Florida HB 377: Youth in Solitary Confinement

Bill Text

HB 377 2021

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to youth in solitary confinement; 2
creating s. 958.155, F.S.; providing a short title; 3
defining terms; prohibiting the Department of 4
Corrections or a local governmental body from 5
subjecting youth prisoners to solitary confinement 6
except under certain circumstances; limiting cell 7
confinement of all youth prisoners; providing for the 8
protection of youth prisoners held in emergency cell 9
confinement; prohibiting youth prisoners from being 10
subjected to emergency cell confinement for longer 11
than a certain duration; prohibiting youth prisoners 12
from being subjected to emergency cell confinement 13
under certain circumstances; requiring facility staff 14
to document placements of youth prisoners in emergency 15
cell confinement; requiring that within a specified 16
time and at specified intervals a mental health 17
clinician perform a face-to-face evaluation of youth 18
prisoners who are subjected to emergency cell 19
confinement; requiring each evaluation to be 20
documented; requiring facility staff to perform visual 21
checks of youth prisoners in emergency cell 22
confinement at specified intervals; requiring each 23
visual check to be documented; providing for an 24
individualized suicide crisis intervention plan for 25

HB 377 2021

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certain youth prisoners, if applicable; requiring that 26
youth prisoners be transported to a mental health 27
receiving facility if such prisoners' suicide risk is 28
not resolved within a certain timeframe; requiring 29
that youth prisoners in emergency cell confinement be 30
allotted services and other benefits that are made 31
available to prisoners in the general prison 32
population; providing for the protection of youth 33
prisoners held in disciplinary cell confinement; 34
prohibiting youth prisoners from being subjected to 35
disciplinary cell confinement for longer than a 36
certain duration; requiring staff to perform visual 37
checks of youth prisoners in disciplinary cell 38
confinement at specified intervals; requiring each 39
visual check to be documented; requiring that youth 40
prisoners in disciplinary cells be allotted services 41
and other benefits that are made available to 42
prisoners in the general prison population; providing 43
reduced isolation for youth prisoners in protective 44
custody; requiring that youth prisoners placed in 45
protective custody be allotted services and other 46
benefits that are made available to prisoners in the 47
general prison population; requiring the department 48
and the board of county commissioners of each county 49
that administers a detention facility or jail to 50

HB 377 2021

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review their policies relating to youth prisoners to 51
evaluate whether the policies are necessary; requiring 52
the department and the boards of county commissioners 53
to certify compliance in a report to the Governor and 54
the Legislature by a specified date; requiring the 55
department and the boards of county commissioners to 56
adopt specified policies and procedures; providing 57
construction; amending s. 944.09, F.S.; authorizing 58
the department to adopt rules; amending s. 951.23, 59
F.S.; requiring sheriffs and chief correctional 60
officers to adopt model standards relating to youth 61
prisoners; reenacting s. 944.279(1), F.S., relating to 62
disciplinary procedures applicable to a prisoner for 63
filing frivolous or malicious actions or bringing 64
false information before a court, to incorporate the 65
amendment made to s. 944.09, F.S., in a reference 66
thereto; providing an effective date. 67
68
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 69
70
Section 1. Section 958.155, Florida Statutes, is created 71
to read: 72
958.155 Youthful offenders in solitary confinement.— 73
(1) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the "Youth 74
in Solitary Confinement Reduction Act." 75

HB 377 2021

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(2) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term: 76
(a) "Disciplinary cell confinement" means a disciplinary 77
sanction for a major rule violation in which a youth who is 78
found guilty of committing such violation is confined to a cell 79
for a specified time. 80
(b) "Emergency cell confinement" means the confinement to 81
a cell of a youth who must be temporarily removed from the 82
general population of prisoners because he or she presents an 83
immediate