SB 104-10: Treating Incarcerated Persons Humanely Act (Passed)

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Here is an amendment to expand on this bill a little while keeping spending restrained. This amendment is really in the spirit of mainstream criminal justice reform activists: essentially, it will be government policy to shift state and regional administrative funding towards better quality prisons, as we've seen in the Nordic countries, by establishing reasonable standards of privacy and dignity for the people we want to rehabilitate via our mental health system. The savings will be realized as recidivism rates decrease and that will allow us to divest further funding toward fundamentally transforming the Atlasian prison system.

We'll still need to increasing spending, but more restricted or conditioned usage of those funds will help us meet our targets.

A BILL FOR AN ACT
improving on the inhumane conditions of Atlasian prisons,

BE IT ENACTED BY THE SENATE RESOLVED.

Section 1, TITLE AND DEFINITIONS.
1. The official title of this Act shall be, the “Treating Incarcerated Persons Humanely Act.”
2. This Act may also be officially referred to by its acronym, “TIPHA.”
3. Using the International Phonetic Alphabet, the acronym mentioned in §1.2 of this Act shall be pronounced as /’taɪ fʌ/ (TYE-fuh).
4. The laws and terms enacted by this Act shall apply to all prisons under the authority of the Republic of Atlasia, regardless of whether or not it operates on a local, state, regional, federal, or miscellaneous level.

Section 2, AIR CONDITIONING AND TEMPERATURE CONTROL.
1. All prisons are mandated to install air conditioning systems within their prisons that shall adequately reach all rooms and cells within the housing and dining areas of a prison.
2. It is the responsibility of the prison in question to ensure that no cell or room rises above eighty-five degrees Fahrenheit.
3. No prison in Atlasia shall operate a fan within the vicinity of an incarcerated individual’s cell should the heat index of the prison exceed ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit.
4. If an inmate experiences any symptoms of heatstroke mentioned in §2.4a-h of this Act, they shall be entitled to a temperature check via rectal thermometer, should they request it.
    a. High body temperature.
    b. Altered mental state or behavior (including confusion, agitation, slurred speech, irritability, delirium, seizures and/or coma).
    c. Alteration in sweating.
    d. Nausea and/or vomiting.
    e. Flushed skin.
    f. Rapid breathing.
    g. Racing heart rate.
    h. Headache.
5. Should an inmate receive a temperature rating exceeding one-hundred-and-four degrees Fahrenheit via a rectal thermometer reading requested via the means of §2.4 of this Act, prison officials or staff must immediately contact local emergency medical services to treat a potential heatstroke.
6. All medication prescribed to inmates shall be kept in a location between the temperatures of fifty-nine degrees Fahrenheit and seventy-seven degrees Fahrenheit.
    a. Should a specific medication be prescribed and/or instructed by a medical official to be stored in a location outside of this temperature range, it is exempt from this Act and advised to be stored in a manner as prescribed.
7. Should a prison's air conditioning system not work or be under maintenance, an electric fan must be present in every inmate's cell, unless its presence violates §2.3 of this Act.

Section 3, TIPHA AIR CONDITIONING MAINTENANCE AND INSTALLATION FUND.
1. This act shall establish the TIPHA Air Conditioning Maintenance and Installation Fund, or TACMIF.
    a. TACMIF shall allocate the money given to it every fiscal year to prisons in order to cover the installation of air conditioning units in Atlasian prisons to ensure they satisfy §2.1 and §2.2 of this Act.
    b. Any prison in Atlasia shall apply on or before September 5 before the start of a new fiscal year to receive TACMIF funding.
    c. TACMIF shall allocate its funds proportionally to each Atlasian prison based on their prison populations on the date of application.
    d. $X shall be allocated from Atlasia’s Budget for FY2022 in order to accommodate for TACMIF during that fiscal year.
    e. $Y shall be allocated from Atlasia’s Budget for FY2023 and beyond in order to cover all expenses after September 30, 2022.
    f. Anyone who is better at writing fiscal policy than I am is invited to elaborate on and fix this messy, incomplete section.

