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

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

Hello. As you're probably able to tell, this is a bill to improve on humanely treating prison inmates humanely. In this advocation, I will elaborate on the sections individually while explaining my motivations.

First of all, let's go over Section 2, which covers prison heat. Prisons can get blisteringly hot, sometimes reaching heat indexes as high as 150 Fahrenheit. (Source: The Vera Institute of Justice) This heat can lead to many physical and mental problems, including poor cognitive functioning, an increase in aggressive behavior, and tragically, higher tendencies to commit suicide and/or self-harm. In fact, mental health providers and nurses have reported seeing an increase in self-harm and suicide watches among inmates during the summer months. (Source: The New Orleans Advocate) Excessive prison heat can also take a toll on one's physical health, too. Not only does excessive prison heat increase one's risk to heat related illness, it can also make it harder for obese and/or diabetic inmates to regulate their body heat, as is the case for inmates taking certain psychotropic medications or medications for high blood pressure. (Source: The Prison Policy Initiative) An easy solution to these problems would be more air conditioning for inmates. However, there currently isn't enough infrastructure for air conditioning in most of Atlasia's prisons. Several hot states do not have universal air conditioning for prisons, including states that some of my fellow senators represent: Weatherboy's South Carolina, Spark's Florida, DTC's Georgia, and Wxtransit's Texas, to name a few. Universal air conditioning is important for making sure all Atlasian inmates are kept safe from these heat-related ailments. Fans are inadequate for weather above 95 Fahrenheit. This is because fans don't cool air, they move it around, and so using fans in weather above 95F is only blowing air hotter than your body temperature at you. (Source: NY Dept of Public Health) Hence §2.3. Universal air conditioning is the best solution. Section 2 also covers emergency services for heat-related illness, which is very important for the reasons I mentioned above.

Section 3 is really just funding Section 2. Money will be allocated from the federal budget each fiscal year to cover the cost of AC installation and maintenance. I encourage my fellow senators who know more about finance than me to help crunch some numbers to use as the money that is yearly allocated.

Section 4 covers two things: prison wages and toiletries. It mandates that all prison workers receive decent pay for the labor they do in prison, that is, better than making mere pennies and nickels on the hour like they might in real life. As for toiletries, I believe that inmates should be able to access toiletries so that they can adhere to basic hygiene.

(oh shoot, i realized in the middle of typing this that i accidentally made two section fours. oops )

The other section 4 is about connecting inmates to their close ones, friends, family, etc. For starters, this bill regulates the amount of money that telecommunications companies can charge for financial transactions and contact. As for the gentleman from Illinois' question regarding §4.4 and §4.5, the fourth subsection prevents communication companies from cutting costs by ditching in-person visitation for virtual visits online, both blocking off physical contact and putting a burden on inmates' relatives without internet connections, while the fifth subsection prevents [BEEP] telecom companies from [BEEP] interrupting vital phone calls with [BEEP] intentionally annoying beeps to make calls last longer and [BEEP] charge more money.

The rest of the bill covers a myriad of things, such as making sure inmate welfare funds are being spent on inmate welfare, not restricting pregnant inmates with restraints, setting fines for TIPHA violations, and setting an enactment clause.

This is the biggest prison reform bill since theReforming Criminal Law Act of 2018, and it imposes regulations that help improve on the general welfare of Atlasian prisons. Incarceration should be their punishment. Not heatstroke, suicidal thoughts, and underpaid labor. Please vote AYE on this bill, and I yield the floor.

(P.S., can someone amend this bill to rename the second Section 4 to Section 5, 5 to 6, 6 to 7, and 7 to 8 in the next amendment? I don't know if it's worth giving it its own amendment lmao)

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

Also, uh, I presume the amendment is friendly but action probably needs to be taken on this. Either a public declaration by the sponsor, if that's needed, or PPT action. Or both, as the case may be.

yeah the amendment is fine

How are "friend" and "loved one" defined?

now that you mention it, the language is kinda vague. would changing it all to "visitor" or "guest" or something work?

