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.
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, 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 4, 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 friends, loved ones, or relatives.
2. No telecommunications service or prison, whether in-person or virtual, shall charge inmates to communicate with a friend, loved one, or relative 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 friend, loved one, or relative 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 guest.
Section 5, 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 §5.3 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 §5.2 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 6, 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 7, 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.
On the campaign trail, I made a promise to introduce a prison reform bill. Well, fellow Senators, here is that bill. Some of this bill is incomplete, or would benefit from being expanded upon, but this is what I want to start with.
