Bill Text: CA AB2632 | 2021-2022 | Regular Session | Amended
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Segregated confinement.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-0)
Status: (Vetoed) 2022-09-29 - Vetoed by Governor. [AB2632 Detail]
Download: California-2021-AB2632-Amended.html
which that also meet the standards of care of the type of facility.
Bill Title: Segregated confinement.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 11-0)
Status: (Vetoed) 2022-09-29 - Vetoed by Governor. [AB2632 Detail]
Download: California-2021-AB2632-Amended.html
|
Amended
IN
Assembly
March 31, 2022 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 2632
| Introduced by Assembly Member Holden (Coauthors: Assembly Members Mia Bonta, Carrillo, Lee, and Stone) (Coauthor: Senator Becker) |
February 18, 2022 |
An act to add Article 7 (commencing with Section 2697) to Chapter 4 of Title 1 of Part 3 of the Penal Code, relating to segregated confinement.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2632, as amended, Holden.
Segregated confinement.
Existing law establishes the state prisons under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Existing law places county jails under the jurisdiction of the sheriff for the confinement of persons sentenced to imprisonment for the conviction of a crime.
This bill would require every jail, prison, privately operated detention facility, and any facility in which individuals are subject to confinement or involuntary detention to develop and follow written procedures governing the management of segregated confinement, as specified. The bill would require those facilities to document the use of segregated confinement by, among other things, providing written orders of that confinement to the individual confined, as specified. The bill would prohibit those facilities from involuntarily placing an individual in segregated
confinement under specified conditions, if the individual belongs to a special population, including, among others, that the individual has a serious medical condition or needs that cannot be accommodated in solitary confinement disability or that the individual is under 18 27 years of age or over 60
49 years of age. The bill would require those facilities to place individuals in the least restrictive housing possible, and, when an individual is placed in segregated confinement, to provide specified notices to the facility’s medical or mental health professionals and to the individual’s appointed or retained legal representative, designated emergency contact, or legal guardian, as specified. The bill would require the facility to additionally periodically check on the individual and have a medical or mental health professional periodically assess the individual, and individual. This bill would require a facility to offer out-of-cell programming to individuals in segregated confinement for at least 4 hours per day, not
including time spent on housekeeping or in paid employment. The bill would also authorize a facility to use segregated confinement to help treat and protect against the spread of communicable diseases during a public health emergency, as defined.
This bill would prohibit the facility from holding an individual in segregated confinement for more than 15 consecutive days, 15 days in a 30-day time period without a written court order. period, 20 days in a 60-day period, or 45 days in a 180-day
period. This bill would also prohibit a facility from imposing limitations on services, treatment, or basic needs; conducting out-of-cell programming opportunities in a smaller cage or therapy module; placing an individual in segregated confinement on the basis of confidential information, as specified; using additional restraints beyond handcuffs when an individual is in segregated confinement; and using segregated confinement as a means of protecting an individual. This bill would require a facility administrator or chief physician to conduct a secondary review of a person in segregated confinement’s dispute regarding qualification in the special populations category and would require an independent evaluation by an unspecified entity. This bill would require facilities to create and publish monthly, semi-annual, and annual reports, as specified. The bill would require the California State Auditor to assess each facility’s compliance with the act, as specified. This bill would require local and state
authorities to promulgate regulations or directives to implement the act, where applicable. By imposing additional duties on county jails, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: YESBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Article 7 (commencing with Section 2697) is added to Chapter 4 of Title 1 of Part 3 of the Penal Code, to read:Article 7. Segregated Confinement
2697.
For the purposes of this article, all of the following terms have the following meanings:(a) “Facility” means any of the following facilities in California:
(1) Privately operated detention facilities.
(2) Jails and prisons.
(3) Any facility in which individuals are subject to confinement or involuntary detention.
(b) “Detention facility” means any facility in which persons are incarcerated or otherwise involuntarily confined for purposes of execution
of a punitive sentence imposed by a court or detention
pending a trial, hearing, or other judicial or administrative proceeding.
(c) “Private detention facility” means a detention facility that is operated by a private, nongovernmental, for-profit entity, and operating pursuant to a contract or agreement with a governmental entity.
(d) (1) “Segregated confinement” means the confinement of an individual in a special housing unit or in a separate keeplock housing unit, away from other individuals
an individual, in a cell or similarly confined holding or living space, alone or with other individuals, with severely restricted activity, movement, or social interaction for more than 17 hours a day other than in a facility-wide emergency or for the purpose of providing medical or mental health care. day.