Section 4, REGIONAL AND STATE APPROPRIATIONS

1. At least 50% of all Regional and State grants for administration of justice must be allocated for the installment and structural reform of prisons to accommodate for enhancements to privacy and individual autonomy of inmates.
2. The Department of Justice shall be tasked with coordinating with Regional and State governments on health, environmental, and rehabilitative strategies for the purpose of lowering recidivism incidents.

Section 5, WAGES AND GOODS.
1. No prison inmate shall be required to perform manual labor without being paid a wage higher than or equal to 75% (seventy-five per cent) of the federal minimum wage.
2. No prison shall charge inmates for the usage of toiletries or personal hygiene products.

Section 6, THE RAINBOW CONNECTION(S BETWEEN INMATES AND THE OUTSIDE WORLD).
1. No entity that facilitates financial transactions shall charge transaction fees any higher than 6% (six per cent) for transactions between inmates and non-incarcerated visitors.
2. No telecommunications service or prison, whether in-person or virtual, shall charge inmates to communicate with a visitor for up to one hour per day.
3. No telecommunications service or prison, whether in-person or virtual, shall charge inmates any more than ten cents per minute to communicate with a visitor for any visit extending over one hour.
4. No telecommunications service shall mandate the removal of in-person visitation at a prison within a contract with the prison in question.
5. No telecommunication service or prison shall insert any sound effect into the middle of a phone call that does not voluntarily come from the inmate or their visitor.

Section 7, MISCELLANEOUS REGULATION.
1. No prison or government entity shall spend any more than 5% (five per cent) of a given inmate welfare fund on anything that does not directly benefit the wellbeing of prison inmates.
2. Except as provided in §6.3 of this Act, beginning on the date on which pregnancy is confirmed by a healthcare professional, and ending at the conclusion of postpartum recovery, a prisoner in the custody of a prison under the authority of the Republic of Atlasia, shall not be placed in restraints.
3. The prohibition under §6.2 of this Act shall not apply if—
    a. an appropriate corrections official, or a United States marshal, as applicable, makes a determination that the prisoner—
        i. is an immediate and credible flight risk that cannot reasonably be prevented by other means; or
        ii. poses an immediate and serious threat of harm to herself or others that cannot reasonably be prevented by other means; or
    b. a healthcare professional responsible for the health and safety of the prisoner determines that the use of restraints is appropriate for the medical safety of the prisoner.

Section 8, FINES.
1. Any responsible party caught disobeying the terms of this Act shall be fined $10,000 per discovered violation.
2. If a given violation is repeated at the same facility either (a) 365 calendar days after the initial fine, or (b) by a party or parties different from the initial offence, the Justice Department of the Republic of Atlasia shall conduct a formal investigation on the behalf of the Attorney-General of Atlasia into the facility’s compliance with federal law.

Section 9, ENACTMENT CLAUSE.
1. With the exceptions of Section 2 and Section 3, all of the Sections in this Act shall take effect immediately after its passage.
2. Section 2 and Section 3 of this Act shall take effect starting on October 1, 2021.

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

i approv of this

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Senators have 24 hours to object to the amendment.

[Joseph Cao]

Not an objection per se, but does the 50% figure come from anywhere specific? At first blush it seems like prison upkeep is a rather small portion, relatively speaking, of an issue as broad as "administration of justice."

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Hearing no objection, the amendment is adopted.

Not an objection per se, but does the 50% figure come from anywhere specific? At first blush it seems like prison upkeep is a rather small portion, relatively speaking, of an issue as broad as "administration of justice."

Well, in essence, my amendment "defunds the police" (cuts them, really) by reallocating funds, which are normally given to law enforcement, to improving the rehabilitative aspects of our penal system. I chose not to use that phrasing because from a strategic point of view it's a political loser. (It's also dumb and somewhat misleading, because all but a tiny, tiny number of Atlasians - including CJR advocates - do not actually want police abolished, and DTP doesn't necessarily imply that's what will happen). But a reassessment of our law system's priorities, and how we fund them, is critical to any restructuring of the criminal justice system.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Motion for a final vote. Senators have 24 hours to object.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Motion withdrawn. Forgot we still have some number crunching to do here.

