Prison Libraries Act of 2023

Subjects: Crime and Law Enforcement


<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2825 Introduced in House (IH)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2825

 To establish a program to make grants for the establishment of prison 
                               libraries.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 25, 2023

   Mr. Cleaver (for himself, Ms. Jackson Lee, Ms. Brown, Ms. Lee of 
California, Ms. Crockett, Mr. Carson, Ms. Adams, Mr. Payne, Mr. Johnson 
 of Georgia, Ms. Norton, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Carter 
    of Louisiana, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Ms. 
   Pressley, Ms. Schakowsky, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Ms. Bush, Mr. 
  Raskin, Ms. Kamlager-Dove, Mrs. Foushee, Ms. Wilson of Florida, Mr. 
 Green of Texas, Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. McGovern, 
 and Mr. Sablan) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                     the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish a program to make grants for the establishment of prison 
                               libraries.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Prison Libraries Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT.

    Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Attorney General shall establish a program to make grants to eligible 
applicants for the purpose of providing library services to 
incarcerated individuals in order to advance reintegration efforts, 
reduce recidivism, and increase educational opportunities.

SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.

     An eligible grantee under this Act is any State or territory that 
submits an application that includes the following:
            (1) A comprehensive plan for how the grant will be used, 
        including project objectives, program design, and evaluation 
        process.
            (2) Proof of the existence of a physical library at a 
        correctional facility or the intention of creating one.
            (3) Data on the demographics of the population of the 
        facility sufficient to demonstrate a compelling need for 
        funding, including educational level of prison population, 
        rates of recidivism, socioeconomic breakdown of the prison 
        population or any other relevant data.

SEC. 4. USE OF FUNDS.

     Grant amounts shall be used to provide library services to 
incarcerated individuals as set forth in section 2, and may include 
usage for any of the following:
            (1) Education and job training.
            (2) Acquisition of modern materials and equipment that 
        reflect the interests, identities, abilities, and languages of 
        the prison population.
            (3) Expansion of the infrastructure of prison libraries to 
        be less restrictive, safety permitted, and more welcoming with 
        design and decor.
            (4) Hiring of qualified librarians and staff to manage the 
        libraries, their resources, and services and serve as the 
        social coordinator for organized activities and events, and who 
        hold the following qualifications:
                    (A) Have practical library management experience.
                    (B) Demonstrated ability to catalogue, archive, and 
                maintain databases and E-resources.
                    (C) Demonstrated ability to organize weekly, bi-
                weekly, and monthly events and activities.
            (5) Literary training.
            (6) Digital literacy training.
            (7) Career readiness programming.
            (8) Civic engagement programs.
            (9) Restorative justice programs.
            (10) Resident led programs.
            (11) Health and wellness activities.
            (12) Cultural exchange and appreciation programs, events, 
        and activities.
            (13) Computer (including laptops) and internet access.
            (14) Book discussion programs.
            (15) Language services, including free English classes.
            (16) Audiobooks and accessible reading materials for the 
        visually impaired and print disabled.
            (17) eBooks.
            (18) Management of book donation programs.
            (19) Audio and visual materials or multimedia.
            (20) Artistic programing such as painting, creative 
        writing, poetry slams, drama, or music.
            (21) Financial literacy.
            (22) Family literacy activities facilitated during in-
        person visits.
            (23) Resource fairs.
            (24) Making reasonable efforts towards building a working 
        relationship with local public libraries, including--
                    (A) adoption of a standardized guideline for 
                library management;
                    (B) sharing of resources and materials through an 
                interlibrary loan arrangement; and
                    (C) implementation of coordinated organized events 
                and activities.

SEC. 5. PROHIBITED USES.

    Grant amounts may not be used for the following:
            (1) Purchasing food, clothes, shoes, or hygiene supplies.
            (2) Payment of employee salary and benefits unassociated 
        with prison libraries.
            (3) Physical and mental care for incarcerated individuals.
            (4) incarcerated individual transportation.
            (5) Staff training unrelated to the library services.
            (6) General administrative functions or operations of the 
        prison.
            (7) Facility maintenance aside from the libraries.
            (8) Other obligations imposed on the facility by law, 
        including establishment of maintenance of a law library.
            (9) Any other use unrelated to library services, resources, 
        and management.

SEC. 6. PRIORITIZATION.

     The Attorney General shall, in making grants under this Act, 
comply with the following:
            (1) The Attorney General shall prioritize making awards to 
        grantees that are the following:
                    (A) Applicants that follow local and or national 
                standards and guidelines for library management.
                    (B) Applicants that add or prioritize post-
                secondary education curriculum to library programming.
                    (C) Applicants with plans for tangible, positive, 
                and measurable impact for their prison population, 
                including--
                            (i) plans for increasing literacy rates;
                            (ii) plans for increased secondary and 
                        post-secondary enrollment and graduation rates;
                            (iii) plans for development of technical 
                        and vocational skills;
                            (iv) plans for expanded access to 
                        employment opportunities post-release; and
                            (v) any other factors that the Attorney 
                        General determines appropriate.
                    (D) Applicants with plans for numerous initiatives 
                to maximize benefits and services for their prison 
                population.
            (2) The Attorney General shall ensure geographic diversity 
        as between grantees with regard to the States and territories 
        and between urban and rural areas.
            (3) The Attorney General shall establish a reporting system 
        to monitor progress, performance, and expenditures of grantees.

SEC. 7. TERM.

    A grant under this Act shall be for term of one year, and may be 
renewed annually for a period of not more than 6 years in total.

SEC. 8. REPORTING.

    Grantees shall submit annual performance measures, including 
library activity statistics and program outcomes, and expenditure 
reports to systems established by the Attorney General under section 
6(4).

SEC. 9. CONDITIONS.

    (a) In General.--A grantee may not charge a fee to any incarcerated 
individual for the following:
            (1) Access to physical books.
            (2) Access to eBook and audiobooks.
            (3) Access to computers (including laptops) and the 
        internet within the library.
            (4) Access to educational and artistic materials needed to 
        facilitate learning, training, and or activities, including 
        notebooks, pens, pencils, paints, and similar supplies.
            (5) Printing services.
            (6) Any other library services or resources.
    (b) Availability for Educational Programming.--A grantee shall make 
the library space available to post-secondary organizations and 
personnel for educational programming.

SEC. 10. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 2029.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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