I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 768 

To provide for an effective HIV/AIDS program in Federal prisons. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 5, 2015 

Ms. MAXINE WATERS of California (for herself, Mr. CONYERS, Ms. LEE, Mr. 

GRIJALVA, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. NORTON, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. HONDA, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. NADLER, Ms. MOORE, Mr. 

RUSH, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SERRANO, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. MEEKS, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. 

VELA ́ZQUEZ, and Mr. LEWIS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To provide for an effective HIV/AIDS program in Federal 

prisons. 

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 ‘‘Stop AIDS in Prison 

5 Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. COMPREHENSIVE HIV/AIDS POLICY. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau of Prisons (herein8 after in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Bureau’’) shall develop 


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1 a comprehensive policy to provide HIV testing, treatment, 

2 and prevention for inmates within the correctional setting 

3 and upon reentry. 

4 (b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this policy shall be 

5 as follows: 

6 (1) To stop the spread of HIV/AIDS among in7 mates. 

8 (2) To protect prison guards and other per9 sonnel from HIV/AIDS infection. 

10 (3) To provide comprehensive medical treat11 ment to inmates who are living with HIV/AIDS. 

12 (4) To promote HIV/AIDS awareness and pre13 vention among inmates. 

14 (5) To encourage inmates to take personal re15 sponsibility for their health. 

16 (6) To reduce the risk that inmates will trans17 mit HIV/AIDS to other persons in the community 

18 following their release from prison. 

19 (c) CONSULTATION.—The Bureau shall consult with 

20 appropriate officials of the Department of Health and 

21 Human Services, the Office of National Drug Control Pol22 icy, the Office of National AIDS Policy, and the Centers 

23 for Disease Control regarding the development of this pol24 icy. 


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1 (d) TIME LIMIT.—The Bureau shall draft appro2 priate regulations to implement this policy not later than 

3 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS FOR POLICY. 

5 The policy created under section 2 shall do the fol6 lowing: 

7 (1) TESTING AND COUNSELING UPON IN8 TAKE.— 

9 (A) Health care personnel shall provide 

10 routine HIV testing to all inmates as a part of 

11 a comprehensive medical examination imme12 diately following admission to a facility. (Health 

13 care personnel need not provide routine HIV 

14 testing to an inmate who is transferred to a fa15 cility from another facility if the inmate’s med16 ical records are transferred with the inmate and 

17 indicate that the inmate has been tested pre18 viously.) 

19 (B) To all inmates admitted to a facility 

20 prior to the effective date of this policy, health 

21 care personnel shall provide routine HIV testing 

22 within no more than 6 months. HIV testing for 

23 these inmates may be performed in conjunction 

24 with other health services provided to these in25 mates by health care personnel. 


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1 (C) All HIV tests under this paragraph 

2 shall comply with the opt-out provision. 

3 (2) PRE-TEST AND POST-TEST COUNSELING.— 

4 Health care personnel shall provide confidential pre5 test and post-test counseling to all inmates who are 

6 tested for HIV. Counseling may be included with 

7 other general health counseling provided to inmates 

8 by health care personnel. 

9 (3) HIV/AIDS PREVENTION EDUCATION.— 

10 (A) Health care personnel shall improve 

11 HIV/AIDS awareness through frequent edu12 cational programs for all inmates. HIV/AIDS 

13 educational programs may be provided by com14 munity based organizations, local health depart15 ments, and inmate peer educators. 

16 (B) HIV/AIDS educational materials shall 

17 be made available to all inmates at orientation, 

18 at health care clinics, at regular educational 

19 programs, and prior to release. Both written 

20 and audio-visual materials shall be made avail21 able to all inmates. 

22 (C)(i) The HIV/AIDS educational pro23 grams and materials under this paragraph shall 

24 include information on— 


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1 (I) modes of transmission, including 

2 transmission through tattooing, sexual con3 tact, and intravenous drug use; 

4 (II) prevention methods; 

5 (III) treatment; and 

6 (IV) disease progression. 

7 (ii) The programs and materials shall be 

8 culturally sensitive, written or designed for low 

9 literacy levels, available in a variety of lan10 guages, and present scientifically accurate in11 formation in a clear and understandable man12 ner. 

13 (4) HIV TESTING UPON REQUEST.— 

14 (A) Health care personnel shall allow in15 mates to obtain HIV tests upon request once 

16 per year or whenever an inmate has a reason to 

17 believe the inmate may have been exposed to 

18 HIV. Health care personnel shall, both orally 

19 and in writing, inform inmates, during orienta20 tion and periodically throughout incarceration, 

21 of their right to obtain HIV tests. 