[Joseph Cao]

This is an admittedly soft commitment, but if the only number crunching involved is about the cost of installing air-conditioning units in prisons and nothing more then I can try and work on that.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

This is an admittedly soft commitment, but if the only number crunching involved is about the cost of installing air-conditioning units in prisons and nothing more then I can try and work on that.

Do you have any update on this?

[Joseph Cao]

This is an admittedly soft commitment, but if the only number crunching involved is about the cost of installing air-conditioning units in prisons and nothing more then I can try and work on that.

Do you have any update on this?

Will be up probably within the week, but don't quote me on that.

[Joseph Cao]

A few napkin calculations* suggest that all things considered, it costs $2100 to install an AC unit in a prison and extrapolating from the number of federal prison facilities still active under Atlasian law puts us at roughly $380 million for initial installation costs and $50 million per year to maintain the AC units.

This does not account for the fact that not every federal prison needs air-conditioning to the same extent, and because it was calculated based on numbers available for state prisons in the South (specifically Pack, Hodge, and Louisiana State Penitentiary) that estimate might be overinflated as a result. If a suggestion might be made, too, there's hardly any time following the inevitable contracting and bidding process for AC installation for our prisons to get much done during the 2022 fiscal year†, so I might simply begin the appropriations from FY2023 onward.

*Pack, $4M for 1,157+321=1,478 units; Hodge, $2M for 989 units; LAPen, $225,000 for 116 units; HB1971, $300M for 99 TX facilities (TDCJ estimate: $1B installation and $140M maintenance p/a). 2100*1500*121=380M

†Even HB 1971 in Texas allows for about three years before the conclusion of the first installation phase.

[Joseph Cao]

Amendment:

A BILL FOR AN ACT
improving on the inhumane conditions of Atlasian prisons,

BE IT ENACTED BY THE SENATE RESOLVED.

Section 1, TITLE AND DEFINITIONS.
1. The official title of this Act shall be, the “Treating Incarcerated Persons Humanely Act.”
2. This Act may also be officially referred to by its acronym, “TIPHA.”
3. Using the International Phonetic Alphabet, the acronym mentioned in §1.2 of this Act shall be pronounced as /’taɪ fʌ/ (TYE-fuh).
4. The laws and terms enacted by this Act shall apply to all prisons under the authority of the Republic of Atlasia, regardless of whether or not it operates on a local, state, regional, federal, or miscellaneous level.

Section 2, AIR CONDITIONING AND TEMPERATURE CONTROL.
1. All prisons are mandated to install air conditioning systems within their prisons that shall adequately reach all rooms and cells within the housing and dining areas of a prison.
2. It is the responsibility of the prison in question to ensure that no cell or room rises above eighty-five degrees Fahrenheit.
3. No prison in Atlasia shall operate a fan within the vicinity of an incarcerated individual’s cell should the heat index of the prison exceed ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit.
4. If an inmate experiences any symptoms of heatstroke mentioned in §2.4a-h of this Act, they shall be entitled to a temperature check via rectal thermometer, should they request it.
    a. High body temperature.
    b. Altered mental state or behavior (including confusion, agitation, slurred speech, irritability, delirium, seizures and/or coma).
    c. Alteration in sweating.
    d. Nausea and/or vomiting.
    e. Flushed skin.
    f. Rapid breathing.
    g. Racing heart rate.
    h. Headache.
5. Should an inmate receive a temperature rating exceeding one-hundred-and-four degrees Fahrenheit via a rectal thermometer reading requested via the means of §2.4 of this Act, prison officials or staff must immediately contact local emergency medical services to treat a potential heatstroke.
6. All medication prescribed to inmates shall be kept in a location between the temperatures of fifty-nine degrees Fahrenheit and seventy-seven degrees Fahrenheit.
    a. Should a specific medication be prescribed and/or instructed by a medical official to be stored in a location outside of this temperature range, it is exempt from this Act and advised to be stored in a manner as prescribed.
7. Should a prison's air conditioning system not work or be under maintenance, an electric fan must be present in every inmate's cell, unless its presence violates §2.3 of this Act.

