Dignity Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2034 To improve the treatment of Federal prisoners who are primary caretaker parents, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 2, 2019 Ms. JAYAPAL (for herself and Ms. BASS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To improve the treatment of Federal prisoners who are primary caretaker parents, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Dignity for Incarcer- 4 ated Women Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘Dignity Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2034.IH H2034 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •HR 2034 IH SEC. 2. IMPROVING THE TREATMENT OF PRIMARY CARE- 1 TAKER PARENTS AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS 2 IN FEDERAL PRISONS. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 303 of title 18, United 4 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol- 5 lowing: 6 ‘‘§ 4051. Treatment of primary caretaker parents and 7 other individuals 8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 9 ‘‘(1) the term ‘correctional officer’ means a cor- 10 rectional officer of the Bureau of Prisons; 11 ‘‘(2) the term ‘covered institution’ means a 12 Federal penal or correctional institution; 13 ‘‘(3) the term ‘Director’ means the Director of 14 the Bureau of Prisons; 15 ‘‘(4) the term ‘post-partum recovery’ has the 16 meaning given the term ‘postpartum recovery’ in 17 section 4322; 18 ‘‘(5) the term ‘primary caretaker parent’ has 19 the meaning given the term in section 31903 of the 20 Family Unity Demonstration Project Act (34 U.S.C. 21 12242); 22 ‘‘(6) the term ‘prisoner’ means an individual 23 who is incarcerated in a covered institution, includ- 24 ing a vulnerable person; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2034.IH H2034 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •HR 2034 IH ‘‘(7) the term ‘vulnerable person’ means an in- 1 dividual who— 2 ‘‘(A) is under 21 years of age or over 60 3 years of age; 4 ‘‘(B) is pregnant; 5 ‘‘(C) identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual, 6 transgender, or intersex; 7 ‘‘(D) is victim of or witness to a crime; 8 ‘‘(E) has filed a nonfrivolous civil rights 9 claim in Federal or State court; 10 ‘‘(F) has a serious mental or physical ill- 11 ness or disability; or 12 ‘‘(G) during the period of incarceration, 13 has been determined to have experienced or to 14 be experiencing severe trauma or to be the vic- 15 tim of gender-based violence— 16 ‘‘(i) by any court or administrative ju- 17 dicial proceeding; 18 ‘‘(ii) by any corrections official; 19 ‘‘(iii) by the individual’s attorney or 20 legal service provider; or 21 ‘‘(iv) by the individual. 22 ‘‘(b) VISITATION RULES.—The Director shall pro- 23 mulgate regulations for visitation between prisoners who 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2034.IH H2034 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •HR 2034 IH are primary caretaker parents and their family members 1 under which— 2 ‘‘(1) a prisoner may receive visits not fewer 3 than 6 days per week, which shall include Saturday 4 and Sunday; 5 ‘‘(2) a Federal penal or correctional institution 6 shall be open for visitation for not fewer than 8 7 hours per day; 8 ‘‘(3) a prisoner may have up to 5 adult visitors 9 and an unlimited number of child visitors per visit; 10 and 11 ‘‘(4) a prisoner may have physical contact with 12 visitors unless the prisoner presents an immediate 13 physical danger to the visitors. 14 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON PLACEMENT OF PREGNANT 15 PRISONERS OR PRISONERS IN POST-PARTUM RECOVERY 16 IN SEGREGATED HOUSING UNITS.— 17 ‘‘(1) PLACEMENT IN SEGREGATED HOUSING 18 UNITS.—A covered institution may not place a pris- 19 oner who is pregnant or in post-partum recovery in 20 a segregated housing unit unless the prisoner pre- 21 sents an immediate risk of harm to the prisoner or 22 others. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2034.IH H2034 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •HR 2034 IH ‘‘(2) RESTRICTIONS.—Any placement of a pris- 1 oner described in subparagraph (A) in a segregated 2 housing unit shall be limited and temporary. 3 ‘‘(d) PARENTING CLASSES.—The Director shall pro- 4 vide parenting classes to each prisoner who is a primary 5 caretaker parent. 6 ‘‘(e) TRAUMA SCREENING.—The Director shall pro- 7 vide training to each correctional officer and each em- 8 ployee of the Bureau of Prisons who regularly interacts 9 with prisoners, including each instructor and healthcare 10 professional, to enable those correctional officers and em- 11 ployees to— 12 ‘‘(1) identify a prisoner who has a mental or 13 physical health need relating to trauma the prisoner 14 has experienced; and 15 ‘‘(2) refer a prisoner described in paragraph (1) 16 to the proper healthcare professional for treatment. 17 ‘‘(f) OMBUDSMAN.—The Attorney General shall des- 18 ignate an ombudsman to oversee and monitor, with re- 19 spect to Federal penal and correctional institutions— 20 ‘‘(1) prisoner transportation; 21 ‘‘(2) use of segregated housing; 22 ‘‘(3) strip searches of prisoners; and 23 ‘‘(4) civil rights violations. 24 ‘‘(g) TELECOMMUNICATIONS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2034.IH H2034 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •HR 2034 IH ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Director— 1 ‘‘(A) may not charge a fee for a telephone 2 call made by a prisoner; and 3 ‘‘(B) shall make videoconferencing avail- 4 able to prisoners in each Federal penal or cor- 5 rectional institution free of charge. 6 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 7 paragraph (1)(B) shall be construed to authorize the 8 Director to use videoconferencing as a substitute for 9 in-person visits. 10 ‘‘(h) INMATE HEALTH.— 11 ‘‘(1) HEALTHCARE ACCESS.—The Director shall 12 ensure that all prisoners receive adequate healthcare. 13 ‘‘(2) HEALTHCARE PRODUCTS.— 14 ‘‘(A) AVAILABILITY.