25-1-105. Powers of department; care of persons committed outside of state.

(a) The department of corrections shall adopt rules and regulations necessary to carry out its functions. The promulgation of substantive rules by the department, the conduct of its hearings and its final decisions are specifically exempt from all provisions of the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act including the provisions for judicial review under W.S. 16-3-114 and 16-3-115. The department's rules shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state.

(b) The department may enter into contracts with the federal government or other states for the care of persons committed outside of Wyoming.

(c) Subject to subsection (d) of this section, the department may, to obtain demonstrable cost savings or better quality of services, contract with private service providers or with other agencies for any of the following services to be provided for inmates of any state adult penal institution:

(i) Education, training and jobs programs;

(ii) Recreational and religious activities;

(iii) Development and implementation assistance for classification, management information systems or other information systems or services;

(iv) Medical services;

(v) Food services, commissary, transportation, sanitation or other ancillary services; and

(vi) Counseling, special treatment programs or other programs for special needs.

(d) The department shall by rule and regulation impose upon services contracted pursuant to paragraph (c)(i) of this section limitations on competition with the private sector and ensure contracted services do not significantly displace employed workers within the community.

(e) The department of corrections may enter into contracts and agreements with any county for the confinement and maintenance in county jails of persons sentenced to the custody of the department of corrections to serve a term of imprisonment in a state penal institution. The department may enter into contracts and agreements with other states, including those which are not party to the Western Interstate Corrections Compact, with the federal government, with other governmental entities and with private owners and operators of correctional facilities in other states, for the confinement and maintenance of persons sentenced to the custody of the department to serve a term of imprisonment in a state penal institution. The department shall establish rules and regulations regarding the minimum standards for such facilities and standards for the care and treatment of department of correction's inmates incarcerated therein.