Section 3, TIPHA AIR CONDITIONING MAINTENANCE AND INSTALLATION FUND.
1. This act shall establish the TIPHA Air Conditioning Maintenance and Installation Fund, or TACMIF.
    a. TACMIF shall allocate the money given to it every fiscal year to prisons in order to cover the installation of air conditioning units in Atlasian prisons to ensure they satisfy §2.1 and §2.2 of this Act.
    b. Any prison in Atlasia shall apply on or before September 5 before the start of a new fiscal year to receive TACMIF funding.
    c. TACMIF shall allocate its funds proportionally to each Atlasian prison based on their prison populations on the date of application.
    d. $X shall be allocated from Atlasia’s Budget for FY2022 in order to accommodate for TACMIF during that fiscal year. A one-time value of $380 million shall be allocated from Atlasia's Budget for FY2022 in order to accommodate for TACMIF. This sum shall be used for the cost of initial installation to be completed no later than October 1, 2028.
        i. Any unused funds in this allocation after the conclusion of FY2028 shall be reallocated to overall prison funding.
    e. $Y shall be allocated from Atlasia’s Budget for FY2023 and beyond in order to cover all expenses after September 30, 2022. $50 million shall be allocated annually from Atlasia's Budget for FY2023 and beyond to TACMIF in order to cover air conditioning maintenance costs following those of initial installation.
        i. Any unused funds in each annual allocation after the conclusion of each fiscal year shall be reallocated to overall prison funding.

Section 4, REGIONAL AND STATE APPROPRIATIONS

1. At least 50% of all Regional and State grants for administration of justice must be allocated for the installment and structural reform of prisons to accommodate for enhancements to privacy and individual autonomy of inmates.
2. The Department of Justice shall be tasked with coordinating with Regional and State governments on health, environmental, and rehabilitative strategies for the purpose of lowering recidivism incidents.

Section 5, WAGES AND GOODS.
1. No prison inmate shall be required to perform manual labor without being paid a wage higher than or equal to 75% (seventy-five per cent) of the federal minimum wage.
2. No prison shall charge inmates for the usage of toiletries or personal hygiene products.

Section 6, THE RAINBOW CONNECTION(S BETWEEN INMATES AND THE OUTSIDE WORLD).
1. No entity that facilitates financial transactions shall charge transaction fees any higher than 6% (six per cent) for transactions between inmates and non-incarcerated visitors.
2. No telecommunications service or prison, whether in-person or virtual, shall charge inmates to communicate with a visitor for up to one hour per day.
3. No telecommunications service or prison, whether in-person or virtual, shall charge inmates any more than ten cents per minute to communicate with a visitor for any visit extending over one hour.
4. No telecommunications service shall mandate the removal of in-person visitation at a prison within a contract with the prison in question.
5. No telecommunication service or prison shall insert any sound effect into the middle of a phone call that does not voluntarily come from the inmate or their visitor.

Section 7, MISCELLANEOUS REGULATION.
1. No prison or government entity shall spend any more than 5% (five per cent) of a given inmate welfare fund on anything that does not directly benefit the wellbeing of prison inmates.
2. Except as provided in §6.3 of this Act, beginning on the date on which pregnancy is confirmed by a healthcare professional, and ending at the conclusion of postpartum recovery, a prisoner in the custody of a prison under the authority of the Republic of Atlasia, shall not be placed in restraints.
3. The prohibition under §6.2 of this Act shall not apply if—
    a. an appropriate corrections official, or a United States marshal, as applicable, makes a determination that the prisoner—
        i. is an immediate and credible flight risk that cannot reasonably be prevented by other means; or
        ii. poses an immediate and serious threat of harm to herself or others that cannot reasonably be prevented by other means; or
    b. a healthcare professional responsible for the health and safety of the prisoner determines that the use of restraints is appropriate for the medical safety of the prisoner.

