October 18, 2023
Nyasha Smith, Secretary
Council of the District of Columbia
1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20004
Dear Secretary Smith,
Today, I, along with Councilmembers Robert White, Janeese Lewis George, Anita Bonds,
Charles Allen, Zachery Parker, and Kenyan McDuffie, am introducing the “Eliminating
Restrictive and Segregated Enclosures (“ERASE”) Solitary Confinement Act of 2023.” Please
find enclosed a signed copy of the legislation.
This legislation prohibits nearly all forms of segregated confinement for individuals incarcerated
at penal institutions owned, operated, and controlled by the Department of Corrections. It also
limits the use of safe cells, would mandate that all residents in a DOC facility receive at least
eight hours of out-of-cell time a day, and charge DOC with providing residents mental health
services any time they’re placed in prolonged confinement, medical isolation, or suicide watch.
An oversight provision of the bill would require DOC to collect and publish data on the ongoing
use of solitary, allow residents to file special grievances, and potentially sue the agency if
they’ve been subject to prolonged confinement.
In general, solitary confinement is a cruel, inhumane, and degrading mode of punishment that
has been equated to torture.
1
Studies have consistently proven that solitary confinement can
create or exacerbate both short- and long-term psychological and physical health issues for
people placed in solitary confinement, including self-harm and suicide, anxiety and depression,
and gastrointestinal and cardiovascular problems.
2
Solitary confinement does not properly
1
See G.A. Res. 70/175, at 8, 15–17, The United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of
Prisoners, the Nelson Mandela Rules (Dec. 17, 2015).
2
See Sharon Shalev, A Sourcebook on Solitary Confinement 15–17 (2008).
remedy the root problems that lead to a person’s placement in solitary,
3
and the economic costs
of solitary far exceed any perceived benefits.
4
Similarly, the profound stress caused by spending time in solitary confinement can lead to
permanent damage to a person’s identity, including changes in the brain and personality of the
people subjected to it. “Depriving humans—who are naturally social beings—of the ability to
interact with others can cause social pain” which affects the brain in the same way as physical
pain.
5
Additionally, the overwhelming amount of research proves that solitary confinement leads
to greater recidivism and misconduct.
6
If we care about reducing crime, we should care about
solitary for that reason, too.
The deplorable conditions at the District’s jails and restrictive housing units— including
flooding, lack of grievance procedures, lack of mattresses, and more
7
— only exacerbate the
harmful effects of solitary confinement. The conditions of safe cells in the District’s jails are
3
Kayla James & Elena Vanko, The Impacts of Solitary Confinement, Vera Institute of Justice 5 (Apr. 2021)
(“In short, solitary confinement does not improve safety and may actually lead to an increase in violence and
recidivism. This is not surprising, given that people in solitary are typically denied the opportunity to
participate in education, mental health or drug treatment, and other rehabilitative programs or to otherwise
prepare for reentering the community.”).
4
Id. at 5-6 (“The Federal Bureau of Prisons estimated in 2013 that it cost $216 per person, per day, to hold
people in solitary in the Administrative Maximum Facility at the Federal Correctional Complex in Florence,
Colorado. In comparison, the estimated cost of housing people in the complex’s general population was $86
per person, per day.”) (emphasis in original); see also Alison Shames et al., Solitary Confinement: Common
Misconceptions and Emerging Safe Alternatives, Vera Institute of Justice 24 (May 2015) (“The significant
fiscal costs associated with building and operating segregated housing units and facilities are due to the
reliance on single-cell confinement, enhanced surveillance and security technology, and the need for more
corrections staff (to handle escorts, increased searches, and individualized services).”).
5
Katie Rose Quandt & Alexi Jones, Research Roundup: Incarceration can cause lasting damage to mental
health, Prison Policy Initiative (May 13, 2021),
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2021/05/13/mentalhealthimpacts/.
6
Andreea Matei, Solitary Confinement in US Prisons, Urban Institute (August 2022).
7
See District of Columbia Corrections Information Council, DC Department of Corrections Inspection Report
6 (Sept. 30, 2021),
https://cic.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/cic/page_content/attachments/CIC%20Inspection%20Repo
rt%20DOC%20FY%202021%20site%20visit%20May%202021.pdf; Press Release, U.S. Marshals Service,
Statement by the U.S. Marshals Service Re: Recent Inspection of DC Jail Facilities (Nov. 2, 2021),
https://www.usmarshals.gov/news/chron/2021/110221b.htm.
likewise troubling and, thus, similarly exacerbate the harms of solitary confinement for those on
suicide watch.
