§25-5-4. Authority of the commissioner of the Division of Corrections; authority of secretary of department of public safety.

(a) The commissioner of the Division of Corrections shall promulgate rules, in accordance with chapter twenty-nine-a of this code, to implement the provisions of this article.

(b) The commissioner shall have the authority to recommend or to not recommend to the secretary that a prison vendor be granted the privilege of operating a prison facility in this state.

(c) The commissioner shall have the authority to issue notices of violations, assess penalties and proceed in the collection of money due the state by private contractors.

(d) The secretary of the department of public safety may, upon the recommendation of the commissioner, grant approval for a prison vendor to operate a private prison in this state.

(e) The commissioner shall have the authority to accept the custody of and to confine inmates from sentencing authorities located outside the State of West Virginia.

(f) The commissioner shall have the authority to expend funds contained in the private prison fund, established pursuant to subdivision (2), subsection (g), section eleven of this article, to cover any and all expenses incurred because of private prison operations within the state.