Section 8, FINES.
1. Any responsible party caught disobeying the terms of this Act shall be fined $10,000 per discovered violation.
2. If a given violation is repeated at the same facility either (a) 365 calendar days after the initial fine, or (b) by a party or parties different from the initial offence, the Justice Department of the Republic of Atlasia shall conduct a formal investigation on the behalf of the Attorney-General of Atlasia into the facility’s compliance with federal law.

Section 9, ENACTMENT CLAUSE.
1. With the exceptions of Section 2 and Section 3, all of the Sections in this Act shall take effect immediately after its passage.
2. Section 2 and Section 3 of this Act shall take effect starting on October 1, 2021.

Haven't thought of a good way to enforce subclause (e) taking effect after initial installation is completed, which no doubt will be after FY2023 for some or most prisons. Also not entirely sure if we can just shuffle money around within the budget that way but it should at the very least prevent unused TACMIF funds from going to waste.

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

i approv

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Senators have 24 hours to object to the amendment.

[Senator Spark]

No objection.

[Joseph Cao]

On a side note, I'm fairly sure this can move to a final vote after the amendment is adopted, unless anyone else spots something out of place.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Hearing no objection, the amendment is adopted. A final vote will open in 24 hours, barring objections.

[Joseph Cao]

A BILL FOR AN ACT
improving on the inhumane conditions of Atlasian prisons,

BE IT ENACTED BY THE SENATE RESOLVED.

Section 1, TITLE AND DEFINITIONS.
1. The official title of this Act shall be, the “Treating Incarcerated Persons Humanely Act.”
2. This Act may also be officially referred to by its acronym, “TIPHA.”
3. Using the International Phonetic Alphabet, the acronym mentioned in §1.2 of this Act shall be pronounced as /’taɪ fʌ/ (TYE-fuh).
4. The laws and terms enacted by this Act shall apply to all prisons under the authority of the Republic of Atlasia, regardless of whether or not it operates on a local, state, regional, federal, or miscellaneous level.

Section 2, AIR CONDITIONING AND TEMPERATURE CONTROL.
1. All prisons are mandated to install air conditioning systems within their prisons that shall adequately reach all rooms and cells within the housing and dining areas of a prison.
2. It is the responsibility of the prison in question to ensure that no cell or room rises above eighty-five degrees Fahrenheit.
3. No prison in Atlasia shall operate a fan within the vicinity of an incarcerated individual’s cell should the heat index of the prison exceed ninety-five degrees Fahrenheit.
4. If an inmate experiences any symptoms of heatstroke mentioned in §2.4a-h of this Act, they shall be entitled to a temperature check via rectal thermometer, should they request it.
    a. High body temperature.
    b. Altered mental state or behavior (including confusion, agitation, slurred speech, irritability, delirium, seizures and/or coma).
    c. Alteration in sweating.
    d. Nausea and/or vomiting.
    e. Flushed skin.
    f. Rapid breathing.
    g. Racing heart rate.
    h. Headache.
5. Should an inmate receive a temperature rating exceeding one-hundred-and-four degrees Fahrenheit via a rectal thermometer reading requested via the means of §2.4 of this Act, prison officials or staff must immediately contact local emergency medical services to treat a potential heatstroke.
6. All medication prescribed to inmates shall be kept in a location between the temperatures of fifty-nine degrees Fahrenheit and seventy-seven degrees Fahrenheit.
    a. Should a specific medication be prescribed and/or instructed by a medical official to be stored in a location outside of this temperature range, it is exempt from this Act and advised to be stored in a manner as prescribed.
7. Should a prison's air conditioning system not work or be under maintenance, an electric fan must be present in every inmate's cell, unless its presence violates §2.3 of this Act.