8
For these reasons, we must erase virtually all forms of segregated confinement for individuals
incarcerated at penal institutions in the District. This legislation would produce a fairer and more
humane criminal justice system in the District.
Should you have any questions, please contact my Legislative Aide Sabrin Qadi at
sqadi@dccouncil.gov or (202) 834-8093.
Thank you,
Best,
Brianne K. Nadeau
8
District of Columbia Corrections Information Council, District of Columbia Department of Corrections 2018
Inspection Report 17 (May 21, 2019),
https://cic.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/cic/page_content/attachments/DOC%20FY%202018%20Re
port%205.21.19%20FINAL.pdf; Mitch Ryals, Attorneys Continue to Hear Reports of the Horrific Conditions
in DC Jail’s ‘Safe Cells’ Washington Citypaper (May 13, 2021),
https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/516737/attorneys-continue-to-hear-reports-of-the-horrific-conditions-
in-dc-jails-safe-cells/.
_____________________________
Councilmember Robert C. White, Jr.
________________________________
Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau
_____________________________
Councilmember Charles Allen
___________________________
Councilmember Anita Bonds
_______________________________
Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie
_____________________________
Councilmember Janeese Lewis George
_____________________________
Councilmember Zachary Parker
1
2
A BILL 3
4
_________________________ 5
6
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA 7
8
_________________________ 9
10
To prohibit segregated confinement in jails; to strictly limit the use of safe cells and require that 11
incarcerated people with mental health emergencies receive the care to which they are 12
entitled; to require the Department of Corrections to create a plan to eliminate segregated 13
confinement and report to the Council the impacts of doing so. 14
15
BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this 16
act may be cited as the “Eliminating Restrictive and Segregated Enclosures (“ERASE”) Solitary 17
Confinement Act of 2023”. 18
Sec. 2. Definitions. 19
For purposes of this act, the term: 20
(a) “Appropriate healthcare” means the right to: 21
(1) Timely, responsive, respectful, and dignified attention to a resident’s 22
healthcare needs by a qualified health professional; 23
(2) Assessment, consultation, and provision of health care consistent with the 24
standard of care expected to be provided by a reasonably prudent qualified health professional in 25
the professional’s specialty area, and not limited in any way because of status as a detained or 26
incarcerated person; 27
(3) Have the qualified health professional respect a resident's privacy and 28
confidentiality; 29
(4) Privacy and protection from inquiry by qualified health professionals 30
regarding a resident’s charges, convictions, or duration of sentences unless expressly pertinent to 31
the delivery of care; 32
(5) Freedom from physical restraints while receiving any form of healthcare, 33
unless the treating qualified health professional requests physical restraints to address a specific 34
safety concern; 35
(6) Obtain, at no cost, at the conclusion of a resident’s visit to a qualified health 36
professional providing services outside of a penal institution, copies of all records of the 37
resident’s own diagnoses, test results, treatment instructions, recommendations for further 38
treatment and evaluation, and other documents that a person who is not detained or incarcerated 39
would have a right to obtain from a qualified health professional; 40
(7) Obtain, at no cost, full or partial copies of a resident’s own medical records 41
that are created by or in the possession of either the Department or the entity providing health 42
care on behalf of the Department, upon the request of a resident, former resident, or a resident or 43
former resident’s counsel without having to file a request under the District of Columbia 44
Freedom of Information Act, D.C. Code § 2-531; 45
(8) A reasonable opportunity to discuss with a qualified health professional the 46
benefits and risks of treatment alternatives, including the risks and benefits of forgoing 47
treatment, and guidance about different courses of action; 48
(9) Ask questions about health status or recommended treatment and to have those 49
questions answered by a qualified health professional; 50
(10) Make decisions about the care they receive and have those decisions 51
respected; 52
(11) Be advised of any conflicts of interest a qualified health professional may 53
have with respect to a resident’s care; 54
(12) Obtain a second opinion from a qualified health professional providing 55
services outside of the penal institution in the same or similar specialty within a reasonable 56
amount of time in cases involving a serious risk of death or serious bodily injury; 57
(13) Coordination and integration of the care provided by a resident’s qualified 58
health professionals, including the timely provision of care by a suitable qualified health 59
professional outside of the penal institution as necessary; and 60
(14) Visitation with a resident’s “attorney in fact,” as defined in D.C. Code § 21- 61
2202.1, for the purpose of healthcare decision making, regardless of any Department policy to 62
the contrary; 63
