I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4618 

To develop and implement national standards for the use of solitary 

confinement in the Nation’s prisons, jails, and juvenile detention facilities. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 8, 2014 

Mr. RICHMOND (for himself, Mr. CONYERS, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. DANNY K. 

DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. GRIJALVA, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. ELLISON, Ms. KAPTUR, Ms. BASS, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. POLIS, Mr. HASTINGS of 

Florida, Ms. MOORE, Ms. WILSON of Florida, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. 

NORTON, Mr. HONDA, and Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To develop and implement national standards for the use 

of solitary confinement in the Nation’s prisons, jails, 

and juvenile detention facilities. 

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 ‘‘The Solitary Confine5 ment Study and Reform Act of 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this Act are to— 


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1 (1) develop and implement national standards 

2 for the use of solitary confinement to ensure that it 

3 is used infrequently and only under extreme cir4 cumstances; 

5 (2) establish a more humane and constitu6 tionally sound practice of segregated detention or 

7 solitary confinement in the Nation’s prisons; 

8 (3) accelerate the development of best practices 

9 and make reforming solitary confinement a top pri10 ority in each prison, jail, and juvenile detention sys11 tem at the Federal and State levels; 

12 (4) increase the available data and information 

13 on the incidence of solitary confinement, con14 sequently improving the management and adminis15 tration of correctional and juvenile justice facilities; 

16 (5) standardize the definitions used for col17 lecting data on the incidence of solitary confinement; 

18 (6) increase the accountability of prison, jail, 

19 and juvenile corrections officials who fail to design 

20 and implement humane and constitutionally sound 

21 solitary confinement practices; 

22 (7) protect the Eighth Amendment rights of 

23 Federal, State, and local prisoners and juvenile de24 tainees; and 


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1 (8) reduce the costs that solitary confinement 

2 imposes on interstate commerce. 

3 SEC. 3. NATIONAL SOLITARY CONFINEMENT STUDY AND 

4 REFORM COMMISSION. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established a com6 mission to be known as the National Solitary Confinement 

7 Study and Reform Commission. 

8 (b) MEMBERS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be 

10 composed of 9 members, of whom— 

11 (A) 3 shall be appointed by the President; 

12 (B) 2 shall be appointed by the Speaker of 

13 the House of Representatives, unless the Speak14 er is of the same party as the President, in 

15 which case 1 shall be appointed by the Speaker 

16 of the House of Representatives and 1 shall be 

17 appointed by the minority leader of the House 

18 of Representatives; 

19 (C) 1 shall be appointed by the minority 

20 leader of the House of Representatives (in addi21 tion to any appointment made under subpara22 graph (B); 

23 (D) 2 shall be appointed by the majority 

24 leader of the Senate, unless the majority leader 

25 is of the same party as the President, in which 


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1 case 1 shall be appointed by the majority leader 

2 of the Senate and 1 shall be appointed by the 

3 minority leader of the Senate; and 

4 (E) 1 member appointed by the minority 

5 leader of the Senate (in addition to any ap6 pointment made under subparagraph (D). 

7 (2) PERSONS ELIGIBLE.—Each member of the 

8 Commission shall be an individual who has knowl9 edge or expertise in matters to be studied by the 

10 Commission. 

11 (3) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—The President, 

12 the Speaker and minority leader of the House of 

13 Representatives, and the majority leader and minor14 ity leader of the Senate shall consult with one an15 other prior to the appointment of the members of 

16 the Commission to achieve, to the maximum extent 

17 possible, fair and equitable representation of various 

18 points of view with respect to the matters to be 

19 studied by the Commission. 

20 (4) TERM.—Each member shall be appointed 

21 for the life of the Commission. 

22 (5) TIME FOR INITIAL APPOINTMENTS.—The 

23 appointment of the members shall be made not later 

24 than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 

25 Act. 


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1 (6) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission 

2 shall be filled in the manner in which the original 

3 appointment was made, and shall be made not later 

4 than 60 days after the date on which the vacancy 

5 occurred. 

6 (c) OPERATION.— 

7 (1) CHAIRPERSON.—Not later than 15 days 

8 after appointments of all the members are made, the 

9 President shall appoint a chairperson for the Com10 mission from among its members. 

11 (2) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at 

12 the call of the chairperson. The initial meeting of the 

13 Commission shall take place not later than 30 days 

14 after the initial appointment of the members is com15 pleted. 