—The Director shall 15 make the healthcare products described in sub- 16 paragraph (C) available to prisoners for free, in 17 a quantity that is appropriate to the healthcare 18 needs of each prisoner. 19 ‘‘(B) QUALITY OF PRODUCTS.—The Direc- 20 tor shall ensure that the healthcare products 21 provided under this paragraph conform with ap- 22 plicable industry standards. 23 ‘‘(C) PRODUCTS.—The healthcare products 24 described in this subparagraph are— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2034.IH H2034 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •HR 2034 IH ‘‘(i) tampons; 1 ‘‘(ii) sanitary napkins; 2 ‘‘(iii) moisturizing soap, which may 3 not be lye-based; 4 ‘‘(iv) shampoo; 5 ‘‘(v) body lotion; 6 ‘‘(vi) Vaseline; 7 ‘‘(vii) toothpaste; 8 ‘‘(viii) toothbrushes; 9 ‘‘(ix) aspirin; 10 ‘‘(x) ibuprofen; and 11 ‘‘(xi) any other healthcare product 12 that the Director determines appropriate. 13 ‘‘(3) GYNECOLOGIST ACCESS.—The Director 14 shall ensure that all prisoners have access to a gyne- 15 cologist as appropriate. 16 ‘‘(i) USE OF SEX-APPROPRIATE CORRECTIONAL OF- 17 FICERS.— 18 ‘‘(1) REGULATIONS.—The Director shall make 19 rules under which— 20 ‘‘(A) a correctional officer may not conduct 21 a strip search of a prisoner of the opposite sex 22 unless— 23 ‘‘(i) the prisoner presents a risk of 24 immediate harm to the prisoner or others, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2034.IH H2034 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •HR 2034 IH and no other correctional officer of the 1 same sex as the prisoner, or medical staff, 2 is available to assist; or 3 ‘‘(ii) the prisoner has previously re- 4 quested that an officer of a different sex 5 conduct searches; 6 ‘‘(B) a correctional officer may not enter a 7 restroom reserved for prisoners of the opposite 8 sex unless— 9 ‘‘(i) a prisoner in the restroom pre- 10 sents a risk of immediate harm to the pris- 11 oner or others; or 12 ‘‘(ii) there is a medical emergency in 13 the restroom and no other correctional offi- 14 cer of the appropriate sex is available to 15 assist; 16 ‘‘(C) a transgender prisoner’s sex shall be 17 determined according to the sex with which the 18 prisoner identifies; and 19 ‘‘(D) a correctional officer may not search 20 or physically examine a prisoner for the sole 21 purpose of determining the prisoner’s genital 22 status or sex. 23 ‘‘(2) RELATION TO OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in 24 paragraph (1) shall be construed to affect the re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2034.IH H2034 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •HR 2034 IH quirements under the Prison Rape Elimination Act 1 of 2003 (34 U.S.C. 30301 et seq.).’’. 2 (b) SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT.—Section 3 3621(e) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 4 adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(7) ELIGIBILITY OF PRIMARY CARETAKER 6 PARENTS AND PREGNANT WOMEN.—The Director of 7 the Bureau of Prisons may not prohibit an eligible 8 prisoner who is a primary caretaker parent (as de- 9 fined in section 4051) or pregnant from partici- 10 pating in a program of residential substance abuse 11 treatment provided under paragraph (1) on the basis 12 of a failure by the eligible prisoner, before being 13 committed to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons, 14 to disclose to any official of the Bureau of Prisons 15 that the eligible prisoner had a substance abuse 16 problem on or before the date on which the eligible 17 prisoner was committed to the custody of the Bu- 18 reau of Prisons.’’. 19 (c) IMPLEMENTATION REPORT.—Not later than 1 20 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Director 21 of the Bureau of Prisons shall submit to the Committee 22 on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the 23 Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report on the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2034.IH H2034 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •HR 2034 IH implementation of this section and the amendments made 1 by this section. 2 (d) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 3 (1) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table of sections 4 for chapter 303 of title 18, United States Code, is 5 amended by adding at the end the following: 6 ‘‘4051. Treatment of primary caretaker parents and other individuals.’’. (2) HEALTHCARE PRODUCTS.—Section 611 of 7 the First Step Act of 2018 (Public Law 115–391; 8 132 Stat. 5194) is repealed. 9 SEC. 3. OVERNIGHT VISIT PILOT PROGRAM. 10 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 11 (1) the term ‘‘Director’’ means the Director of 12 the Bureau of Prisons; 13 (2) the term ‘‘primary caretaker parent’’ has 14 the meaning given the term in section 31903 of the 15 Family United Demonstration Project Act (34 16 U.S.C. 12242); and 17 (3) the term ‘‘prisoner’’ means an individual 18 who is incarcerated in a Federal penal or correc- 19 tional institution. 20 (b) PILOT PROGRAM.—The Director shall carry out 21 a pilot program under which prisoners who are primary 22 caretaker parents and meet eligibility criteria established 23 by the Director may receive overnight visits from family 24 members. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2034.IH H2034 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •HR 2034 IH (c) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—In establishing eligi- 1 bility criteria for the pilot program under subsection (b), 2 the Director shall— 3 (1) require that a prisoner have displayed good 4 behavior; and 5 (2) prohibit participation by any prisoner who 6 has been convicted of a crime of violence (as defined 7 in section 16 of title 18, United States Code). 8 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:39 Apr 13, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2034.IH H2034 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS