31-239. Utility fees


A. The director shall establish by rule a reasonable utility fee for electrical
utilities that are consumed by prisoners who are confined in a correctional
facility. The fee shall not exceed two dollars per month. The director shall charge
each prisoner who possesses at least one major electrical appliance a utility fee. The
director shall deduct the utility fee monthly from the prisoner's spendable account.


B. The director shall use the monies collected pursuant to this section to offset
the cost of the department's utility expenses. The director shall report by September 1
of each year to the director of the joint legislative budget committee and the director
of the governor's office of strategic planning and budgeting on the monies that are
collected and spent pursuant to this section.


C. The director shall exempt the following prisoners from payment of the utility
fee:


1. Prisoners at reception centers.


2. Prisoners in the behavioral treatment unit at the special management unit.


3. Developmentally disabled prisoners who are housed in a special programs unit.


4. Prisoners who are housed in unit 8 at the Florence prison facility.


5. Prisoners who are inpatients at the Alhambra prison facility special programs
psychiatric hospital.


6. Prisoners who are inpatients at the Flamenco prison facility mental health
treatment unit.


D. The director shall deduct monies credited to an indigent inmate's spendable
account for the payment of the utility fee.