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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 1109
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 6501
Referred to Committee on JUDICIARY
Introduced by:
(JUD)
AN ACT CONCERNING SO LITARY CONFINEMENT.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 18-96b of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 2
(a) As used in this section: 3
(1) "Administrative segregation status" means the Department of 4
Correction's practice of placing an inmate on restrictive housing status 5
following a determination that such inmate can no longer be safely 6
managed within the general inmate population of the correctional 7
facility; and 8
(2) "Restrictive housing status" means the designation of an inmate 9
by the Department of Correction that provides for closely regulated 10
management and separation of such inmate from other inmates. 11
(b) The Department of Correction shall publish on its Internet web 12
site the formula for calculating an inmate's mental health score and a 13
description of any form and phase of housing employed at any of its 14 Raised Bill No. 1109
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correctional facilities for inmates on restrictive housing status. 15
(c) The Department of Correction shall [at least annually] not later 16
than November 1, 2019, submit to the Criminal Justice Policy and 17
Planning Division established under section 4-68m a report containing 18
as aggregated and anonymized the following data for the period of 19
time since the department last reported under this subsection: 20
(1) The number of inmates on restrictive housing status in this 21
state's correctional facilities, as of the first day of each of the [twelve] 22
months [preceding the date of the submission of] covered by the 23
report. The department shall report and disaggregate such data based 24
on an inmate's age, gender identity, ethnicity, mental health score as 25
calculated by the department, if any, and the form and phase of 26
housing in which such inmate is held on restrictive housing status; 27
(2) The number of inmates on administrative segregation status who 28
have spent the following cumulative durations of time on 29
administrative segregation status: 30
(A) One to fifteen days; 31
(B) Sixteen to thirty days; 32
(C) Thirty-one to one hundred eighty days; 33
(D) One hundred eighty-one to three hundred sixty-five days; 34
(E) Three hundred sixty-six to seven hundred thirty days; 35
(F) Seven hundred thirty-one to one thousand ninety-five days; 36
(G) One thousand ninety-six to one thousand four hundred sixty 37
days; 38
(H) One thousand four hundred sixty-one to one thousand eight 39
hundred twenty-five days; 40
(I) One thousand eight hundred twenty-six to two thousand one 41 Raised Bill No. 1109
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hundred ninety days; 42
(J) Two thousand one hundred ninety-one to two thousand five 43
hundred fifty-five days; 44
(K) Two thousand five hundred fifty-six to two thousand nine 45
hundred twenty days; 46
(L) Two thousand nine hundred twenty-one to three thousand two 47
hundred eighty-five days; 48
(M) Three thousand two hundred eighty-six to three thousand six 49
hundred fifty days; and 50
(N) More than three thousand six hundred fifty days; 51
(3) For each correctional facility, the number of inmates who, during 52
the [twelve months preceding the date of the submission of] period of 53
time covered by the report, spent more than fifteen days, cumulative, 54
on administrative segregation status. The department shall report and 55
disaggregate such data based on an inmate's age, gender identity, 56
ethnicity, mental health score as calculated by the department, if any, 57
and the form and phase of restricted housing in which such inmate is 58
held; and 59
(4) Actions taken by the department during the [twelve months 60
preceding the date of the submission of] period of time covered by the 61
report to minimize reliance on administrative segregation status and to 62
mitigate the harmful effects of administrative segregation status on 63
inmates, staff and the public. 64
(d) [The] On and after October 1, 2019, the department shall not 65
hold any person [under eighteen years of age] on administrative 66
segregation status or restrictive housing status. 67
[(e) Not later than January 1, 2019, the Commissioner of Correction 68
shall study and submit a report, in accordance with the provisions of 69
section 11-4a, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly 70 Raised Bill No. 1109
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having cognizance of matters relating to the judiciary regarding the 71
use and oversight of all forms and phases of housing for inmates on 72
restrictive housing status.] 73
[(f)] (e) The provisions of subsections (a) to (d), inclusive, of this 74
section do not apply to any inmate described in subsection (a) of 75
section 18-10b. 76
[(g)] (f) Within available appropriations, the Department of 77
Correction shall provide training to employees of the department who 78
interact with inmates concerning the following: 79
(1) The recognition of symptoms of mental illness; 80
(2) The potential risks and side effects of psychiatric medications; 81
(3) De-escalation techniques for safely managing individuals with 82
mental illness; 83
(4) Consequences of untreated mental illness; 84
(5) The long and short-term psychological effects of being on 85
administrative segregation status; and 86
(6) De-escalation and communication techniques to divert inmates 87
from situations that may lead to the inmate being placed on 88
administrative segregation status. 89
[(h)] (g) Within available appropriations, the Department of 90
Correction shall take measures to promote the wellness of employees 91
of the department who interact with inmates. These measures may 92
include, but need not be limited to: 93
(1) Employee assistance programs; 94
(2) Peer support programs; and 95
(3) Stress management training. 96 Raised Bill No. 1109
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2019 18-96b
Statement of Purpose:
To ban the use of solitary confinement in correctional facilities.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline,
except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is
not underlined.]