16 (3) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 

17 the Commission shall constitute a quorum to con18 duct business, but the Commission may establish a 

19 lesser quorum for conducting hearings scheduled by 

20 the Commission. 

21 (4) RULES.—The Commission may establish by 

22 majority vote any other rules for the conduct of 

23 Commission business, if such rules are not incon24 sistent with this Act or other applicable law. 


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1 (d) COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF THE IMPACTS OF

2 SOLITARY CONFINEMENT.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall carry 

4 out a comprehensive legal and factual study of the 

5 penological, physical, mental, medical, social, fiscal, 

6 and economic impacts of solitary confinement in the 

7 United States on— 

8 (A) Federal, State, and local governments; 

9 and 

10 (B) communities and social institutions 

11 generally, including individuals, families, and 

12 businesses within such communities and social 

13 institutions. 

14 (2) MATTERS INCLUDED.—The study under 

15 paragraph (1) shall include— 

16 (A) a review of existing Federal, State, 

17 and local government policies and practices with 

18 respect to the extent and duration of the use of 

19 solitary confinement; 

20 (B) an assessment of the relationship be21 tween solitary confinement and prison, jail, and 

22 juvenile detention facility conditions and exist23 ing monitoring, regulatory, and enforcement 

24 practices; 


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1 (C) an assessment of the characteristics of 

2 prisoners and detainees most likely to be re3 ferred to solitary confinement and the effective4 ness of various types of treatment or programs 

5 to reduce such likelihood; 

6 (D) an assessment of the impacts of soli7 tary confinement on individuals, families, social 

8 institutions, and the economy generally; 

9 (E) an identification of additional scientific 

10 and social science research needed on the preva11 lence of solitary confinement in Federal, State, 

12 and local prisons, jails, and juvenile detention 

13 centers as well as a full assessment of existing 

14 literature; 

15 (F) an assessment of the general relation16 ship between solitary confinement and mental 

17 illness; 

18 (G) an assessment of the relationship be19 tween solitary confinement and levels of train20 ing, supervision, and discipline of corrections 

21 staff; and 

22 (H) an assessment of existing Federal and 

23 State systems for collecting and reporting the 

24 number and duration of solitary confinement 


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1 incidents in prisons, jails, and juvenile detention 

2 facilities nationwide. 

3 (3) REPORT.— 

4 (A) DISTRIBUTION.—Not later than two 

5 years after the date of the initial meeting of the 

6 Commission, the Commission shall submit a re7 port on the study carried out under this sub8 section to— 

9 (i) the President; 

10 (ii) the Congress; 

11 (iii) the Attorney General of the 

12 United States; 

13 (iv) the Secretary of Health and 

14 Human Services; 

15 (v) the Director of the Federal Bu16 reau of Prisons; 

17 (vi) the Administrator of the Office of 

18 Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Preven19 tion; 

20 (vii) the chief executive of each State; 

21 and 

22 (viii) the head of the department of 

23 corrections of each State. 

24 (B) CONTENTS.—The report under sub25 paragraph (A) shall include— 


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1 (i) the findings and conclusions of the 

2 Commission; 

3 (ii) the recommended national stand4 ards for reducing the use of solitary con5 finement described in subsection (e); and 

6 (iii) a summary of the materials relied 

7 on by the Commission in the preparation 

8 of the report. 

9 (e) RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—As part of the report sub11 mitted under subsection (d)(3), the Commission 

12 shall provide the Attorney General and the Secretary 

13 of Health and Human Services with recommended 

14 national standards for significantly reducing the use 

15 of solitary confinement in the Nation’s prisons, jails, 

16 and juvenile detention facilities. 

