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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1910 FILED ON: 1/15/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2656
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Jack Patrick Lewis and Samantha Montaño
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act to promote rehabilitation including guaranteed health, treatment, and safety for
incarcerated LGBTQI+ People.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Jack Patrick Lewis7th Middlesex1/15/2025Samantha Montaño15th Suffolk1/15/2025Lindsay N. Sabadosa1st Hampshire1/17/2025 1 of 9
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1910 FILED ON: 1/15/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2656
By Representatives Lewis of Framingham and Montaño of Boston, a petition (accompanied by
bill, House, No. 2656) of Jack Patrick Lewis, Samantha Montaño and Lindsay N. Sabadosa for
legislation to promote rehabilitation including guaranteed health, treatment and safety for
incarcerated LGBTQI+ persons. Public Safety and Homeland Security.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 2357 OF 2023-2024.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
_______________
An Act to promote rehabilitation including guaranteed health, treatment, and safety for
incarcerated LGBTQI+ People.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Section 13 of chapter 125 of the General Laws is hereby amended by
2adding the following paragraph:-
3 The superintendent of each state correctional facility and administrator of each county
4correctional facility shall designate 1 staff member as the LGBTQI+ coordinator. The LGBTQI+
5coordinator shall:
6 (i) ensure compliance with housing compatibility standards;
7 (ii) coordinate education, employment, and program placement for incarcerated persons
8who are LGBTQI+, as defined in section 1 of chapter 127; 2 of 9
9 (iii) support self-facilitated LGBTQI+ groups and leisure activities as defined in section
1032C;
11 (iv) after consulting with incarcerated persons, ensure at least one periodical is available
12in each institutional library pertaining to living well with HIV and at least one periodical
13pertaining to the LGBTQI+ community, and
14 (v) perform other necessary responsibilities. The LGBTQI+ coordinator shall be a
15Correctional Program Officer employed by the Massachusetts Department of Correction or a
16licensed clinical social worker in houses of correction.
17 SECTION 2. Section 1 of chapter 127 of the General Laws, and section 1 of chapter 125
18as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting the following definitions:-
19 “LGBTQI+”, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex or not conforming to a
20specific gender identity or sexual orientation.
21 "General Population", any housing placement where an incarcerated person is not held in
22restrictive housing. In no event shall any general population unit have conditions that are similar
23to or more restrictive than restrictive housing. General population conditions shall ensure an
24incarcerated person’s reasonable access to: out of cell time; programming, education, the yard,
25gym, and other recreational spaces; the law library; religious services; canteen; all personal
26property; visitation, including both the total available visitation time and the opportunity for
27contact visits; telephones and video visits; opportunities to earn a wage, and opportunities to earn
28good time, as available in the facility. All such access shall be maximized as much as possible.
29 “Incarcerated Person”, inmate, prisoner, or detainee. 3 of 9
30 “Consensual”, free from fraud, force, or coercion; provided, however, that any sexual
31contact or relations between correctional officers and incarcerated persons shall not be deemed
32consensual.
33 SECTION 3. Said chapter 127, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after
34section 21 the following section:-
35 Section 21A. Upon intake at a correctional facility, each incarcerated person shall be
36provided an opportunity to voluntarily disclose their sexual orientation and gender identity,
37provided further that an incarcerated person may also disclose this information at any time
38during their incarceration. The correctional facility shall document the information which shall
39be made available to the LGBTQI+ coordinator, staff persons who use the information for
40classification purposes and any other purpose related to implementing the National Standards to
41Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Prison Rape Under the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA),
42and any other staff persons designated by the commissioner of correction or sheriff; provided,
43however, that the commissioner and sheriffs shall minimize access to sensitive information.
44Aggregated data on the number of incarcerated persons who voluntarily disclosed their sexual
45orientation and gender identity shall be made publicly available on an annual basis for each
46correctional facility; provided, however, that the report shall not include any personally
47identifiable information.