22 (B) Health care personnel shall encourage 

23 inmates to request HIV tests if the inmate is 

24 sexually active, has been raped, uses intra25 venous drugs, receives a tattoo, or if the inmate 


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1 is concerned that the inmate may have been ex2 posed to HIV/AIDS. 

3 (C) An inmate’s request for an HIV test 

4 shall not be considered an indication that the 

5 inmate has put him/herself at risk of infection 

6 and/or committed a violation of prison rules. 

7 (5) HIV TESTING OF PREGNANT WOMEN.— 

8 (A) Health care personnel shall provide 

9 routine HIV testing to all inmates who become 

10 pregnant. 

11 (B) All HIV tests under this paragraph 

12 shall comply with the opt-out provision. 

13 (6) COMPREHENSIVE TREATMENT.— 

14 (A) Health care personnel shall provide all 

15 inmates who test positive for HIV— 

16 (i) timely, comprehensive medical 

17 treatment; 

18 (ii) confidential counseling on man19 aging their medical condition and pre20 venting its transmission to other persons; 

21 and 

22 (iii) voluntary partner notification 

23 services. 

24 (B) Health care provided under this para25 graph shall be consistent with current DepartVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:43 Feb 13, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H768.IH H768

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1 ment of Health and Human Services guidelines 

2 and standard medical practice. Health care per3 sonnel shall discuss treatment options, the im4 portance of adherence to antiretroviral therapy, 

5 and the side effects of medications with inmates 

6 receiving treatment. 

7 (C) Health care personnel and pharmacy 

8 personnel shall ensure that the facility for9 mulary contains all Food and Drug Administra10 tion-approved medications necessary to provide 

11 comprehensive treatment for inmates living with 

12 HIV/AIDS, and that the facility maintains ade13 quate supplies of such medications to meet in14 mates’ medical needs. Health care personnel 

15 and pharmacy personnel shall also develop and 

16 implement automatic renewal systems for these 

17 medications to prevent interruptions in care. 

18 (D) Correctional staff, health care per19 sonnel, and pharmacy personnel shall develop 

20 and implement distribution procedures to en21 sure timely and confidential access to medica22 tions. 

23 (7) PROTECTION OF CONFIDENTIALITY.— 

24 (A) Health care personnel shall develop 

25 and implement procedures to ensure the conVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:04 Feb 12, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H768.IH H768

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1 fidentiality of inmate tests, diagnoses, and 

2 treatment. Health care personnel and correc3 tional staff shall receive regular training on the 

4 implementation of these procedures. Penalties 

5 for violations of inmate confidentiality by health 

6 care personnel or correctional staff shall be 

7 specified and strictly enforced. 

8 (B) HIV testing, counseling, and treat9 ment shall be provided in a confidential setting 

10 where other routine health services are provided 

11 and in a manner that allows the inmate to re12 quest and obtain these services as routine med13 ical services. 

14 (8) TESTING, COUNSELING, AND REFERRAL

15 PRIOR TO REENTRY.— 

16 (A) Health care personnel shall provide 

17 routine HIV testing to all inmates no more 

18 than 3 months prior to their release and re19 entry into the community. (Inmates who are al20 ready known to be infected need not be tested 

21 again.) This requirement may be waived if an 

22 inmate’s release occurs without sufficient notice 

23 to the Bureau to allow health care personnel to 

24 perform a routine HIV test and notify the in25 mate of the results. 


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1 (B) All HIV tests under this paragraph 

2 shall comply with the opt-out provision. 

3 (C) To all inmates who test positive for 

4 HIV and all inmates who already are known to 

5 have HIV/AIDS, health care personnel shall 

6 provide— 

7 (i) confidential prerelease counseling 

8 on managing their medical condition in the 

9 community, accessing appropriate treat10 ment and services in the community, and 

11 preventing the transmission of their condi12 tion to family members and other persons 

13 in the community; 

14 (ii) referrals to appropriate health 

15 care providers and social service agencies 

16 in the community that meet the inmate’s 

17 individual needs, including voluntary part18 ner notification services and prevention 

19 counseling services for people living with 

20 HIV/AIDS; and 

21 (iii) a 30-day supply of any medically 

22 necessary medications the inmate is cur23 rently receiving. 

