lease real property and personal property of the
department and any interest therein pursuant to law;
(e) The authority to enter into contracts with any county for the placement of
inmates pursuant to section 16-11-308.5, C.R.S.;
(f) The authority to enter into contracts and agreements with other
jurisdictions, including other states, the federal government, and political
subdivisions of this state, for the confinement and maintenance of offenders
sentenced to imprisonment by the courts of this state and the authority to
reimburse such jurisdictions for the expenses incurred by such jurisdictions in the
confinement and maintenance of said offenders;
(g) The authority to issue administrative warrants, solely for the purpose of
returning to a correctional facility, jail, or community corrections center, offenders
who have escaped from the custody and care of the department, community
corrections, the parole board, or the division of adult parole, containing notice to
appropriate law enforcement agencies that there is probable cause to believe that
an offender has escaped from custody;
(h) The authority to enter into written agreements with any local, state,
regional, or federal law enforcement agency operating within the state to allow
such agencies and the department to provide personnel or operational support to
one another, if deemed available by the executive director, in support of emergency
law enforcement operations in Colorado;
(i) The authority to enter into written agreements with any local, state,
regional, or federal law enforcement agency operating within the state to permit
department personnel to assist in apprehending offenders who have escaped from
the custody of the department.
(1.5) The executive director shall have such other powers and functions as
are prescribed for heads of principal departments in the Administrative
Organization Act of 1968, article 1 of title 24, C.R.S.
(2) (a) The executive director shall, subject to approval by the capital
development committee and subject to annual appropriation, be authorized to enter
into agreements under which the state may acquire title to correctional facilities
developed and constructed with private funds upon payment of the stipulated
aggregate annual payments within a period of time not to exceed thirty years. The
executive director shall also consider all costs associated with the agreement,
including indirect costs for administration and monitoring of the agreement and
total costs of the agreement including principal and interest.
(b) The executive director shall establish design standards and
specifications which shall be met by any facility which is to be occupied pursuant to
this subsection (2).
(c) Any proposal which meets such design standards and specifications and
which has been approved by the capital development committee shall be
specifically authorized, prior to its execution, by a separate bill enacted by the
general assembly. Subsequent to such authorization by the general assembly in
such manner, payments by the state may be made from moneys appropriated by
the general assembly without the necessity of a separate bill.
(d) Payments under such agreements shall be included in the capital
construction fund, subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly, and
shall be certified, audited, and paid in the same manner as all other accounts and
expenditures are paid out of such funds appropriated to the capital construction
fund. Such obligations shall not create an indebtedness of the state within the
meaning of any provisions of the state constitution or laws of the state concerning
or limiting the creation of indebtedness of the state.
(e) Each agreement entered into pursuant to this subsection (2) may contain
such terms, provisions, and conditions as the executive director deems appropriate,
including provisions by which the state may receive fee title to the real and
personal property which is the subject of each agreement on or prior to the
expiration of the terms thereof, including all optional terms.
(f) Property acquired or occupied pursuant to this subsection (2) shall be
exempt from taxation so long as it is used for a public purpose connected with any
authorized work or programs of the department.
(g) Subject to annual appropriations by the general assembly, agreements
entered into pursuant to this subsection (2) shall be enforceable in any court of
competent jurisdiction in the state.
(3) The entity with which the department enters into an agreement pursuant
to subsection (2) of this section shall submit a detailed plan for the department of
corrections to assume responsibility for a correctional facility when the contract
between the state and the entity terminates. The state, through the executive
director of the department of corrections, may terminate the agreement for cause
after written notice of material deficiencies and after sixty workdays have been
provided to the entity to correct the material deficiencies. If any event occurs
involving the noncompliance with or violation of contract terms and presents a
serious threat to the safety, health, or security of the inmates, employees, or the
public, the department of corrections may temporarily assume responsibility for the
correctional facility. In addition, the entity shall submit a plan for the temporary
assumption of operations of a correctional facility by the department of corrections
in the event of bankruptcy or the financial insolvency of the entity. The entity shall
provide an emergency plan to address inmate disturbances, employee work
stoppages, strikes, or other serious events. The plan shall comply with applicable
national correctional standards. The state may assume responsibility for the
operation of a facility upon approval by the general assembly through the
enactment of legislation.