Section 3, TIPHA AIR CONDITIONING MAINTENANCE AND INSTALLATION FUND.
1. This act shall establish the TIPHA Air Conditioning Maintenance and Installation Fund, or TACMIF.
    a. TACMIF shall allocate the money given to it every fiscal year to prisons in order to cover the installation of air conditioning units in Atlasian prisons to ensure they satisfy §2.1 and §2.2 of this Act.
    b. Any prison in Atlasia shall apply on or before September 5 before the start of a new fiscal year to receive TACMIF funding.
    c. TACMIF shall allocate its funds proportionally to each Atlasian prison based on their prison populations on the date of application.
    d. A one-time value of $380 million shall be allocated from Atlasia's Budget for FY2022 in order to accommodate for TACMIF. This sum shall be used for the cost of initial installation to be completed no later than October 1, 2028.
        i. Any unused funds in this allocation after the conclusion of FY2028 shall be reallocated to overall prison funding.
    e. $50 million shall be allocated annually from Atlasia's Budget for FY2023 and beyond to TACMIF in order to cover air conditioning maintenance costs following those of initial installation.
        i. Any unused funds in each annual allocation after the conclusion of each fiscal year shall be reallocated to overall prison funding.

Section 4, REGIONAL AND STATE APPROPRIATIONS

1. At least 50% of all Regional and State grants for administration of justice must be allocated for the installment and structural reform of prisons to accommodate for enhancements to privacy and individual autonomy of inmates.
2. The Department of Justice shall be tasked with coordinating with Regional and State governments on health, environmental, and rehabilitative strategies for the purpose of lowering recidivism incidents.

Section 5, WAGES AND GOODS.
1. No prison inmate shall be required to perform manual labor without being paid a wage higher than or equal to 75% (seventy-five per cent) of the federal minimum wage.
2. No prison shall charge inmates for the usage of toiletries or personal hygiene products.

Section 6, THE RAINBOW CONNECTION(S BETWEEN INMATES AND THE OUTSIDE WORLD).
1. No entity that facilitates financial transactions shall charge transaction fees any higher than 6% (six per cent) for transactions between inmates and non-incarcerated visitors.
2. No telecommunications service or prison, whether in-person or virtual, shall charge inmates to communicate with a visitor for up to one hour per day.
3. No telecommunications service or prison, whether in-person or virtual, shall charge inmates any more than ten cents per minute to communicate with a visitor for any visit extending over one hour.
4. No telecommunications service shall mandate the removal of in-person visitation at a prison within a contract with the prison in question.
5. No telecommunication service or prison shall insert any sound effect into the middle of a phone call that does not voluntarily come from the inmate or their visitor.

Section 7, MISCELLANEOUS REGULATION.
1. No prison or government entity shall spend any more than 5% (five per cent) of a given inmate welfare fund on anything that does not directly benefit the wellbeing of prison inmates.
2. Except as provided in §6.3 of this Act, beginning on the date on which pregnancy is confirmed by a healthcare professional, and ending at the conclusion of postpartum recovery, a prisoner in the custody of a prison under the authority of the Republic of Atlasia, shall not be placed in restraints.
3. The prohibition under §6.2 of this Act shall not apply if—
    a. an appropriate corrections official, or a United States marshal, as applicable, makes a determination that the prisoner—
        i. is an immediate and credible flight risk that cannot reasonably be prevented by other means; or
        ii. poses an immediate and serious threat of harm to herself or others that cannot reasonably be prevented by other means; or
    b. a healthcare professional responsible for the health and safety of the prisoner determines that the use of restraints is appropriate for the medical safety of the prisoner.

Section 8, FINES.
1. Any responsible party caught disobeying the terms of this Act shall be fined $10,000 per discovered violation.
2. If a given violation is repeated at the same facility either (a) 365 calendar days after the initial fine, or (b) by a party or parties different from the initial offence, the Justice Department of the Republic of Atlasia shall conduct a formal investigation on the behalf of the Attorney-General of Atlasia into the facility’s compliance with federal law.

Section 9, ENACTMENT CLAUSE.
1. With the exceptions of Section 2 and Section 3, all of the Sections in this Act shall take effect immediately after its passage.
2. Section 2 and Section 3 of this Act shall take effect starting on October 1, 2021.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Thank you, Senator Cao.

Hearing no objection, a final vote is now open. Senators, please vote Aye, Nay, or Abstain.

[Mad Deadly Worldwide Communist Gangster Computer God]

Aye

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

aye

thank you so much for helping this bill become (hopefully soon to be) reality. especially you, cao.

[AGA]

Aye

[Saint Milei]

aye

[WD]

Aye

[OSR stands with Israel]

Aye