17 (2) MATTERS INCLUDED.—The information 

18 provided under paragraph (1) shall include rec19 ommended national standards relating to— 

20 (A) how authorities can progress toward 

21 significantly limiting the utilization of solitary 

22 confinement so that a prisoner or detainee may 

23 be placed in solitary confinement only when the 

24 safety or security of the facility or another per25 son is at imminent risk, during an ongoing disVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:43 May 16, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4618.IH H4618

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1 ciplinary investigation concerning an adult pris2 oner, or to punish an adult prisoner for an ex3 tremely serious disciplinary infraction; 

4 (B) methods that can be employed to en5 sure that the duration of solitary confinement 

6 of a prisoner at an institution can be limited to 

7 fewer than 30 days in any 45-day period, except 

8 in a case in which the head of a corrections fa9 cility makes an individualized determination 

10 that prolonged solitary confinement of the pris11 oner for a serious disciplinary infraction is nec12 essary for the order or security of the institu13 tion or a prisoner requests such placement; 

14 (C) ensuring that prior to being classified, 

15 assigned, or subject to long-term solitary con16 finement, an adult prisoner shall be entitled to 

17 a meaningful hearing on the reason for and du18 ration of the confinement and have access to 

19 legal counsel for such hearings; 

20 (D) ensuring that indefinite sentencing of 

21 an adult prisoner to long-term solitary confine22 ment will not be allowed and that the prisoner 

23 will be afforded a meaningful review of the con24 finement at least once every 30 days that the 

25 prisoner remains in solitary confinement and 


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1 that facility officials must record and provide a 

2 transcript of the review proceedings for the 

3 prisoner under review to the prisoner or the 

4 prisoner’s designee; 

5 (E) ensuring that corrections authorities 

6 design and implement programming that allows 

7 adult prisoners subject to long-term solitary 

8 confinement to earn placement in less restric9 tive housing through positive behavior; 

10 (F) limiting the use of involuntary solitary 

11 confinement for the purpose of protective cus12 tody solely because of a personal characteristic 

13 that makes the prisoner particularly vulnerable 

14 to harm, including age, gender identity, race, or 

15 religion; 

16 (G) ensuring that corrections authorities 

17 improve access to mental health treatment for 

18 prisoners and juvenile detainees in solitary con19 finement; 

20 (H) ensuring that corrections authorities 

21 work toward systems wherein prisoners and ju22 venile detainees diagnosed by a qualified mental 

23 health professional with a serious mental illness 

24 shall not be held in long-term solitary confine25 ment; 


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1 (I) ensuring that corrections authorities do 

2 all that is feasible to make certain that pris3 oners and juvenile detainees younger than 18 

4 years of age shall not be held in solitary con5 finement for any duration, except under ex6 treme emergency circumstances; 

7 (J) ensuring that corrections authorities 

8 develop alternative methods to manage issues 

9 with juvenile detainees and prisoners under 18 

10 other than solitary confinement; and 

11 (K) such other matters as may reasonably 

12 be related to the goal of reducing solitary con13 finement in the Nation’s prisons. 

14 (3) LIMITATION.—The Commission shall not 

15 propose a recommended standard that would impose 

16 substantial additional costs compared to the costs 

17 presently expended by Federal, State, and local cor18 rections authorities and shall seek to propose stand19 ards that reduce the costs of incarceration to these 

20 authorities. 

21 (f) CONSULTATION WITH ACCREDITATION ORGANI22 ZATIONS.—In developing recommended national standards 

23 for the reduction of solitary confinement, the Commission 

24 shall consider any standards that have already been devel25 oped, or are being developed simultaneously to the delibVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:43 May 16, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4618.IH H4618

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1 erations of the Commission. The Commission shall consult 

2 with accreditation organizations responsible for the ac3 creditation of Federal, State, local, or private corrections 

4 facilities, that have developed or are currently developing 

5 standards related to solitary confinement. The Commis6 sion shall also consult with national associations rep7 resenting the corrections profession, the legal profession, 

8 the medical profession, or any other pertinent professional 

9 body that has developed or is currently developing stand10 ards related to solitary confinement. 

11 (g) HEARINGS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall hold 

13 public hearings. The Commission may hold such 

14 hearings, sit and act at such times and places, take 

15 such testimony, and receive such evidence as the 

16 Commission considers advisable to carry out its du17 ties under this section. 

18 (2) WITNESS EXPENSES.—Witnesses requested 

19 to appear before the Commission shall be paid the 

20 same fees as are paid to witnesses under section 

21 1821 of title 28, United States Code. The per diem 

22 and mileage allowances for witnesses shall be paid 

23 from funds appropriated to the Commission. 