(15) All rights enumerated in the Consumers’ Bill of Rights at D.C. Code § 7- 64
1231.04; 65
(16) Communication pursuant to the DC Language Access Act at D.C. Code § 2 66
1901 et seq; and 67
(17) Effective communication pursuant to Title II and Title III of the Americans 68
with Disabilities Act at 42 U.S.C. §§ 12131-34 and 12181-89. 69
(b) “Chemical restraint” means a medication that is used in addition to or in place of the 70
resident’s regular, prescribed drug regimen to control extreme behavior during an emergency, 71
but does not include medications that comprise the resident’s regular, prescribed medical 72
regimen and that are part of the resident’s treatment, even if the intended purpose is to control 73
ongoing behavior; 74
(c) “Department” means the Department of Corrections, as defined in D.C. Code § 24- 75
211.01; 76
(d) “Disciplinary housing” means the separation of a resident from other individuals for 77
the purpose of punishing the resident for a violation of the Department’s or penal institution’s 78
rules; 79
(e) “Health care” means any type of care provided by a person licensed under or 80
permitted to practice a health occupation in the District as defined in D.C. Code § 3-1201 et seq. 81
Healthcare includes medical care, dental care, vision care, psychiatric care, psychological or 82
other treatment for mental or behavioral health conditions, physical therapy, occupational 83
therapy, chronic care, and the provision of medication or medical supplies; 84
(f) “Medical isolation” means the isolation of a resident consistent with a finding by a 85
qualified health professional that the resident has a communicable disease for which the Centers 86
for Disease Control and Prevention recommends or authorizes isolation or quarantine, and that 87
isolation is medically necessary for that resident’s treatment or to protect other residents or staff 88
from the communicable disease; 89
(g) “Minimum out-of-cell time” means at least 8 hours daily, between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., 90
during which a resident is not restricted to their cell and has the opportunity to move around a 91
shared space, interact with other residents in a shared space without barriers or physical or 92
chemical restraints, participate in programming, shower, or go to the commissary, gym, and 93
recreation yard, or participate in other activities normally conducted outside of a resident’s cell; 94
(h) “Penal institution” means any penitentiary, prison, jail, or correctional facility owned, 95
operated, or controlled by the Department; 96
(i) “Physical restraint” means any mechanical device, material, or equipment attached or 97
adjacent to the resident’s body, or any manual method, that the resident cannot easily remove 98
and which restricts their freedom of movement or normal access to their body; 99
(j) “Prolonged confinement” means the denial of minimum out-of-cell time, without a 100
resident’s informed written consent; 101
(k) “Punitive measures” means the loss of any privilege, including video and phone calls, 102
recreation, reading materials, mail, or commissary, that is standardly provided to residents; 103
(l) “Qualified health professional” means a person licensed under or permitted to practice 104
a health occupation in the District as defined by D.C. Code § 3-1201.08 who is providing 105
services or treatment for which the individual is specifically licensed or is permitted to perform 106
pursuant to D.C. Code § 3-1201 et seq.; 107
(m) “Resident” means any individual detained or incarcerated at a penal institution; 108
(n) “Safe cell” means a suicide-resistant housing cell designed to prevent a resident from 109
inflicting serious bodily injury upon themselves or used by the Department as a place to hold and 110
continuously monitor residents placed on suicide watch; 111
(o) “Serious bodily injury” means a bodily injury or significant bodily injury that 112
involves a substantial risk of death, protracted and obvious disfigurement, protracted loss or 113
impairment of the function of a bodily member or organ, or protracted loss of consciousness; 114
(p) “Suicide precaution” means a measure used to observe a resident who is assessed by a 115
qualified health professional and determined to not be actively suicidal, but expresses suicidal 116
ideation or has a recent prior history of inflicting or attempting to inflict serious bodily injury 117
upon themselves, or a resident who denies suicidal ideation or does not threaten suicide, but 118
demonstrates other concerning behavior indicating the potential for inflicting death or serious 119
bodily injury upon themselves; and 120
( “Suicide watch” means a measure used to observe a resident who is assessed by a 121
qualified health professional and determined to be actively suicidal, by either threatening or 122
engaging in inflicting serious bodily injury upon themselves. 123
Sec. 3. Scope. 124
This act shall apply to all residents detained or incarcerated at the Central Detention 125
Facility, the Correctional Treatment Facility, the Central Cell Block, and any other penal 126
institution owned, operated, or controlled by the Department. 127
Sec. 4. Limitations on the Use of Prolonged Confinement. 128
(a) The Department shall provide appropriate healthcare to all residents, including those 129
subject to disciplinary housing, medical isolation, suicide precaution, and suicide watch. 130