(2) Segregated confinement is determined by time spent in a cell and access to social interaction.
(3) Segregated confinement does not apply to extraordinary, emergency circumstances that require a significant departure from normal
institutional operations, including a natural disaster or facilitywide threat that poses an imminent and substantial risk of harm. This exception applies for the shortest amount of time needed to address the imminent and substantial risk of harm.
(e) “Special populations” means any person who is 26 years of age or younger, not including persons protected by Section 208.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code; is 50 years of age or older; is with a disability; is pregnant; is in the first eight weeks of the postpartum recovery period after giving birth; has recently suffered a miscarriage or terminated a pregnancy; is lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or gender noncomforming; has experienced childhood trauma or trauma that otherwise contributed to their arrest, conviction, or detention pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (c) of Section 1385 of the Penal Code; or was arrested or convicted of an offense that was the
direct result of being a victim of intimate partner violence or sexual violence pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (6) of subdivision (c) of Section 1385 of the Penal Code.
(f) “Disability” includes mental disability and physical disability, as defined in Section 12926 of the Government Code, regardless of whether those disabilities are temporary, permanent, congenital, or acquired by heredity, accident, injury, advanced age, or illness.
(g) “Medical professional” means a licensed physician or nurse practitioner.
(h) “Mental health professional” means someone who makes mental health evaluations and is a licensed psychiatrist, psychologist, or an advanced practice nurse or clinical nurse specialist with a specialty in psychiatric nursing.
(i) “Public health emergency” means a federal Public Health Emergency declaration made pursuant to Section 247d of Title 42 of the United States Code.
2697.2.
(a) Every facility shall develop and follow written procedures governing the management of segregated confinement(b) Every facility shall document the use of segregated confinement, including, but not limited to, through all of the following procedures:
(1) A written order shall be completed and approved by the facility administrator or designee within 24 hours of a
person being placed in segregated confinement.
(2) The order shall be provided to the individual within 24 hours of placement in administrative segregation, segregated confinement, and its contents communicated to them in a language or manner the individual can understand.
(3) A clear and consistent log shall be kept, detailing the time spent in segregated confinement, confinement and the necessary compliance with the standards required for
that confinement.
(4) The written records required by this subdivision shall be maintained by the facility and updated daily.
(5)The written records required by this subdivision shall be considered a public record and shall be subject to public inspection and copying pursuant to the California Public Records Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 6250) of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code).
(c) A facility shall not involuntarily place an individual in segregated confinement, including for disciplinary reasons, if the
individual meets any of the following conditions: belongs to a special population.
(1)The individual is diagnosed with a serious mental health disorder or is exhibiting self-harm, disorientation, deterioration of hygiene, elevated, anxious, agitated, or unresponsive mood, or other behavior indicating the presence of a serious mental health disorder or other evidence that an individual is experiencing a mental health crisis.
(2)The individual has a significant auditory or visual condition.
(3)The individual is pregnant or in the postpartum period.
(4)The individual is significantly neurocognitively impaired, including by dementia or a traumatic brain injury.
(5)The individual has a serious medical condition or needs
related to a physical disability that cannot be accommodated in solitary confinement.
(6)The individual is under 18 years of age or over 60 years of age.
(7)The individual has an intellectual or developmental disability.
(d) All facilities shall place individuals in the least restrictive housing possible. An individual may only be placed in segregated confinement if there is no other less restrictive option.
(e) When an individual is placed in segregated confinement, the facility shall do all of the
following:
(1) Document the facts and circumstances that led to placing the individual into segregated confinement.
(2) Notify its medical or mental health professionals in writing within 12 hours of placing an individual in segregated confinement.
(3) Notify the individual’s appointed or retained legal representative, designated emergency contact, or legal guardian within 12 hours of the individual’s involuntary placement and removal in segregated confinement.
(4) At least twice per hour, check on the individual involuntarily placed in segregated confinement. If the individual is demonstrating unusual or bizarre
behavior, or has indicated suicidality or self-harm, the facility shall monitor the individual every 15 minutes or more frequently, unless a medical or mental health professional recommends more or less frequent checks.
(5) Every 24 hours, have a medical or mental health professional assess the individual involuntarily placed in segregated confinement and have a mental health professional assess the individual every 48 hours for ongoing placement in segregated confinement.
(6) Provide the individual a clear explanation of the reason the individual has been placed in segregated confinement, the monitoring procedures that the facility will employ to check the individual, and
the date and the time when the individual’s next court date is, and the behavioral criteria the individual must demonstrate to be released from segregated confinement. where applicable. This explanation shall be provided to the individual in writing, in a language or manner the individual can understand, within 24 hours of placement in segregated confinement.
