§45-13-231. Jail canteen; inmate telephone system; Sheriff's Jail Fund.

(a) The Sheriff of Clarke County or the authorized agents of the sheriff may operate a jail canteen and inmate telephone system within the confines of the county jail to serve the needs of the jail population. After the costs and operating expenses are deducted from the income, excluding any income from fees paid for the boarding and feeding of prisoners, the net revenues shall be deposited in the Sheriff's Jail Fund.

(b)(1) The sheriff shall establish and maintain a Sheriff's Jail Fund in a bank located in Clarke County.

(2) The sheriff shall keep an account of all jail canteen and inmate telephone system sales and transactions and the Sheriff's Jail Fund for annual audit by the Department of Examiners of Public Accounts. The jail canteen and inmate telephone system account and fund shall be audited at the same time other accounts of the sheriff are audited. The Department of Examiners of Public Accounts shall submit a copy of the audit to the sheriff within 30 days of its completion.

(c) All profits realized in the operation of the jail canteen and inmate telephone system shall be expended at the discretion of the sheriff for salaries, equipment, and supplies for the county jail and other law enforcement purposes in Clarke County that are in the interest of the public.

(d) The establishment of the Sheriff's Jail Fund and the use of the proceeds shall not diminish or take the place of any other source of income established for the sheriff or the operation of the office.

(e) Any actions relating to the operation of a jail canteen and inmate telephone system in the county jail prior to May 6, 1998, are ratified and confirmed. Any existing proceeds derived from the operation of a jail canteen in the county jail prior to May 6, 1998, shall be deposited into the Sheriff's Jail Fund created by this section.

(Act 98-645, p. 1422, §§1-5.)