(b) Except as provided in subsections (c) and (d) of this section, the Department shall not 131
use or impose any form of prolonged confinement on any resident for any purpose, including 132
discipline, safety, security, administrative convenience, placement on a medical or mental health 133
unit, health care need, or the prevention of suicide or self-harm. 134
(c) A resident in medical isolation may be subject to prolonged confinement, but only for 135
the time necessary to ensure the resident is no longer contagious or transmitting a communicable 136
disease. 137
(d) A qualified health professional shall reevaluate whether medical isolation is necessary 138
at an interval in accordance with guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and 139
Prevention or, at a minimum, every 24 hours. 140
(e) When a qualified health professional determines the resident is no longer contagious, 141
the resident shall be immediately entitled to minimum out-of-cell time, even if they remain 142
housed in a medical isolation unit. 143
(f) The removal of personal property items from a resident shall be prohibited absent an 144
individualized determination by a qualified health professional that the removal of a particular 145
item is necessary to prevent the transmitting of a communicable disease. 146
(g) A resident placed on suicide watch may be placed in prolonged confinement, subject 147
to the provisions of Section 5 of this Chapter. 148
(h) If the Department takes possession of a resident’s personal property when moving the 149
resident to or from disciplinary housing, the Department shall return all personal property to the 150
resident within 6 hours of taking possession of the property, excluding any contraband as defined 151
in D.C. Code § 22-2603.02. 152
(i) Punitive measures may only be applied to a resident in response to a disciplinary 153
finding. 154
(j) At intake, and any time a resident is placed in prolonged confinement, medical 155
isolation, disciplinary housing, or under suicide precaution or suicide watch, the Department 156
shall provide the resident educational materials on mental health and substance use disorders, the 157
stigma around mental health and substance use disorders, the mental health and substance use 158
disorder treatment options available to residents from the Department, and the law, regulations, 159
and policy statements governing the use of prolonged confinement, medical isolation, 160
disciplinary housing, and suicide precaution or suicide watch. The Department shall make these 161
educational materials available within 2 hours of the intake or placement in written format, both 162
hard copy and electronic, and in video format. These educational materials must comply with the 163
DC Language Access Act at D.C. Code § 2-1901 et seq. 164
(k) The Department shall notify a resident’s counsel of record any time a resident is 165
placed in prolonged confinement, medical isolation, disciplinary housing, or under suicide 166
precaution or suicide watch. If the resident does not have a counsel of record, the Department 167
shall notify the Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia. 168
Sec. 5. Limitations on the use of prolonged confinement. 169
(a) Department staff shall directly observe a resident on suicide precaution at staggered 170
intervals not to exceed every 15 minutes and document those observations. 171
(b) Department staff shall directly observe a resident on suicide watch continuously and 172
without interruption and document those observations every 15 minutes. 173
(c) Supervision aids, like cameras, can be utilized as a supplement to, but never as a 174
substitute for, direct observation by Department staff of a resident on suicide precaution or 175
suicide watch. 176
(d) A resident on suicide precaution shall never be placed in a safe cell and shall not be 177
subject to prolonged confinement or punitive measures. 178
(e) All residents on suicide precaution or suicide watch shall be entitled to attend all court 179
or parole hearings unless a qualified health practitioner makes a finding that non-attendance is 180
immediately necessary to prevent a risk of death or serious bodily injury to the resident or 181
another person. 182
(f) A resident on suicide watch shall reside in the least restrictive setting necessary to 183
reasonably assure the safety of the resident and others, as determined by a qualified health 184
professional, including housing in the general population, mental health unit, or medical 185
infirmary. 186
(g) A resident on suicide watch may be placed in a safe cell only if it is immediately 187
necessary to prevent death or serious bodily injury. 188
(h) A qualified health professional shall directly observe any resident in a safe cell a 189
minimum of every 4 hours and shall formally reassess the resident at least every 24 hours. 190
(i) Removal of a resident’s clothing shall be prohibited absent an individualized 191
determination by a qualified health professional that such removal is necessary to prevent death 192
or serious bodily injury. If the individualized determination to remove a resident’s clothing is 193
made, the resident shall immediately be provided with alternative safe clothing and blanket, and 194
a qualified health professional shall reassess the determination at least every 24 hours. A resident 195
