II 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4748 

To require the Bureau of Prisons to submit to Congress an annual summary 

report of disaster damage, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2020 

Ms. DUCKWORTH introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To require the Bureau of Prisons to submit to Congress 

an annual summary report of disaster damage, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Correctional Facility 

5 Disaster Preparedness Act of 2020’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act, the term ‘‘major disaster’’ means a major 

8 disaster declared by the President under section 401 of 

9 the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency As10 sistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170). 


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1 SEC. 3. BUREAU OF PRISONS ANNUAL SUMMARY REPORT 

2 OF DISASTER DAMAGE. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau of Prisons shall sub4 mit to the Committee on Appropriations, the Committee 

5 on the Judiciary, and the Committee on Homeland Secu6 rity and Governmental Affairs of the Senate and the Com7 mittee on Appropriations, the Committee on the Judiciary, 

8 and the Committee on Homeland Security of the House 

9 of Representatives an annual summary report of disaster 

10 damage on the scope of physical damage from a major 

11 disaster on each Bureau of Prisons facility and its con12 tract prisons impacted or struck by a major disaster that 

13 explains the effects of the damage on inmates, including— 

14 (1) the ability of the Bureau of Prisons and its 

15 contract prisons to uphold the health, safety, and 

16 civil rights of the correctional population; 

17 (2) access to medical care, food, drinkable 

18 water, personal protective equipment, and personal 

19 hygiene products; 

20 (3) whether using home confinement or early 

21 release was considered; 

22 (4) access to uninterrupted visitation with legal 

23 counsel and visitors; 

24 (5) access to appropriate accommodations for 

25 inmates with disabilities; 


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1 (6) use of Federal funding to restore disaster2 damaged correctional facilities; and 

3 (7) the impact on staffing, equipment, and fi4 nancial resources to carry out facility-specific emer5 gency preparedness plans. 

6 (b) CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN.—The report re7 quired under subsection (a) shall include agency corrective 

8 actions that the Bureau of Prisons will take to improve 

9 and modernize emergency preparedness plans, as they re10 late to natural disasters, extreme weather, and public 

11 health emergencies. 

12 (c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The report required under 

13 subsection (a) shall include specific legislative recommen14 dations to Congress for improving emergency prepared15 ness plans within the Bureau of Prisons. 

16 SEC. 4. NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF CORRECTIONS. 

17 Section 4351 of title 18, United States Code, is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (c)— 

20 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

21 by striking ‘‘ten’’ and inserting ‘‘13’’; and 

22 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(3) One shall have served a sentence in either 

24 a Federal or State correctional facility or have a 


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1 professional background advocating on the behalf of 

2 formerly incarcerated individuals. 

3 ‘‘(4) One shall have a background as an emer4 gency response coordinator that has created an 

5 emergency management accreditation program. 

6 ‘‘(5) One shall have an educational and profes7 sional background in public health working with 

8 communicable diseases.’’; and 

9 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(i) REPORT.— 

11 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

12 ‘major disaster’ means a major disaster declared by 

13 the President under section 401 of the Robert T. 

14 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

15 Act (42 U.S.C. 5170). 

16 ‘‘(2) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

17 date of enactment of this subsection, the Board shall 

18 publish a report that includes— 

19 ‘‘(A) an examination of how selected States 

20 and territories are operating and improving 

21 emergency and evacuation procedures at correc22 tional facilities during a major disaster, includ23 ing— 

24 ‘‘(i) the extent of eliminating barriers 

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1 sonal protective equipment, and personal 

2 hygiene products; 

3 ‘‘(ii) the extent of using home confine4 ment or early release; 

5 ‘‘(iii) the extent of continuing uninter6 rupted access between inmates and their 

7 legal counsel and visitors; 

8 ‘‘(iv) the extent to which correctional 

9 facilities provide appropriate accommoda10 tions for inmates with disabilities; 

11 ‘‘(v) the extent to which governments 

12 use Federal funding to restore State, local, 

13 and territorial correctional facilities dam14 aged; and 

15 ‘‘(vi) the extent to which correctional 

16 institutions incorporate risk management 

17 best practices and relevant standards for 

18 emergency preparedness; and 

19 ‘‘(B) recommendations for congressional 

20 action to enhance Federal, State, and local co21 operation to build local resiliency and imple22 ment emergency preparedness plans and recov23 ery efforts. 

24 ‘‘(3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—Not later than 

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1 section, the Board shall update technical assistance, 

2 training programs, seminars, and workshops to in3 clude how correctional facilities can incorporate in 

4 their emergency preparedness plans and recovery ef5 forts— 

6 ‘‘(A) inmate access to medical care, food, 

7 drinkable water, personal protective equipment, 

8 and personal hygiene products; 

9 ‘‘(B) consideration by staff of using home 

10 confinement or early release; 

11 ‘‘(C) inmate access to uninterrupted visita12 tion with legal counsel and visitors; 

13 ‘‘(D) inmate access to appropriate accom14 modations for inmates with disabilities; 

15 ‘‘(E) use of Federal funding to restore dis16 aster-damaged correctional facilities; and 

17 ‘‘(F) incorporation by staff of risk manage18 ment best practices to enhance emergency pre19 paredness plans.’’. 

Æ 


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