53.1-71.1 - Private construction, operation, etc., of regional jail facility.
§ 53.1-71.1. Private construction, operation, etc., of regional jail facility.
A. Any regional jail authority constituted pursuant to Article 3.1 (§53.1-95.2 et seq.) or 5 (§ 53.1-105 et seq.) of Chapter 3 of Title 53.1 maycontract with a private entity for the financing, site selection,acquisition, construction, maintenance, leasing, management, or operation ofa regional jail facility.
B. Any project authorized pursuant to subsection A of this section shall besubject to the requirements and limitations set out below:
1. Contracts entered into under the terms of this article shall be with anentity submitting an acceptable response pursuant to a request for proposals.An acceptable response shall be one which meets all the requirements in therequest for proposals. However, no contract for correctional services may beentered into unless the private contractor demonstrates that it has:
a. The qualifications, experience and management personnel necessary to carryout the terms of this contract;
b. The financial resources to provide indemnification for liability arisingfrom jail management projects;
c. Evidence of past performance of similar contracts; and
d. The ability to comply with all applicable federal and state constitutionalstandards; federal, state, and local laws; court orders; and correctionalstandards.
2. Contracts awarded under the provisions of this article, includingcontracts for the provision of correctional services or for the lease or useof public lands or buildings for use in the operation of facilities, may beentered into for a period of up to thirty years, subject to the requirementsfor expenditure of funds by the local governing bodies.
3. No contract for correctional services shall be entered into which wouldadversely affect the tax-exempt status of obligations issued or to be issuedto finance the facility, and unless the following requirements are met:
a. The contractor provides audited financial statements for the previous fiveyears or for each of the years the contractor has been in operation, if fewerthan five years, and provides other financial information as requested; and
b. The contractor provides an adequate plan of indemnification, specificallyincluding indemnity for civil rights claims. The indemnification plan shallbe adequate to protect the combination of counties or cities and publicofficials from all claims and losses incurred as a result of the contract.The indemnification plan shall include liability insurance in limits of notless than five million dollars. Nothing herein is intended to deprive aregional jail facility contractor or the combination of counties or cities ofthe benefits of any law limiting exposure to liability or setting a limit ondamages.
4. No contract for correctional services shall be executed unless:
a. The proposed contract has been reviewed and approved by the Board;
b. An appropriation for the services to be provided under the contract hasbeen expressly approved as is otherwise provided by law;
c. The correctional services proposed by the contract are of at least thesame quality as those routinely provided by a regional jail facility tosimilar types of inmates; and
d. An evaluation of the proposed contract demonstrates a cost benefit to thecombination of counties or cities when compared to alternative means ofproviding the services through governmental agencies.
(1994, c. 715.)