24 (9) OPT-OUT PROVISION.—Inmates shall have 

25 the right to refuse routine HIV testing. Inmates 


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1 shall be informed both orally and in writing of this 

2 right. Oral and written disclosure of this right may 

3 be included with other general health information 

4 and counseling provided to inmates by health care 

5 personnel. If an inmate refuses a routine test for 

6 HIV, health care personnel shall make a note of the 

7 inmate’s refusal in the inmate’s confidential medical 

8 records. However, the inmate’s refusal shall not be 

9 considered a violation of prison rules or result in dis10 ciplinary action. Any reference in this section to the 

11 ‘‘opt-out provision’’ shall be deemed a reference to 

12 the requirement of this paragraph. 

13 (10) EXCLUSION OF TESTS PERFORMED UNDER

14 SECTION 4014(b) FROM THE DEFINITION OF ROU15 TINE HIV TESTING.—HIV testing of an inmate 

16 under section 4014(b) of title 18, United States 

17 Code, is not routine HIV testing for the purposes of 

18 the opt-out provision. Health care personnel shall 

19 document the reason for testing under section 

20 4014(b) of title 18, United States Code, in the in21 mate’s confidential medical records. 

22 (11) TIMELY NOTIFICATION OF TEST RE23 SULTS.—Health care personnel shall provide timely 

24 notification to inmates of the results of HIV tests. 


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1 SEC. 4. CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW. 

2 (a) SCREENING IN GENERAL.—Section 4014(a) of 

3 title 18, United States Code, is amended— 

4 (1) by striking ‘‘for a period of 6 months or 

5 more’’; 

6 (2) by striking ‘‘, as appropriate,’’; and 

7 (3) by striking ‘‘if such individual is determined 

8 to be at risk for infection with such virus in accord9 ance with the guidelines issued by the Bureau of 

10 Prisons relating to infectious disease management’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘unless the individual declines. The 

12 Attorney General shall also cause such individual to 

13 be so tested before release unless the individual de14 clines.’’. 

15 (b) INADMISSIBILITY OF HIV TEST RESULTS IN

16 CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS.—Section 4014(d) of 

17 title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting ‘‘or 

18 under the Stop AIDS in Prison Act of 2015’’ after ‘‘under 

19 this section’’. 

20 (c) SCREENING AS PART OF ROUTINE SCREENING.— 

21 Section 4014(e) of title 18, United States Code, is amend22 ed by adding at the end the following: ‘‘Such rules shall 

23 also provide that the initial test under this section be per24 formed as part of the routine health screening conducted 

25 at intake.’’. 


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1 SEC. 5. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

2 (a) REPORT ON HEPATITIS AND OTHER DISEASES.— 

3 Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of 

4 this Act, the Bureau shall provide a report to the Congress 

5 on Bureau policies and procedures to provide testing, 

6 treatment, and prevention education programs for hepa7 titis and other diseases transmitted through sexual activ8 ity and intravenous drug use. The Bureau shall consult 

9 with appropriate officials of the Department of Health and 

10 Human Services, the Office of National Drug Control Pol11 icy, the Office of National AIDS Policy, and the Centers 

12 for Disease Control regarding the development of this re13 port. 

14 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS.— 

15 (1) GENERALLY.—Not later than 2 years after 

16 the date of the enactment of this Act, and then an17 nually thereafter, the Bureau shall report to Con18 gress on the incidence among inmates of diseases 

19 transmitted through sexual activity and intravenous 

20 drug use. 

21 (2) MATTERS PERTAINING TO VARIOUS DIS22 EASES.—Reports under paragraph (1) shall dis23 cuss— 

24 (A) the incidence among inmates of HIV/ 

25 AIDS, hepatitis, and other diseases transmitted 


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1 through sexual activity and intravenous drug 

2 use; and 

3 (B) updates on Bureau testing, treatment, 

4 and prevention education programs for these 

5 diseases. 

6 (3) MATTERS PERTAINING TO HIV/AIDS

7 ONLY.—Reports under paragraph (1) shall also in8 clude— 

9 (A) the number of inmates who tested 

10 positive for HIV upon intake; 

11 (B) the number of inmates who tested 

12 positive prior to reentry; 

13 (C) the number of inmates who were not 

14 tested prior to reentry because they were re15 leased without sufficient notice; 

16 (D) the number of inmates who opted-out 

17 of taking the test; 

18 (E) the number of inmates who were test19 ed under section 4014(b) of title 18, United 

20 States Code; and 

21 (F) the number of inmates under treat22 ment for HIV/AIDS. 

23 (4) CONSULTATION.—The Bureau shall consult 

24 with appropriate officials of the Department of 

25 Health and Human Services, the Office of National 


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1 Drug Control Policy, the Office of National AIDS 

2 Policy, and the Centers for Disease Control regard3 ing the development of reports under paragraph (1). 

Æ 


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