NCJ Number
79284
Date Published
1980
Length
146 pages
Annotation
Statutes in seven States which affect correctional industries are analyzed, as part of a study to assess the social and economic effects of a program which replicates private-sector characteristics in a correctional setting.
Abstract
The framework used for the legal analysis is built upon the economic goals of the Free Venture prison industry model. Simplifying these goals results in a two-layered model for describing the prison industries structure: (1) a layer of 'input' laws relating not only to how the industry produces goods or services, but also parent agency goals and authorities; and a layer of 'output' laws relating to the products themselves, the goods or services, the participating inmates, and the respective markets. The scope for the analyses includes direct prison industry legislation and laws affecting industry output, including general correctional laws and general government laws specifying how any State agency operates or regulating how inmates and ex-inmates are to be treated in the labor market. The analyses are divided into three parts, of which the first two are discussed herein. The first part provides a comparative base for the evaluation by bringing together by topic several approaches to prison industries and related legislation. The second section provides a commentary and an analysis of specific legal issues common to all the States surveyed (Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, South Carolina, and Washington), such as the application of minimum wage laws to inmates employed in prison industries. For volume 2 of this report, see NCJ 79285. (Author summary modified)