I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7983 

To report data on COVID–19 in Federal, State, and local correctional 

facilities, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

AUGUST 7, 2020 

Ms. PRESSLEY (for herself, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Ms. CLARKE of New York, 

Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. TRONE, and Ms. SPEIER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL 

To report data on COVID–19 in Federal, State, and local 

correctional facilities, 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 ‘‘COVID–19 in Correc5 tions Data Transparency Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) COVID–19.—The term ‘‘COVID–19’’ 

2 means Coronavirus Disease 2019. 

3 (2) COVID–19 DIAGNOSTIC TEST.—The term 

4 ‘‘COVID–19 diagnostic test’’ means a test— 

5 (A) that is an in vitro diagnostic product 

6 (as defined in section 809.3 of title 21, Code of 

7 Federal Regulations, or any successor thereto) 

8 for the detection of SARS–CoV–2 or the diag9 nosis of the virus that causes COVID–19; and 

10 (B) the administration of which— 

11 (i) is approved, cleared, or authorized 

12 under section 510(k), 513, 515, or 564 of 

13 the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act 

14 (21 U.S.C. 360(k), 360c, 360e, 360bbb–3); 

15 (ii) the developer has requested, or in16 tends to request, emergency use authoriza17 tion under section 564 of the Federal 

18 Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 

19 360bbb–3), unless and until the emergency 

20 use authorization request under such sec21 tion 564 has been denied or the developer 

22 of such test does not submit a request 

23 under such section within a reasonable 

24 timeframe; 


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1 (iii) is developed in and authorized by 

2 a State that has notified the Secretary of 

3 Health and Human Services of its inten4 tion to review tests intended to diagnose 

5 COVID–19; or 

6 (iv) is another test that the Secretary 

7 determines appropriate in guidance. 

8 (3) COVID–19 EMERGENCY DATA COLLECTION

9 PERIOD.—The term ‘‘COVID–19 emergency data 

10 collection period’’ means the period beginning on the 

11 date of enactment of this Act and ending on the 

12 date that is 1 year after date on which the public 

13 health emergency declaration under section 319 of 

14 the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d), 

15 with respect to COVID–19, terminates. 

16 (4) STATE OR LOCAL CORRECTIONAL FACIL17 ITY.—The term ‘‘State or local correctional facil18 ity’’— 

19 (A) means a correctional facility within the 

20 jurisdiction of a State or unit of local govern21 ment; and 

22 (B) includes— 

23 (i) a municipal, regional, or county 

24 jail; 

25 (ii) a State prison; 


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1 (iii) a State-run boot camp prison; 

2 (iv) a boot camp prison that is con3 tracted out by the State; 

4 (v) a State or local contract facility; 

5 (vi) a juvenile detention facility; 

6 (vii) a juvenile secure correctional fa7 cility; and 

8 (viii) any other local or State correc9 tional facility, including any juvenile facil10 ity. 

11 SEC. 3. BUREAU OF PRISONS AND UNITED STATES MAR12 SHALS SERVICE DATA COLLECTION. 

13 (a) BUREAU OF PRISONS.—The Director of the Bu14 reau of Prisons shall— 

15 (1) on a daily basis during the COVID–19 

16 emergency data collection period, make available to 

17 the public on the website of the Bureau of Prisons 

18 a report on the information described in section 6, 

19 with respect to incarcerated persons and staff; and 

20 (2) not later than 14 days after the date on 

21 which the Director of the Centers for Disease Con22 trol and Prevention publishes the guidance required 

23 under section 5(a), but in no case later than 45 days 

24 after the date of enactment of this Act, and not less 

25 frequently than once every 7 days thereafter until 


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1 the date on which the COVID–19 emergency data 

2 collection period ends, submit to Director of the 

3 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention every 7 

4 days, a report on the information described in sec5 tion 6, with respect to incarcerated persons and 

6 staff. 

7 (b) UNITED STATES MARSHALS SERVICE.—The Di8 rector of the United States Marshals Service shall— 

9 (1) on a daily basis during the COVID–19 

10 emergency data collection period, make available to 

11 the public on the website of the United States Mar12 shals Service a report on the information described 

13 in section 6, with respect to incarcerated persons in 

14 the custody of the United States Marshals Service, 

15 including individuals held at or employed by a State 

16 or local correctional facility contracted by Federal 

17 entities; and 

18 (2) not later than 14 days after the date on 

19 which the Director of the Centers for Disease Con20 trol and Prevention publishes the guidance required 

21 under section 5(a), but in no case later than 45 days 

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, and not less 

23 frequently than once every 7 days thereafter until 

24 the date on which the COVID–19 emergency data 

25 collection period ends, submit to Director of the 


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1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention every 7 

2 days, a report on the information described in sec3 tion 6, with respect to incarcerated persons and 

4 staff. 