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

Also, uh, I presume the amendment is friendly but action probably needs to be taken on this. Either a public declaration by the sponsor, if that's needed, or PPT action. Or both, as the case may be.

yeah the amendment is fine

How are "friend" and "loved one" defined?

now that you mention it, the language is kinda vague. would changing it all to "visitor" or "guest" or something work?

It works less well for the telecommunications section imo.

Client?

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

I actually think "visitor" works fine for both sections. It's not clear to me in these ubiquitously virtual times that someone calling in to check on you doesn't count as a visitor of some sort, even if they don't come to check on you in person.

this is fine

Certainly you want to make sure no one is dragging their feat on getting repair people out there to fix a down AC system, but there are shortages in this area and long delays in terms of getting people onsite for a number of repair jobs, and even absent the covid induced situation, these things weren't same day most of the time. This is especially so with a prison complex, which can be at some distance away.

For such a temporary situation, you would want to be able to use any means available to mitigate the heat, especially down South.

Is this regarding the part about fans? I didn't include the fan bit for any AC-related reason, I did it because using a fan in a room above the average human body temperature only blows air hotter than the human body towards you, thus heating the inmate quicker and not cooling them down. Unless I'm misinterpreting your comments.

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

I actually think "visitor" works fine for both sections. It's not clear to me in these ubiquitously virtual times that someone calling in to check on you doesn't count as a visitor of some sort, even if they don't come to check on you in person.

this is fine

Certainly you want to make sure no one is dragging their feat on getting repair people out there to fix a down AC system, but there are shortages in this area and long delays in terms of getting people onsite for a number of repair jobs, and even absent the covid induced situation, these things weren't same day most of the time. This is especially so with a prison complex, which can be at some distance away.

For such a temporary situation, you would want to be able to use any means available to mitigate the heat, especially down South.

Is this regarding the part about fans? I didn't include the fan bit for any AC-related reason, I did it because using a fan in a room above the average human body temperature only blows air hotter than the human body towards you, thus heating the inmate quicker and not cooling them down. Unless I'm misinterpreting your comments.

I more or less understand that reasoning, yeah, and I don't think Yankee is being misinterpreted here. But speaking from my admittedly very atypical experience it still helps to have some form of circulation and air flow in a hot environment even if there isn't any cooler air being pumped in.

That is reasonable. I'm just unsure as to whether or not I should prioritize air circulation in a scenario where one of the inmates might suffer from heatstroke or some other heat-related illness. Perhaps an exception can be made if an inmate explicitly requests a fan for this reason?

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

I actually think "visitor" works fine for both sections. It's not clear to me in these ubiquitously virtual times that someone calling in to check on you doesn't count as a visitor of some sort, even if they don't come to check on you in person.

this is fine

Certainly you want to make sure no one is dragging their feat on getting repair people out there to fix a down AC system, but there are shortages in this area and long delays in terms of getting people onsite for a number of repair jobs, and even absent the covid induced situation, these things weren't same day most of the time. This is especially so with a prison complex, which can be at some distance away.

For such a temporary situation, you would want to be able to use any means available to mitigate the heat, especially down South.

Is this regarding the part about fans? I didn't include the fan bit for any AC-related reason, I did it because using a fan in a room above the average human body temperature only blows air hotter than the human body towards you, thus heating the inmate quicker and not cooling them down. Unless I'm misinterpreting your comments.

I more or less understand that reasoning, yeah, and I don't think Yankee is being misinterpreted here. But speaking from my admittedly very atypical experience it still helps to have some form of circulation and air flow in a hot environment even if there isn't any cooler air being pumped in.

That is reasonable. I'm just unsure as to whether or not I should prioritize air circulation in a scenario where one of the inmates might suffer from heatstroke or some other heat-related illness. Perhaps an exception can be made if an inmate explicitly requests a fan for this reason?

Provided the inmate is in a condition to do so, I think that works. Personally I'd say fans can be provided to inmates unless they explicitly refuse them, and ought to be provided if the ACs break down for whatever reason for as long as required to fix the air-conditioning.

I'd maybe opt out of mandating that if the heat index is above the human body temp, but otherwise, that actually seems like a good idea.


Offering an 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.
    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 5, 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 6, 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 7, 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 8, 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

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

i approv

[KoopaDaQuick 🇵🇸]

aye

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