§15A-8-1. Powers and authority of the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority Board; continuation of the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority Board; payment of bonds; appeal of per diem rate.

(a) The Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority Board is continued, as follows:

(1) The powers and authority of the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority Board, in relation to all functions of correctional operations, are hereby abolished, and these powers and authority are transferred to the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation as of July 1, 2018. The Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority Board shall only retain the powers as now outlined in this chapter. Where reference in this code is made to the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority, in relation to operations of any of the regional jails, it shall be construed to mean the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

(2) The following powers and authority of the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Board are hereby specifically abolished:

(A) To mortgage or otherwise grant security interests in its property;

(B) To borrow money and to issue its negotiable bonds, security interests, or notes and to provide for and secure the payment thereof, and to provide for the rights of the holders thereof, and to purchase, hold, and dispose of any of its bonds, security interests, or notes;

(C) To sell, at public or private sale, any bond or other negotiable instrument, security interest or obligation of the authority in a manner and upon terms that the authority considers would best serve the purposes of this article;

(D) To issue its bonds, security interests, and notes payable solely from the revenues or other funds available to the authority therefor; and the authority may issue its bonds, security interests, or notes in those principal amounts as it considers necessary to provide funds for any purposes under this article, including:

(i) The payment, funding, or refunding of the principal of, interest on, or redemption premiums on, any bonds, security interests, or notes issued by it whether the bonds, security interests, notes, or interest to be funded or refunded have or have not become due; and

(ii) The establishment or increase of reserves to secure or to pay bonds, security interests, notes, or the interest thereon and all other costs or expenses of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation incident to and necessary or convenient to carry out its purposes and powers. Any bonds, security interests, or notes may be additionally secured by a pledge of any revenues, funds, assets, or moneys of the authority from any source whatsoever;

(E) To issue renewal notes or security interests, to issue bonds to pay notes or security interests and, whenever it considers refunding expedient, to refund any bonds by the issuance of new bonds, whether the bonds to be refunded have or have not matured except that no renewal notes shall be issued to mature more than 10 years from date of issuance of the notes renewed and no refunding bonds may be issued to mature more than 25 years from the date of issuance;

(F) To apply the proceeds from the sale of renewal notes, security interests, or refunding bonds to the purchase, redemption, or payment of the notes, security interests, or bonds to be refunded; and

(G) To sell security interests in the loan portfolio of the authority. The security interests shall be evidenced by instruments issued by the authority.

(3) The powers and duties of the board in relation to paying the current bond series, designated as The State Building Commission of West Virginia Lease Revenue Refunding Bonds (West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority) Series 1998A, Series 1998B, and Series 1998C are specifically continued. The board, however, may not reissue these bonds, renegotiate the terms of the current bonds, or refinance these bonds. There is hereby created in the State Treasury a Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Board Fund. The fund shall be controlled by the board, and shall be utilized for the sole purpose of payment of the outstanding bond series as provided above. The Commissioner of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation shall, on or before the fifth day of every month, transfer to this fund the amount necessary for the monthly payment of the bond, as set forth by the yearly communication from the creditor of the bonds. Further, on the effective date of this section, the commissioner shall transfer to this fund the reserve amount required by the bonds. On the date that the bonds are satisfied in full, these obligations shall cease, and any funds left in the board fund shall be transferred to the Commissioner of the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation: Provided, That the funds can only be used in the manner directed or established by the board. Further, the board retains the authority to be able, and with consent of the Secretary of the Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, to the extent permitted under its contracts with the holders of bonds, security interests, or notes of the authority, consent to any modification of the rate of interest, time of payment of any installment of principal or interest, security or any other term of any bond, security interest, note, or contract or agreement of any kind to which the authority is a party.

(4) The Regional Jail Authority shall review the per diem cost set by the state Budget Office, pursuant to §15A-3-16 of this code. If the authority believes that the amount set by the state Budget Office is incorrect, or that the amounts submitted by the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation include more than what should be attributed to the efficient operation of jail facilities and units, the authority may institute an action in regard to this pursuant to §29A-5-1 et seq. of this code.

(5) The Regional Jail Authority retains the ability to sue, as defined in this article, and to be sued.

(b) Where reference in this article is made to the “division”, it shall mean the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.