5 SEC. 4. STATE AND LOCAL CORRECTIONAL FACILITY DATA 

6 COLLECTION. 

7 (a) STATE AND LOCAL REPORTS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 14 days after 

9 the date on which the Director of the Centers for 

10 Disease Control and Prevention publishes the guid11 ance required under section 5(a), but in no case 

12 later than 45 days after the date of enactment of 

13 this Act, and not less frequently than once every 7 

14 days thereafter until the date on which the COVID– 

15 19 emergency data collection period ends— 

16 (A) the head of each State department of 

17 corrections and the head of each State juvenile 

18 justice agency shall make available to the public 

19 on the website of the department, and submit 

20 to the public health authority of the State, the 

21 data described in section 6, with respect to in22 carcerated persons and staff; and 

23 (B) the head of each State or local correc24 tional facility shall submit to the public health 

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1 ment, as the case may be, the data described in 

2 section 6, with respect to incarcerated persons 

3 and staff. 

4 (2) SUBMISSION OF INFORMATION TO THE

5 CDC.—Not later than 24 hours after a State or local 

6 public health authority receives data under para7 graph (1), the head of the public health authority 

8 shall submit the data to the Director of the Centers 

9 for Disease Control and Prevention. 

10 (3) BYRNE GRANT AMOUNTS.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—If a State or jurisdic12 tion within a State fails to comply with the re13 quirements under paragraphs (1) and (2) in a 

14 fiscal year, the amount the State would other15 wise be awarded in the following fiscal year 

16 under subpart 1 of part E of title I of the Om17 nibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 

18 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10151 et seq.) shall be re19 duced by 10 percent. 

20 (B) REPORT ON COMPLIANCE TO DOJ.— 

21 For purposes of carrying out this paragraph, 

22 the Director of the Centers for Disease Control 

23 and Prevention shall, not later than 30 days 

24 after the date on which the Director first re25 ceives data from a State or local public health 


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1 authority and once every 30 days thereafter, 

2 submit to the Attorney General a report detail3 ing which States, if any, are not in compliance 

4 with this Act. 

5 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

6 authorized to be appropriated to the Director of the Cen7 ters for Disease Control such sums as are necessary to 

8 carry out this section. 

9 SEC. 5. CDC REPORTS. 

10 (a) GUIDANCE.—Not later than 30 days after the 

11 date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the Centers 

12 for Disease Control and Prevention shall issue guidance 

13 for Federal, State, and local correctional facilities on— 

14 (1) the categories of data required to be re15 ported under this Act; and 

16 (2) how the Director will determine whether a 

17 State is in compliance with this Act. 

18 (b) PUBLICATION ON WEBSITE.—Not later than 7 

19 days after data is reported to Centers for Disease Control 

20 and Prevention under section 3 or 4, the Director of the 

21 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shall make the 

22 data available to the public on the website of the Centers 

23 for Disease Control and Prevention, including all data re24 ported by the Bureau of Prisons, the United States Mar25 shals Service, and State and local correctional facilities. 


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1 (c) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 60 days 

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, and every 30 days 

3 thereafter until the date on which the COVID–19 emer4 gency data collection period ends, the Director of the Cen5 ters for Disease Control and Prevention shall compile and 

6 submit to Congress, including the Committees on the Ju7 diciary and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the 

8 Senate and the Committees on the Judiciary and Energy 

9 and Commerce of the House of Representatives, a report 

10 on the information submitted by the Bureau of Prisons, 

11 the United States Marshals Service, and the head of each 

12 State department of corrections under sections 3 and 4, 

13 respectively. 

14 SEC. 6. COVID–19 DATA. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The data described in this section 

16 is the following data for each Federal, State, or local cor17 rectional facility within a State: 

18 (1) TESTING NUMBERS.—COVID–19 diagnostic 

19 testing, including cumulative and new (since the pre20 vious report) counts of— 

21 (A) the number of incarcerated persons 

22 tested for COVID–19, disaggregated by first23 time COVID–19 diagnostic tests and retests; 

24 (B) the number of correctional facility 

25 staff tested for COVID–19, disaggregated by 


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1 first-time COVID–19 diagnostic tests and 

2 retests; and 

3 (C) the COVID–19 diagnostic test devel4 oper and test name for each COVID–19 diag5 nostic test conducted. 