48 SECTION 4. Section 22 of said chapter 127, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
49adding the following paragraph:-
50 Upon intake at a correctional facility, each incarcerated person shall be provided an
51opportunity to voluntarily disclose personally held homophobic or transphobic sentiments, 4 of 9
52provided further that the incarcerated person may also disclose this information at any time
53during their incarceration. The correctional facility shall document the information, whether it is
54provided by the incarcerated person or observed by facility staff at any time. Anyone who
55discloses, is reasonably believed to harbor, or demonstrates behavior consistent with
56homophobic or transphobic sentiments shall not be housed in the same cell as someone who
57identifies as LGBTQI+ or who may be perceived as LGBTQI+; provided that no person shall be
58punished for disclosure or nondisclosure of such information. Information obtained consistent
59with this section shall not be shared with the Department of Probation or the Parole
60Board. Aggregated data on the number of incarcerated persons who disclose, are reasonably
61believed to harbor, or demonstrate behavior consistent with homophobic or transphobic
62sentiments shall be made publicly available on an annual basis for each correctional facility;
63provided, however, that the report shall not include any personally identifiable information.
64 SECTION 5. Said chapter 127, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after
65section 32A the following 3 sections:-
66 Section 32B. For the purposes of this section, the term “superintendent” shall mean the
67superintendent of each state correctional facility and administrator of each county correctional
68facility.
69 Each correctional facility shall make publicly available on their websites anonymized
70data, aggregated annually, no later than June 30, that is required by Standard 115.87 of the
71National Standards to Prevent, Detect, and Respond to Prison Rape Under the Prison Rape
72Elimination Act, 28 C.F.R. Part 115, promulgated pursuant to the federal Prison Rape 5 of 9
73Elimination Act of 2003, codified in 34 U.S.C. §§ 30301 to 30309, inclusive, hereinafter the
74PREA Standards, publicly available on their website.
75 For each PREA investigation conducted, the correctional facility shall make publicly
76available on their website the factual basis for each PREA investigation, including, but not
77limited to, whether it was initiated by staff, an incarcerated person, or a third party; a detailed
78description of the alleged incident, whether the investigated behavior was consensual, and the
79general location of the alleged incident, evidence relied upon to determine final investigatory
80outcomes, and any actions taken to respond to the allegation.
81 Furthermore, the department will report on the race, age, disability status, sexual
82orientation, and gender identity of incarcerated persons involved delineated by whether they
83were a victim, perpetrator, or consensual party to said investigation; provided however, that the
84detailed description of the complaint shall not include any personally identifiable information of
85incarcerated persons.
86 Annually, each correctional facility shall make publicly available on their website the
87incident-based data that would be necessary to answer all questions from the most recent version
88of the Survey of Sexual Violence conducted by the Department of Justice; provided, however,
89that the data shall not include any personally identifiable information of incarcerated persons. All
90formal or informal institutional grievances and federal Americans With Disabilities Act requests
91related to sexual abuse or the general wellbeing of LGBTQI+ persons and those living with
92HIV shall be redacted and made publicly available on each correctional facility’s website.
93 Section 32C. (a) Notwithstanding any general law or special law to the contrary, the state
94auditor shall be provided with access to all PREA-related records, including, but not limited to, 6 of 9
95all information contained in each facility’s PREA database and any information provided to any
96PREA auditor before, during or after a PREA audit, including documents or records reviewed
97on-site. The state auditor shall also be provided access to all state prisons and houses of
98correction in the commonwealth and shall be allowed to privately interview incarcerated people,
99and staff to the extent practicable. (b) The state auditor shall prepare an annual report, produced
100not later than February 1, analyzing risk factors and systemic issues regarding sexual abuse in
101state prisons and houses of correction, as well as specific recommendations to improve
102outcomes. The state auditor shall submit its annual report to the governor, the attorney general
103and the joint committee on the judiciary, and the report shall be publicly available.
104 Section 32D. Each correctional facility shall provide meaningful opportunities for
105LGBTQI+ incarcerated persons to:
106 (i) congregate;
107 (ii) form and self-facilitate self-help or support groups;
108 (iii) receive LGBTQI+ themed literature in the institutional library, including one
109commonly read periodical about living well with HIV and one commonly read periodical about
110the LGBTQI+ community; (iv) watch LGBTQI+ movies free of charge; and
111 (v) celebrate June as Pride month. Provided further, each correctional facility shall allow
112visitors to participate in subsection (ii) and subsection (v).
