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. KAP-
TUR, 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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘The Solitary Confine-
ment Study and Reform Act of 2014’’. 
SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 
The purposes of this Act are to— 
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case 1 shall be appointed by the majority leader 
of the Senate and 1 shall be appointed by the 
minority leader of the Senate; and 
(E) 1 member appointed by the minority 
leader of the Senate (in addition to any ap-
pointment made under subparagraph (D). 
(2) PERSONS ELIGIBLE.—Each member of the 
Commission shall be an individual who has knowl-
edge or expertise in matters to be studied by the 
Commission. 
(3) CONSULTATION REQUIRED.—The President, 
the Speaker and minority leader of the House of 
Representatives, and the majority leader and minor-
ity leader of the Senate shall consult with one an-
other prior to the appointment of the members of 
the Commission to achieve, to the maximum extent 
possible, fair and equitable representation of various 
points of view with respect to the matters to be 
studied by the Commission. 
(4) TERM.—Each member shall be appointed 
for the life of the Commission. 
(5) TIME
FOR
INITIAL
APPOINTMENTS.—The 
appointment of the members shall be made not later 
than 180 days after the date of enactment of this 
Act. 
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(6) VACANCIES.—A vacancy in the Commission 
shall be filled in the manner in which the original 
appointment was made, and shall be made not later 
than 60 days after the date on which the vacancy 
occurred. 
(c) OPERATION.— 
(1) CHAIRPERSON.—Not later than 15 days 
after appointments of all the members are made, the 
President shall appoint a chairperson for the Com-
mission from among its members. 
(2) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at 
the call of the chairperson. The initial meeting of the 
Commission shall take place not later than 30 days 
after the initial appointment of the members is com-
pleted. 
(3) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 
the Commission shall constitute a quorum to con-
duct business, but the Commission may establish a 
lesser quorum for conducting hearings scheduled by 
the Commission. 
(4) RULES.—The Commission may establish by 
majority vote any other rules for the conduct of 
Commission business, if such rules are not incon-
sistent with this Act or other applicable law. 
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(d) COMPREHENSIVE STUDY OF THE IMPACTS OF 
SOLITARY CONFINEMENT.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall carry 
out a comprehensive legal and factual study of the 
penological, physical, mental, medical, social, fiscal, 
and economic impacts of solitary confinement in the 
United States on— 
(A) Federal, State, and local governments; 
and 
(B) communities and social institutions 
generally, including individuals, families, and 
businesses within such communities and social 
institutions. 
(2) MATTERS
INCLUDED.—The study under 
paragraph (1) shall include— 
(A) a review of existing Federal, State, 
and local government policies and practices with 
respect to the extent and duration of the use of 
solitary confinement; 
(B) an assessment of the relationship be-
tween solitary confinement and prison, jail, and 
juvenile detention facility conditions and exist-
ing monitoring, regulatory, and enforcement 
practices; 
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(C) an assessment of the characteristics of 
prisoners and detainees most likely to be re-
ferred to solitary confinement and the effective-
ness of various types of treatment or programs 
to reduce such likelihood; 
(D) an assessment of the impacts of soli-
tary confinement on individuals, families, social 
institutions, and the economy generally; 
(E) an identification of additional scientific 
and social science research needed on the preva-
lence of solitary confinement in Federal, State, 
and local prisons, jails, and juvenile detention 
centers as well as a full assessment of existing 
literature; 
(F) an assessment of the general relation-
ship between solitary confinement and mental 
illness; 
(G) an assessment of the relationship be-
tween solitary confinement and levels of train-
ing, supervision, and discipline of corrections 
staff; and 
(H) an assessment of existing Federal and 
State systems for collecting and reporting the 
number and duration of solitary confinement 
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incidents in prisons, jails, and juvenile detention 
facilities nationwide. 
(3) REPORT.— 
(A) DISTRIBUTION.—Not later than two 
years after the date of the initial meeting of the 
Commission, the Commission shall submit a re-
port on the study carried out under this sub-
section to— 
(i) the President; 
(ii) the Congress; 
(iii) the Attorney General of the 
United States; 
(iv) the Secretary of Health and 
Human Services; 
(v) the Director of the Federal Bu-
reau of Prisons; 
(vi) the Administrator of the Office of 
Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Preven-
tion; 
(vii) the chief executive of each State; 
and 
(viii) the head of the department of 
corrections of each State. 
(B) CONTENTS.—The report under sub-
paragraph (A) shall include— 
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(i) the findings and conclusions of the 
Commission; 
(ii) the recommended national stand-
ards for reducing the use of solitary con-
finement described in subsection (e); and 
(iii) a summary of the materials relied 
on by the Commission in the preparation 
of the report. 
(e) RECOMMENDATIONS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—As part of the report sub-
mitted under subsection (d)(3), the Commission 
shall provide the Attorney General and the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services with recommended 
national standards for significantly reducing the use 
of solitary confinement in the Nation’s prisons, jails, 
and juvenile detention facilities. 
(2) MATTERS
INCLUDED.—The information 
provided under paragraph (1) shall include rec-
ommended national standards relating to— 
(A) how authorities can progress toward 
significantly limiting the utilization of solitary 
confinement so that a prisoner or detainee may 
be placed in solitary confinement only when the 
safety or security of the facility or another per-
son is at imminent risk, during an ongoing dis-
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