shall never be without the clothing and blankets necessary to provide reasonable privacy and 196
warmth. 197
(j) The Department shall transfer a resident from a safe cell to a local hospital or another 198
appropriate healthcare facility as soon as practicable: 199
(1) Upon a determination by a qualified health care professional that the 200
Department cannot provide the resident with appropriate healthcare; 201
(2) If the resident has been held in a safe cell continuously for 48 hours; or 202
(3) Upon request of the resident. 203
(k) The Department shall examine any incident involving a completed suicide and any 204
incident involving a suicide attempt requiring hospitalization through a morbidity and mortality 205
review process, which shall be completed within 30 days of the resident’s death or suicide 206
attempt. 207
(l) The review, separate and apart from other formal investigations that may be required 208
to determine the cause of death, shall include: 209
(1) Review of the circumstances surrounding the incident; 210
(2) Review of procedures relevant to the incident; 211
(3) Review of all relevant training received by involved staff; 212
(4) Review of pertinent healthcare services reports involving the resident; 213
(5) Review of any possible precipitating factors that may have caused the resident 214
to commit suicide or suffer a serious suicide attempt; 215
(6) Recommendations, if any, for changes in policy, training, physical plant, 216
healthcare services, and operational procedures; and 217
(7) A written report detailing the Department’s findings, including whether each 218
recommendation was accepted or rejected and a corrective action plan specifying responsible 219
parties and timetables for completion. 220
(2) Within 5 days of the conclusion of the review process, the Department shall transmit 221
the report to the Mayor, the D.C. Council, and the Corrections Information Council. 222
(3) The Department shall publish on its website written updates on the status of the 223
corrective action plan in 30-day intervals until the plan has been fully implemented. 224
(4) All staff involved in the incident should be offered critical incident stress debriefing. 225
Sec. 6. Plan and report on the elimination of prolonged confinement 226
(a) Within 90 days after the effective date of this act, the Department shall transmit to 227
the Mayor, the Council, and the Corrections Information Council, and publish on its website a 228
written report of its plans to effectuate this act. 229
(b) The report published under subsection (a) of this section shall include: 230
(1) The number of residents who have not received minimum out-of-cell time 231
over the prior 12 months; and 232
(2) The number of residents who have been placed in disciplinary housing, 233
medical isolation, or a safe cell over the prior 12 months. 234
(c) The report published under subsection (a) of this section shall include the following 235
deidentified information about each resident: 236
(1) The cumulative number of days each resident has not received minimum out-237
of-cell time over the prior 12 months; 238
(2) The highest consecutive number of days each resident has not received 239
minimum out-of-cell time over the prior 12 months; 240
(3) The cumulative number of days each resident has been placed in disciplinary 241
housing, medical isolation, or a safe cell over the prior 12 months; 242
(4) The highest consecutive number of days each resident has been placed in 243
disciplinary housing, medical isolation, or a safe cell over the prior 12 months; 244
(5) The basis for denying the resident minimum out-out-of-cell time; 245
(6) The basis for placing the resident in disciplinary housing, medical isolation, or 246
a safe cell, including: 247
(A) The communicable disease that is the basis for medical isolation; and 248
(B) The number of documented assessments made by a qualified health 249
professional; 250
(7) The notice and procedures followed before denying the resident minimum out-251
of-cell time; 252
(8) The notice and procedures followed before placing the resident in disciplinary 253
housing, medical isolation, or a safe cell; 254
(9) The timing and plan for restoring the resident’s out-of-cell time and any 255
known barriers to that transition; and 256
(10) The timing and plan for removing the resident from disciplinary housing, 257
medical isolation, or a safe cell, and any known barriers to that transition. 258
(d) Within 180 days after the effective date of this act, the Department shall promulgate 259
regulations and issue policy statements to amend the Department’s processes for and use of 260
prolonged confinement, medical isolation, and safe cells in accordance with this act; 261
(e) Within one year after the effective date of this act, and quarterly thereafter, the 262
Department shall submit to the Mayor, the Council, and the Corrections Information Council, 263
and make available on the Department’s website a written report of its use of prolonged 264
confinement, medical isolation, and safe cells. 265
(f) The reports published under subsection (e) of this section shall include deidentified 266
data on each resident placed in prolonged confinement, broken down by confinement that is the 267
result of medical isolation, a safe cell, or any other reason, for any amount of time during the 268
reporting period. 269
(g) The reports published under subsection (e) of this section shall include: 270