6 (2) TEST RESULTS.—COVID–19 diagnostic 

7 testing outcomes, including cumulative and new 

8 (since the previous report) counts of— 

9 (A) the number of confirmed active cases 

10 of COVID–19 among incarcerated persons, 

11 disaggregated by first-time COVID–19 diag12 nostic tests and retests; 

13 (B) the number of confirmed negative 

14 cases of COVID–19 among incarcerated per15 sons, disaggregated by first-time COVID–19 di16 agnostic tests and retests; 

17 (C) the number of confirmed active cases 

18 of COVID–19 among correctional facility staff, 

19 disaggregated by first-time COVID–19 diag20 nostic tests and retests; 

21 (D) the number of confirmed negative 

22 cases of COVID–19 among correctional facility 

23 staff, disaggregated by first-time COVID–19 di24 agnostic tests and retests; 


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1 (E) the number of COVID–19 diagnostic 

2 tests pending results, disaggregated by incarcer3 ated persons and correctional facility staff; 

4 (F) the average time between testing an 

5 incarcerated person for COVID–19 and receiv6 ing the results of the COVID–19 diagnostic 

7 test; and 

8 (G) the average time between testing a 

9 correctional facility employee for COVID–19 

10 and receiving the results of the COVID–19 di11 agnostic test. 

12 (3) CASE OUTCOMES.—COVID–19 case out13 comes, including cumulative and new (since the pre14 vious report) counts of— 

15 (A) the number of incarcerated persons 

16 hospitalized for a case of COVID–19; 

17 (B) the number of incarcerated persons 

18 who have recovered from COVID–19; 

19 (C) the number of incarcerated persons 

20 currently in quarantine or medical isolation for 

21 infection with or exposure to COVID–19; 

22 (D) the number of incarcerated persons 

23 who have completed quarantine or been released 

24 from medical isolation; 


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1 (E) the number of incarcerated persons 

2 who have died from a case of COVID–19; 

3 (F) the number of correctional facility 

4 staff hospitalized for a case of COVID–19; 

5 (G) the number of correctional facility 

6 staff who have recovered from COVID–19; and 

7 (H) the number of correctional facility 

8 staff who have died from a case of COVID–19. 

9 (4) RELEASE OF INCARCERATED PERSONS.—In 

10 the case of incarcerated persons, data related to the 

11 release of such incarcerated persons, including indi12 viduals released to home confinement and pursuant 

13 to compassionate release, as a result of the COVID– 

14 19 public health emergency. 

15 (5) DAILY POPULATION.—Average daily popu16 lation for the week preceding the COVID–19 emer17 gency data collection period and for all weeks during 

18 this period. 

19 (b) DISAGGREGATION OF DATA.—The data described 

20 in this section shall be disaggregated by sex, sexual ori21 entation, gender identity, age, race, ethnicity, disability, 

22 and geography (including county and State). 

23 (c) INCARCERATED PERSONS DATA.—The data de24 scribed in this section with respect to incarcerated persons 

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1 fected with COVID–19 shall include, to the extent prac2 ticable, the term of imprisonment imposed on such incar3 cerated persons and the time served on such term of im4 prisonment. 

5 SEC. 7. PRIVACY PROTECTIONS. 

6 Any data collected, stored, received, or published 

7 under this Act shall— 

8 (1) be so collected, stored, received, or pub9 lished in a manner that protects the privacy of indi10 viduals whose information is included in such data; 

11 (2) be de-identified or anonymized in a manner 

12 that protects the identity of all individuals whose in13 formation is included in such data; 

14 (3) comply with privacy protections provided 

15 under the regulations promulgated under section 

16 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and Ac17 countability Act of 1996 (42 U.S.C. 1320d–2 note); 

18 and 

19 (4) be limited in use for the purpose of public 

20 health and be protected from all other internal use 

21 by any entity that collects, stores, or receives the 

22 data, including use of such data in determinations of 

23 eligibility (or continued eligibility) in health plans, 

24 and from any other inappropriate uses. 

Æ 


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