adult incarceration contracts; services; costs

HB2844 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
adult incarceration contracts; services; costs

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HB 2844

Introduced by

Representatives
Contreras P: Aguilar, Cavero, Connolly, Crews, Garcia, Hernandez C, Sandoval,
Simacek, Stahl Hamilton, Villegas;� Senators Ortiz, Sundareshan

AN
ACT

amending section 41-1609.01, Arizona
Revised Statutes; relating to the state department of corrections.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 41-1609.01, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
41-1609.01.

Adult incarceration contracts; criteria; service and cost
comparisons

A. On publication, any request for proposals shall
be provided to the joint legislative budget committee for its review.

B. To be considered for an award of a contract, the
proposer must demonstrate that it has:

1. The qualifications, operations and management
experience and experienced personnel necessary to carry out the terms of the
contract.

2. The ability to comply with applicable
correctional standards and any specific court order, if required.

3. A demonstrated history of successful operation
and management of other secure facilities.

C. The proposer of a contract for correctional
services must agree that this state may cancel the contract at any time after
the first year of operation, without penalty to this state, on giving ninety
days' written notice.

D. A contract may provide for annual contract price
or cost adjustments, except that any adjustments may be made only once each
year effective on the anniversary of the effective date of the
contract. If any adjustment is made pursuant to the terms of the
contract, it shall be applied to the total payments made to the contractor for
the previous contract year and shall not exceed the
per cent

percent
of change in the average consumer price index as
published by the United States department of labor, bureau of labor statistics
between that figure for the latest calendar year and the next previous calendar
year.

E. Any price or cost adjustments to a contract
different than those authorized in subsection D of this section may be made
only if the legislature specifically authorizes the adjustments and
appropriates monies for that purpose, if required.

F. An award of a contract shall not be made unless
an acceptable proposal is received pursuant to any request for
proposals. For the purposes of this subsection, "acceptable
proposal" means a proposal that substantially meets all of the
requirements or conditions set forth in this section and that meets all of the
requirements in the request for proposals.

G. A proposal shall not be accepted unless the
proposal offers cost savings to this state.

H. A proposal shall not be accepted unless the
proposal offers a level and quality of services that are at least functionally
equal to those that would be provided by this state.

I. Notwithstanding section 41-2546, a contract
to provide correctional services as described in this section may be for an
initial period of not more than ten years.

J. The initial contract may include an option to
renew for two subsequent renewal periods of not more than five years each.

K. The performance of the contractor
shall be compared to the performance of this state in operating similar
facilities, as provided in this section. The department shall
conduct a biennial comparison of the services provided by the vendor to compare
private versus public provision of services.� The comparison of services shall
be based on professional correctional standards that are specified by the
director and that are incorporated into the contract, and shall be used to
determine if the contractor is providing at least the same quality of services
as this state at a lower cost or if the contractor is providing services
superior in quality to those provided by this state at essentially the same
cost.� In conducting the comparison of services, the director shall consider:

1. Security.

2. Inmate management and control.

3. Inmate programs and services.

4. Facility safety and sanitation.

5. Administration.

6. Food service.

7. Personnel practices and training.

8. Inmate health services.

9. Inmate discipline.

10. Other matters relating to
services as determined by the director.

L. The director shall conduct a cost
comparison of executed private prison contracts once every five years for each
contract.

M. The director shall provide the
most recent service comparison and cost comparison prescribed by subsection K
of this section that the department prepares for contractors who exclusively
contract with the department to the joint legislative budget committee for its
review.

K.

N.
A
contract for correctional services described in this section shall not be
entered into unless the following requirements are met:

1. The contractor provides audited financial
statements for the previous five years, or for each of the years the contractor
has been in operation, if fewer than five years, and provides other financial
information as requested.

2. The contractor provides an adequate plan of
insurance, specifically including coverage or insurance for civil rights claims
and liabilities as approved by the risk management division of the department
of administration.

3. The contractor agrees to be liable for the costs
of any emergency, public safety or security services provided to the contractor
by
the

this
state or any political
subdivision of
the

this
state and to
reimburse
the

this
state or any
political subdivision of
the

this

state for the cost of any such services.

L.

O.
The
sovereign immunity of this state does not apply to the
contractor. Neither the contractor nor the insurer of the contractor
may plead the defense of sovereign immunity in any action arising out of the
performance of the contract.

M.

P.
A
contract for correctional services shall not authorize, allow or imply a
delegation of authority or responsibility to a prison contractor for any of the
following:

1. Developing and implementing procedures for
calculating inmate release dates.

2. Developing and implementing procedures for
calculating and awarding sentence credits.

3. Approving the type of work inmates may perform
and the wages or sentence credits that may be given to inmates engaging in the
work.

4. Granting, denying or revoking sentence credits,
placing an inmate under less restrictive custody or more restrictive custody or
taking any disciplinary actions.
END_STATUTE