24 (h) INFORMATION FROM FEDERAL OR STATE AGEN25 CIES.—The Commission may secure directly from any 


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1 Federal department or agency such information as the 

2 Commission considers necessary to carry out its duties 

3 under this section. The Commission may request the head 

4 of any State or local department or agency to furnish such 

5 information to the Commission. 

6 (i) PERSONNEL MATTERS.— 

7 (1) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—The members of the 

8 Commission shall be allowed travel expenses, includ9 ing per diem in lieu of subsistence, at rates author10 ized for employees of agencies under subchapter I of 

11 chapter 57 of title 5, United States Code, while 

12 away from their homes or regular places of business 

13 in the performance of service for the Commission. 

14 (2) DETAIL OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.—With 

the affirmative vote of 2 15 ⁄3 of the Commission, any 

16 Federal Government employee, with the approval of 

17 the head of the appropriate Federal agency, may be 

18 detailed to the Commission without reimbursement, 

19 and such detail shall be without interruption or loss 

20 of civil service status, benefits, or privileges. 

21 (3) PROCUREMENT OF TEMPORARY AND INTER22 MITTENT SERVICES.—Upon the request of the Com23 mission, the Attorney General shall provide reason24 able and appropriate office space, supplies, and ad25 ministrative assistance. 


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1 (j) CONTRACTS FOR RESEARCH.— 

2 (1) NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF JUSTICE.—With a 

2 3 ⁄3 affirmative vote, the Commission may select non4 governmental researchers and experts to assist the 

5 Commission in carrying out its duties under this 

6 Act. The National Institute of Justice shall contract 

7 with the researchers and experts selected by the 

8 Commission to provide funding in exchange for their 

9 services. 

10 (2) OTHER ORGANIZATIONS.—Nothing in this 

11 subsection shall be construed to limit the ability of 

12 the Commission to enter into contracts with other 

13 entities or organizations for research necessary to 

14 carry out the duties of the Commission under this 

15 section. 

16 (k) TERMINATION.—The Commission shall terminate 

17 on the date that is 60 days after the date on which the 

18 Commission submits the reports required by this section. 

19 (l) EXEMPTION.—The Commission shall be exempt 

20 from the Federal Advisory Committee Act. 

21 SEC. 4. ADOPTION AND EFFECT OF NATIONAL STANDARDS. 

22 (a) PUBLICATION OF STANDARDS.— 

23 (1) FINAL RULE.—Not later than two years 

24 after receiving the report specified in section 

25 (3)(d)(3), the Attorney General shall publish a final 


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1 rule adopting national standards for the reduction of 

2 solitary confinement in the Nation’s prisons, jails, 

3 and juvenile detention centers. 

4 (2) INDEPENDENT JUDGMENT.—The standards 

5 referred to in paragraph (1) shall be based upon the 

6 independent judgment of the Attorney General, after 

7 giving due consideration to the recommended na8 tional standards provided by the Commission under 

9 section 3(e), and being informed by such data, opin10 ions, and proposals that the Attorney General deter11 mines to be appropriate to consider. 

12 (3) LIMITATION.—The Attorney General shall 

13 not establish a national standard under this section 

14 that would impose substantial additional costs com15 pared to the costs presently expended by Federal, 

16 State, and local corrections authorities. The Attor17 ney General may, however, provide a list of improve18 ments for consideration by correctional facilities. 

19 (4) TRANSMISSION TO STATES.—Within 90 

20 days of publishing the final rule under paragraph 

21 (1), the Attorney General shall transmit the national 

22 standards adopted under that paragraph to the chief 

23 executive of each State, the head of the department 

24 of corrections of each State, the head of the depart25 ment of juvenile justice of each state, and to the apVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:43 May 16, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4618.IH H4618

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1 propriate authorities in those units of local govern2 ment who oversee operations in one or more prisons, 

3 jails, or juvenile detention facilities. 

4 (b) APPLICABILITY TO FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRIS5 ONS.—The national standards referred to in subsection 

6 (a) shall apply to the Federal Bureau of Prisons imme7 diately upon adoption of the final rule under subsection 

8 (a)(1). 

