{Charleston, West Virginia}...The Legislative Oversight Committee on Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority endorsed several draft bills Sunday for the coming 60-day session of the West Virginia Legislature which begins Wednesday One measure would treat any sexual contact by an officer of an inmate as a felony. Consent could not be offered as a defense under the proposal, which exempts pat-downs and other types of searches. A second draft bill would allow prison administrators to punish inmates who file lawsuits found to be meritless, malicious or harassing. This measure would also apply when inmates file meritless complaints with professional licensing boards. Another draft bill would make it a felony to disarm or to try to disarm a correctional officer, amending a law that now aims to protect law-enforcement, probation and parole officers. The Legislature is also expected to tackle inmate crowding this session.