113 Section 39A of said chapter 127, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out
114subsection (c) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:- 7 of 9
115 SECTION 6. Section 38F of said chapter 127, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
116striking out Section 38F and inserting in place thereof the following:-
117 Section 38F. An incarcerated person shall not file any claim that may be the subject of a
118grievance under section 38E unless the incarcerated person has exhausted the administrative
119remedy established pursuant to said section 38E; but the court shall consider such claim if a final
120administrative resolution of a grievance filed pursuant to said section 38E has not been decided
121within 180 days from the date of filing such a grievance, or if the incarcerated person can
122demonstrate to the court that exigent circumstances exist which, if delayed pursuant to the
123requirements of this section, would jeopardize the life or seriously impair the health of the
124incarcerated person, or, for actions seeking equitable relief; or if the claim by an incarcerated
125person is directly related to sexual abuse, serious bodily harm, or medical issues.
126 SECTION 7. Section 39A of said chapter 127, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
127striking out subsection (c) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
128 (c) The fact that an incarcerated person identifies as LGBTQI+ shall not be grounds for
129involuntary placement in restrictive housing or involuntary removal from the general population,
130provided however, that an incarcerated person who identifies as LGBTQI+ may request to be
131removed from the general population for their own safety at any time.
132 SECTION 8. Section 39A of said chapter 127, as so appearing, is hereby further amended
133by striking out subsection (f) and inserting in place thereof the following 4 subsections:-
134 (f) No incarcerated person shall be placed in restrictive housing, removed from general
135population, or disciplined in any way for reporting in good faith an act of sexual abuse, provided 8 of 9
136that an incarcerated person may request to be removed from general population for their own
137safety at any time.
138 (g) Any incarcerated person that engages in consensual sexual activity shall not be
139removed from general population. Provided further, such behavior shall not be grounds for
140removal of visitation, or phone privileges, provided further, any guilty finding on a disciplinary
141report for consensual sexual activity shall not be used in determining the classification status or
142parole eligibility of an incarcerated person.
143 (h) Affectionate, non-sexual contact between incarcerated persons, including but not
144limited to handshakes, hugs, touching of another's hair and other forms of non-sexual contact,
145shall not be subject to disciplinary action, nor shall such incidents be used as a basis to punish or
146penalize an incarcerated person in any way.
147 (i) An incarcerated person shall not be confined to restrictive housing except pursuant to
148section 39 or this section.
149 SECTION 9. Section 16 of said chapter 127, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
150adding the following 3 sections:
151 16A: Each correctional facility shall ensure that an incarcerated person that requests
152access to medication to prevent the transmission of HIV be provided such medication at no cost
153to the incarcerated person, provided further, that reasons for requesting said medication shall be
154kept confidential between the medical provider and incarcerated person and not be shared with
155security or administrative staff, provided however, that said medication shall only be provided if
156clinically appropriate. 9 of 9
157 16B: Each correctional facility shall ensure that any incarcerated person prescribed
158medication to prevent the transmission of HIV or to control and manage HIV, whether held on
159pre-trial or committed status, shall be provided a thirty-day supply upon release from custody.
160 16C: Each correctional facility shall ensure that an incarcerated person prescribed
161medication to control and manage HIV shall be permitted to keep said medication on their
162person or in their cell to ensure regular and timely dosage of said medication.
163 SECTION 10. Section 32A of said chapter 127, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
164adding the following sentence:-
165 Any incarcerated person with a gender dysphoria diagnosis shall also be housed in a
166single occupancy cell, unless they request otherwise, provided that the facility is at or below 90%
167occupancy on the day of assignment.
168 SECTION 11. Said chapter 127 is hereby amended by inserting after section 39H the
169following section:-
170 Section 39I. The Commissioner and sheriffs shall ensure that all mental health providers
171within their facilities, hired or contracted, are trained in and can demonstrate cultural
172competency in working with LGBTQI+ individuals.