9 (c) ELIGIBILITY FOR FEDERAL FUNDS.— 

10 (1) ADOPTION OF NATIONAL STANDARDS.—For 

11 each fiscal year, any amount that a State would oth12 erwise receive for prison, jail, and juvenile detention 

13 purposes for that fiscal year under a grant program 

14 covered by paragraph (2) shall be reduced by 15 

15 percent unless the chief executive of the State or 

16 pertinent local government official submits to the 

17 Attorney General— 

18 (A) a certification that the State or local 

19 government has adopted, and is in full compli20 ance with, the national standards described in 

21 subsection (a)(1); or 

22 (B) an assurance that not less than 5 per23 cent of such amount shall be used only for the 

24 purpose of enabling the State or local govern25 ment to adopt, and achieve full compliance 


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1 with, those national standards, so as to ensure 

2 that a certification under subparagraph (A) 

3 may be submitted in future years. 

4 (2) COVERED PROGRAMS.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—A grant program is 

6 covered by this subsection if— 

7 (i) the program is carried out by or 

8 under the authority of the Attorney Gen9 eral; and 

10 (ii) the program may provide amounts 

11 to States or local governments for criminal 

12 justice or juvenile justice purposes. 

13 (B) LIST.—For each fiscal year, the Attor14 ney General shall prepare a list identifying each 

15 program that meets the criteria of subpara16 graph (A) and make such list available to each 

17 State and local government. 

18 (3) REPORT ON NONCOMPLIANCE.—Not later 

19 than September 30 of each year, the Attorney Gen20 eral shall publish a report listing each grantee that 

21 is not in compliance with the national standards 

22 adopted pursuant to subsection (a)(1). 

23 (4) REDISTRIBUTION OF AMOUNTS.—Amounts 

24 under a grant program not granted by reason of a 

25 reduction under paragraph (1) shall be granted to 


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1 one or more entities not subject to such reduction or 

2 such prohibition, subject to the other laws governing 

3 that program. 

4 (5) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Attorney General 

5 shall establish procedures to implement this sub6 section, including procedures for effectively applying 

7 this subsection to discretionary grant programs. 

8 (6) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The programs covered 

9 under paragraph (2) shall be subject to decreases 

10 under this Act in the second fiscal year that com11 mences after the date the Attorney General issues 

12 the final rule under subsection (a)(1). 

13 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS. 

14 For purposes of this Act, the following definitions 

15 shall apply: 

16 (1) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Attorney 

17 General’’ means the Attorney General of the United 

18 States. 

19 (2) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

20 means the National Solitary Confinement Study and 

21 Reform Commission established under section 3 of 

22 this Act. 

23 (3) LONG-TERM.—The term ‘‘long-term’’ means 

24 any period lasting more than 30 days, consecutive or 

25 nonconsecutive, in any 45-day period. 


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1 (4) QUALIFIED MENTAL HEALTH PROFES2 SIONAL.—The term ‘‘qualified mental health profes3 sional’’ means a psychiatrist, psychologist, psy4 chiatric social worker, licensed professional coun5 selor, psychiatric nurse, or another individual who, 

6 by virtue of education, credentials, and experience, is 

7 permitted by law to evaluate and provide mental 

8 health care. 

9 (5) SERIOUS MENTAL ILLNESS.—The term ‘‘se10 rious mental illness’’ means a substantial disorder 

11 that— 

12 (A) significantly impairs judgment, behav13 ior, or capacity to recognize reality or cope with 

14 the ordinary demands of life; and 

15 (B) is manifested by substantial pain or 

16 disability, the status of being actively suicidal, 

17 a severe cognitive disorder that results in sig18 nificant functional impairment, or a severe per19 sonality disorder that results in significant 

20 functional impairment. 

21 (6) SOLITARY CONFINEMENT.—The term ‘‘soli22 tary confinement’’ means confinement of a prisoner 

23 or juvenile detainee in a cell or other place, alone or 

24 with other persons, for approximately 22 hours or 


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1 more per day with severely restricted activity, move2 ment, and social interaction. 

3 (7) CORRECTIONS.—The term ‘‘corrections’’ in4 cludes prisons, jails, and juvenile detention facilities. 

Æ 


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