§850.4. Powers and duties of commission

A. The Union Parish Detention Center Commission shall be keeper of the Union Parish Detention Center, and the sheriff of Union Parish is hereby specifically relieved of that duty in his official capacity as sheriff.

B. Any other provision of law to the contrary notwithstanding, upon relinquishing the custody of any prisoner, to any legally authorized agency, department, or body politic, neither the Union Parish Detention Center nor the commission shall be responsible for the care, conduct, or control of such prisoner until his custody is returned to the Union Parish Detention Center and the commission, or the agents or employees of either. The responsibility for the care, conduct, and control of such prisoner in such cases shall be transferred to the agency, department, or body politic to which custody of the prisoner has been relinquished.

C. The Union Parish Detention Center Commission shall be responsible for the physical maintenance of the Union Parish Detention Center, and the Union Parish Police Jury is hereby specifically relieved of that duty in its official capacity as the governing authority of Union Parish.

D. The Union Parish Detention Center Commission shall have all other powers and duties of the sheriff or governing authority of a parish heretofore or hereafter provided by law for equipping, maintaining, operating, or supporting the public jail of a parish and the prisoners therein, which powers and duties include, but are not limited to the following:

(1) Adopting all rules and regulations necessary and proper for the governance and maintenance of proper operations and conduct of the Union Parish Detention Center and the prisoners thereof.

(2) Appointing and employing all necessary superintendents, corrections officers, and other appropriate personnel, and fixing their salaries and adopting appropriate personnel policies and guidelines, which shall include policies and procedures for discipline and, if necessary, termination.

(3) Authorizing and permitting the use of prisoners of the Union Parish Detention Center to maintain road rights of way, not to include construction, within the Parish of Union and remove litter on public grounds, all under the supervision of the Union Parish Police Jury or other appropriate authorities when such prisoners are committed for such purposes by appropriate courts.

(4) Creating, establishing, and conducting work release programs in accordance with law.

(5) Creating, establishing, and conducting any and all programs, including vocational, rehabilitative, and corrective, not inconsistent with law and consistent with the purposes of this Part.

E. Any construction project undertaken under the auspices of this Part shall be performed in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 38:2212.

Acts 1989, No. 539, §1.