SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1903        FILED ON: 2/18/2021

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1550

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Sonia Chang-Diaz

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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 to strengthen family and community connection with incarcerated people.

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PETITION OF:

SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1903        FILED ON: 2/18/2021

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1550

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

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An Act to strengthen family and community connection with incarcerated people.

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. Section 36C of chapter 127 of the General Laws of 2018, as amended by section 92 of chapter 69 of the acts of 2018, is hereby amended by striking out the section in its entirety and inserting in place thereof the following :-

Section 36C. 

(1) A correctional institution, jail or house of correction shall not: (i) prohibit, eliminate or unreasonably limit in-person visitation of incarcerated people; or (ii) coerce, compel or otherwise pressure an incarcerated person to forego or limit in-person visitation. For the purposes of this section, to unreasonably limit in-person visitation of incarcerated people shall include, but not be limited to:

(a) providing an eligible incarcerated person fewer than 3 opportunities for in-person visitation during any 7-day period;

(b) placing limitations on the number of unique individuals who may be eligible to visit the incarcerated person;

(c) prohibiting an individual from visiting more than one incarcerated person in the custody of the department of correction, or more than one incarcerated person in the same facility, absent an individual determination that such visitation would pose a threat to security or orderly running of the facility;

(d) requiring eligible visitors to submit more private and personal information to be pre-approved to visit than is strictly necessary for the safety and security of the institution and/or without complying with all applicable statutes, regulations, and orders governing the protection of sensitive and/or private personal information;

(e) limiting incarcerated people to receiving visitors from a pre-approved list without permitting them to update their list upon request, or limiting incarcerated people to receiving visitors from a pre-approved list without providing a reasonable process for them to request an exception allowing for approval of visitors where visitation could not have been reasonably foreseen. Such requests shall be approved within 10 calendar days absent an individual determination that such visitation would pose a threat to security or orderly running of the facility;

(f) refusing to permit a visitor or visitors who previously visited an incarcerated person without incident or who was on an incarcerated person’s previously approved visitor list to visit that incarcerated person upon his or her admission or transfer to a new facility, absent a specific determination that such visitor(s) would pose a threat to security or orderly running of the facility; or requiring a new pre-approved list of authorized visitors upon an incarcerated person’s admission or transfer to a new facility without permitting at least two adult visitors and any of the incarcerated person’s minor children to visit the incarcerated person pending authorization of the person’s visitor applicants;

(g) excluding a visitor from eligibility solely on the basis of their status as formerly incarcerated;

(h) excluding a visitor from eligibility solely on the basis of their role, past or present, as a volunteer in a state or federal prison, jail or house of correction;

(i) excluding a visitor from eligibility unless there is a reasonable individualized suspicion that their visitation poses a threat to institutional security, articulated in writing to the excluded person, and articulating a fixed period of time with an expiration date for the exclusion; and further without providing the excluded person the right to appeal their exclusion as well as to have their exclusion re-evaluated after no more than one year has passed;

(j) prohibiting an incarcerated person from holding their minor children, or prohibiting incarcerated people or visitors from playing with or instructing their children, or, where there is a designated children’s area, prohibiting incarcerated people or visitors from playing with or instructing their children within the confines of that area.

(k) prohibiting incarcerated people and visitors from sitting side by side or from engaging in reasonable physical contact, including but not limited to a brief handshake, hug, and/or closed-mouth kiss;

(l) prohibiting contact visitation wherever such visitation is feasible;

(m) removing contact visitation as a disciplinary measure for more than 15 days;

(n) implementing a dress code that is unreasonable and/or fails to respect a visitor’s religion, race, class, culture, gender identity, and sexual orientation; “unreasonable” includes but is not limited to barring any clothing or accessory that does not pose a threat to security or the orderly running of the facility or preventing a visitor whose dress was deemed unacceptable from returning during a designated visiting period on the same day with alternate clothing;

(o) turning away a visitor on the basis of a dress code violation without consulting the superintendent, shift commander, or designee, provided, however, that if a visitor is turned away for a dress code violation that the specific reason must be in writing and provided to the visitor upon request;

(r) prohibiting incarcerated people in restrictive housing or any other unit separated or segregated from the general population from having access to the same visitation as people in general population, provided, however, that visits may be restricted for up to 15 days for a disciplinary offense;

(s) failing to provide a separate confidential room for legal visits in each correctional facility;

(t) prohibiting daily access to visitation during all facility or hospital visiting hours should an incarcerated person be transferred to an outside facility or hospital and be in critical condition or in imminent danger of death;

(u) failing to establish a policy that visitation be maximized and as free and unencumbered as possible, provided it is not inconsistent with a facility’s operational and security needs.

(v) failing to allow incarcerated people and visitors to use the restroom during regular visitation hours without being prohibited from resuming the visit after using the restroom.

(w) using a drug-detection dog to screen minor children who are otherwise conducting a lawful visit, when other drug-detection screening options are available at the facility.

(x) failing to post visitation schedules, including holidays and other foreseeable changes, in the visitor lobby of the facility and online at least 3 weeks in advance.

(2) A correctional institution, jail or house of correction may use video or other types of electronic devices for communication with visitors; provided, that such communications shall be in addition to and shall not replace in-person visitation, as prescribed in this section.

Video or other such electronic communication with visitors shall not be unreasonably limited, as defined in parts (1)(a)-(x) of this Section. Minor children shall always be allowed to be on screen with adults during video or other electronic communication, notwithstanding any other rules or procedures to the contrary. Incarcerated people shall not be strip searched prior or subsequently to video or electronic communication with visitors unless there is an individualized and particularized suspicion that justifies such search. There shall be no cost associated with any video or electronic communication with visitors.

Nothing in this section shall prohibit the temporary suspension of visitation privileges for good cause including, but not limited to, misbehavior or during a bonafide emergency.

(3) Every guard, corrections officer and employee of a correctional institution, jail or house of correction shall be required to attend a training session and receive educational information on; (1) the importance of ongoing visitation to individuals who are incarcerated as related to reducing recidivism, violence and increasing successful re-entry, and (2) the importance of civility and respectful conduct toward family members and other members of the public who visit individuals who are incarcerated so as to encourage visitation on a regular basis while maintaining security. Training materials and educational information shall be developed in consultation with representatives of the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Women’s Bar Association, Prisoners Legal Services, ex-prisoners community based organizations, and community based re-entry programs, and prior to implementation shall be submitted to the joint committee on the judiciary and the joint committee on public safety and homeland security.