SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1915        FILED ON: 1/18/2019

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1391

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Cynthia Stone Creem

_________________

To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act relative to education and programming for the incarcerated.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

 

Cynthia Stone Creem

First Middlesex and Norfolk

 

Mike Connolly

26th Middlesex

1/31/2019

Mary S. Keefe

15th Worcester

1/31/2019

Sal N. DiDomenico

Middlesex and Suffolk

2/1/2019


SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1915        FILED ON: 1/18/2019

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1391

By Ms. Creem, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1391) of Cynthia Stone Creem, Mike Connolly, Mary S. Keefe and Sal N. DiDomenico for legislation relative to education and programming for the incarcerated.  Public Safety and Homeland Security.

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)

_______________

 

An Act relative to education and programming for the incarcerated.

 

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1: Chapter 127, as appearing in section 80 of chapter 69 of the acts of 2018, of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting the following new section immediately after section 48B:-

Section 48C:  The commissioner and administrators of state prisons and county facilities shall maximize out of cell time and opportunities for prisoner participation in education, training, employment, and all other programming including programming related to rehabilitation, health care and substance use. All prisoners shall have the opportunity to access at least one hour of programming daily at least five days a week.  With the exception of restrictive housing and security or operational emergencies, no prisoner shall be locked into a cell for more than 16 hours daily.

SECTION 2: Section 48 of Chapter 127, as appearing in section 80 of chapter 69 of the acts of 2018, is hereby amended by adding after the first sentence of the second paragraph (“The commissioner shall ensure that at least 1 educational program leading to the award of a high school equivalency certificate is available to persons who are committed to the custody of the department or to a county correctional facility for not less than 6 months and who have not obtained a high school degree or equivalency”) the following sentence:-

Every state and county correctional facility must have at least one general high school equivalency (GED) class available.