(1) Each resident’s age, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation or other LGBTQ 271
status, race, religion, and ethnicity; 272
(2) Whether or not each resident is diagnosed with a serious mental illness, as that 273
term is defined in the current edition of The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental 274
Disorders; 275
(3) Whether or not each resident is diagnosed with a physical disability, an 276
intellectual or developmental disability, a traumatic brain injury, or any other disability, as 277
defined in 42 U.S.C. § 12102; 278
(4) The location of the prolonged confinement, broken down by unit or type of 279
unit; 280
(5) The highest consecutive number of days that each resident was in prolonged 281
confinement; 282
(6) The cumulative number of days each resident was in prolonged confinement; 283
(7) The reasons each resident was subjected to prolonged confinement; 284
(8) Whether each resident was subject to any type of physical or chemical 285
restraint while in prolonged confinement; and 286
(9) Whether each resident remains in prolonged confinement as of the time the 287
report is finalized. 288
(h) The reports published under subsection (e) of this section shall include data on the 289
filing of grievances by people held in prolonged confinement, medical isolation, or a safe cell, 290
including: 291
(1) The total number of grievances filed, reported by type of grievance; 292
(2) The number of grievances closed during the reporting period, including the 293
reason for closure, and the number of grievances that remain open; and 294
(3) The average number of days from the filing of a grievance to final resolution, 295
broken down by Informal Grievance, Formal Grievance, Level 1 Appeal, Level 2 Appeal and 296
Prolonged Confinement Grievance. 297
(i) The reports published under subsection (e) of this section shall include data on assault 298
and self-harm, including: 299
(1) The total number of residents in medical isolation who committed self-harm, 300
attempted or completed suicide, were assaulted by another resident, were subjected to a use of 301
force by a Department employee, or received an incident report or disciplinary infraction, and the 302
type of that infraction; and 303
(2) The total number of residents in a safe cell who committed self-harm, 304
attempted or completed suicide, were assaulted by another resident, were subjected to a use of 305
force by a Department employee, or received an incident report or disciplinary infraction, and the 306
type of that infraction. 307
Sec. 7. Private right of action. 308
(a) A resident or former resident may bring a civil action in the Superior Court of the 309
District of Columbia against the District or any agent or employee thereof for violation of this act 310
or of any regulation promulgated or policy statement issued there under. Relief may include: 311
(1) Injunctive relief; 312
(2) Declaratory relief; 313
(3) Liquidated damages of $1000 per each day a resident is unlawfully held in 314
prolonged confinement; 315
(4) Compensatory damages; and 316
(5) Punitive damages. 317
(b) A resident or former resident who prevails in an action under this section shall be 318
entitled to fees and costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees and reasonable expert fees. 319
(c) Notwithstanding any D.C. law, regulation, or policy to the contrary: 320
(1) The requirements of D.C. Code § 12-309 shall not apply to an action brought 321
under this act; 322
(2) The only administrative remedy available to raise questions of compliance 323
with or treatment under this act shall be filing a Prolonged Confinement Grievance at any time 324
directly with the Director of the Department, which has 5 calendar days to respond; 325
(3) The grievance shall be considered exhausted at the time the Director responds 326
or at the conclusion of 5 calendar days regardless of whether the Director provides a response. 327
(d) The Department shall provide the resident with a grievance form, writing utensils, and 328
access to the Inmate Grievance Procedure mailbox. 329
(e) Failure to provide a resident with a grievance form, writing utensils or access to the 330
grievance mailbox shall effectively render the grievance process unavailable to the resident. 331
(f) In an action under this section, a resident or former resident’s sworn statement 332
including facts that, if true, would be sufficient to show the resident or former resident had either 333
completed the grievance process or that the grievance process was unavailable to that resident, 334
shall create a rebuttable presumption that the grievance process was either completed or 335
unavailable that can only be overcome by clear and convincing evidence. 336
Sec. 8. Fiscal impact statement. 337
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal 338
impact statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, 339
approved October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code § 1-301.47a). 340
Sec. 9. Effective date. 341
This act shall take effect after approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the 342
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as 343
provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 344
24, 1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code § 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of 345
Columbia Register. 346