§25-1A-2 Mandatory exhaustion of administrative remedies. - West Virginia Statutes

§25-1A-2. Mandatory exhaustion of administrative remedies.
(a) An inmate may not bring a civil action until the administrative remedies promulgated by the facility have been exhausted: Provided, That the remedies promulgated by the facility will be deemed completed within sixty days from the date the inmate filed his or her initial complaint if the inmate fully complied with the requirements for filing and appealing the administrative complaint.

(b) The commissioner of the division of corrections and the executive director of the regional jail authority are authorized to establish administrative procedures for processing inmate complaints concerning food quality, health care, nonviolent or nonsexual conduct of employees or contractors of the division of corrections or regional jail authority, loss of privileges and other general complaints about daily living conditions which do not directly and seriously concern an inmate's physical health or security. The proposed joint legislative rule required by the prior enactment of this subsection shall be withdrawn. The commissioner and the executive director shall, by the thirty-first day of January, two thousand one, each file a procedural rule in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code to meet the requirements of this subsection. The public comment period conducted for the proposed legislative rule shall serve as the public comment period required by section five, article three, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.

(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code, no inmate shall be prevented from filing an appeal of his or her conviction or bringing a civil or criminal action alleging past, current or imminent physical or sexual abuse; if such a civil or criminal action is ultimately dismissed by a judge as frivolous, then the inmate shall pay the filing costs associated with the civil or criminal action as provided for in this article.