(7) Supply the individual with basic hygiene and sanitation necessities, including, but not limited to, access to a shower, toilet, adequate nutrition, exchanges of clean clothing, bedding, and linen, linen; access to writing letters and receiving letters, reading materials, legal materials, programs and services, and their legal representative; opportunities for visitation, access to legal materials, access to reading materials,
visitation;
a minimum of one hour of outdoor exercise 5 five days a week outside of the cell, telephone privileges, and access to programs and services. cell; and telephone privileges.
(f) A facility shall not hold an individual in segregated confinement for more than 15 days
consecutive days, and no more than 15 days in a 30-day time period without a written court order. period, 20 days in a 60-day period, or 45 days in a 180-day period.
(g) A facility shall impose no limitation on services, treatment, or basic needs, such as clothing, food, and bedding, as a form of punishment. If provision of any of those services, treatment, or basic needs to an individual would create a significant and unreasonable risk to the safety and security of staff or other persons held in the facility, a facility may withhold the services, treatment, or basic needs until it reasonably appears that the risk
has ended. The facility shall not impose restricted diets or any other change in diet as a form of punishment.
(h) A facility shall offer out-of-cell programming to persons in segregated confinement at least four hours per day, including at least one hour for recreation. Persons in segregated confinement shall be offered programming led by program or therapeutic staff, comparable to persons in the general population. All other out-of-cell time may include peer-led programs, time in a day room or out-of-cell recreation area with other people, congregate meals, volunteer programs, or other congregate activities. Time spent on housekeeping or in paid employment shall not be considered out-of-cell programming.
(i) A facility shall not conduct out-of-cell programming opportunities in a smaller cage or therapy module.
(j) A facility shall not place a person in segregated confinement solely on the basis of confidential information considered by the facility operator but not provided to the individual placed in segregated confinement or included in required records. A facility shall not place a person in segregated confinement solely on the basis of being lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or gender noncomforming.
(k) A facility shall not use additional shackles, legcuffs, double lock leg irons, or other restrictive means beyond handcuffs when an individual is in segregated confinement, including, but not limited to, transportation to recreation, program, and other services.
(l) No facility shall send a person to segregated confinement as means of protection from the rest of the detained population or alternative means of separation from a likely abuser. If an individual fears for
their safety, the facility shall transfer them to a more appropriate custody unit that is not segregated confinement, including, but not limited to, a single cell that is not segregated confinement, a different section of the facility, or a sensitive needs yard. Placement in these alternative forms of custody shall give full access to out-of-cell time, programming, and all other services available to the rest of the detained population.
(m) (1) If a person in segregated confinement disputes a decision made by facility staff or facility medical professionals regarding qualification in the special populations category, the person may request and receive a secondary review of the determination.
(2) The facility administrator or chief physician shall conduct the secondary review, as appropriate.
(3) The secondary review shall include an independent evaluation by ____.
(n) In case of a public health emergency, a facility may use segregated confinement for medical isolation purposes, to treat and protect against the spread of a communicable disease for the shortest amount of time required to reduce the risk of infection, in accordance with state and federal public health guidance, with the written approval of a licensed physician or nurse practitioner.
(o) (1) A facility shall create a monthly report, on the first day of each month, as well as semi-annual and annual cumulative reports. A facility shall make the reports available to the public by posting them to the facility’s internet website.
(2) The reports shall provide a breakdown of the number of people in segregated
confinement by age, race, gender, mental health treatment level, special health accommodations or needs, need for and participation in substance use disorder programs, pregnancy status, number of days in segregated confinement, a list of all incidents resulting in sanctions of segregated confinement by facility and date of occurrence, and the number of incarcerated persons in segregated confinement by facility.
(p) The California State Auditor shall assess each correctional facility’s compliance with this article, relating to segregated confinement and shall issue a public report, no less than annually, with recommendations to the Legislature regarding all aspects of segregated confinement in correctional facilities, including, but not limited to, policies and practices concerning placement of persons in segregated confinement; special populations; length of time spent in segregated confinement; hearings and procedures; programs, treatment, and
conditions of confinement in segregated confinement; and assessments and rehabilitation plans, procedures, and discharge determinations.
(q) Local and state authorities shall promulgate regulations or directives implementing this article, where applicable.
(g)
(r) This section does not remove or reduce the requirements on health care facilities contained in Sections 70577, 71545, 72407, 72409, 72411, 72413, 73403, 73405, 73407, and 73409 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.
