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HCS/SCS/SB 44 - This act creates new requirements for private jails. Private jails are facilities not owned or operated by the state, a county, or a municipality that confine or detain prisoners who are awaiting trial, awaiting sentencing, or serving a sentence in jail. When an employee of a private jail has reasonable cause to believe that a felony has been committed at the private jail, he or she shall promptly, upon learning of the event, report it to the supervisor on duty. The administrator shall, in a timely manner, refer all reports to local, state, or county law enforcement with jurisdiction. The administrator and employees shall cooperate in the investigation of the facts alleged in the report insofar as is consistent with the constitutional rights of all parties involved. In the event that a prisoner is missing, the private jail shall take prompt and reasonable action to discover where the prisoner has escaped. Upon learning such an escape has occurred, the private jail shall promptly notify law enforcement and provide them with all available information known about the escape and the escapee. It shall be an infraction, subject to a civil penalty of not less than one hundred dollars but not more than one thousand dollars, for any person or company to willfully fail to make a report required by this act. The action to recover such penalty shall be a civil action brought by the county attorney in the name of the county where the report was required to be made. Except for such infraction, Section 221.095 and 221.097, RSMo, shall not create any new civil cause of action. Any person who makes a report, or who testifies in an administrative or judicial proceeding arising from the report, shall be immune from any civil or criminal liability for making such a report or for testifying, unless the person acted with malice. Persons confined in private jails shall be separated and confined by gender. Persons confined under civil process or for civil causes shall be kept separate from people confined regarding criminal matters. The administrator shall arrange for necessary health care services and provide adequate clothing, food, and bedding, for those persons confined in the private jail. Deprivation of such items shall not be used as a disciplinary action against a confined person. No person confined in a private jail shall be used in any manner for the profit, betterment, or personal gain of any county or private jail employee. Any law enforcement investigation of a report regarding necessary health care or use of a confined person for profit or gain shall be concluded in a timely manner and a written report shall be provided to the private jail. SUSAN HENDERSON MOORE
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