Connecticut SB 89: AN ACT UPDATING PRISON RAPE ELIMINATION STANDARDS.
Status: SIGNED BY GOVERNOR (as of 2026-05-07)
State: Connecticut · Session: 2026 · Bill: SB 89
Subjects: Alcoholism treatment, Complaint, Correction Department, Correctional institutions, Dental care, Drug abuse treatment, Electronic government information, Investigations, Medical care, Mental health services, Occupational training, Ombudsman, Prisoners, Reports, Sexual assault
Sponsors: Eleni Kavros Degraw, Travis Simms, Sarah Keitt, Julie Kushner, Hubert D. Delany, Laurie Sweet, Amy Morrin Bello, Anne M. Hughes, Nicholas Menapace, Nick Gauthier, Saud Anwar, Heather S. Somers, Tony Hwang, Patricia Billie Miller, Renee Lamark Muir, Lucy Dathan, Robin E. Comey, Kenneth Gucker, Aundre Bumgardner, Jaime S. Foster, Paul Cicarella, Steven J. Stafstrom
Bill Text
Substitute Senate Bill No. 89 Public Act No. 26-10 AN ACT UPDATING PRISON RAPE ELIMINATION STANDARDS. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened: Section 1. Section 18-81cc of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2026): (a) Any executive branch agency of the state or any political subdivision of the state that incarcerates or detains adult or juvenile offenders, including persons detained for immigration violations, shall, within available appropriations, [adopt and] comply with the [applicable standards recommended by the National] standards of the Prison Rape Elimination [Commission] Act, 34 USC 30301 et seq., in effect as of January 1, 2024, for the prevention, detection and monitoring of, and response to, sexual abuse in adult prisons and jails, community correctional centers, juvenile facilities and lockups. (b) Such standards include, but are not limited to: (1) Zero tolerance of sexual abuse; (2) Contracting with other entities for the confinement of inmates or detainees; (3) Inmate or detainee supervision; Substitute Senate Bill No. 89 Public Act No. 26-10 2 of 7 (4) Heightened protection for vulnerable detainees; (5) Limits to cross-gender viewing and searches; (6) Accommodating inmates or detainees with special needs; (7) Hiring and promotion decisions; (8) Assessment and use of monitoring technology; (9) Evidence protocol and forensic medical examinations; (10) Agreements with outside public entities and community service providers, including, but not limited to, for purposes of ensuring access to crisis and emotional support services and ongoing mental health support and treatments; (11) Agreements with outside law enforcement agencies, including, but not limited to, agreements for the purpose of conducting an investigation; (12) Agreements with the prosecuting authority; (13) Employee training; (14) Volunteer and contractor training; (15) Inmate education; (16) Detainee, attorney, contractor and inmate worker notification of agency's zero-tolerance policy; (17) Specialized training: Investigations and internal administrative investigations; (18) Specialized training: Medical and mental health care, including trauma-informed methods of care for victims of sexual abuse; Substitute Senate Bill No. 89 Public Act No. 26-10 3 of 7 (19) Screening for risk of victimization and abusiveness; (20) Use of screening information; (21) Inmate or detainee reporting; (22) Exhaustion of administrative remedies; (23) Inmate access to outside confidential support services or legal representation; (24) Third-party reporting; (25) Staff and facility or agency head reporting duties, including, but not limited to, mandatory transmission to the Office of the Correction Ombuds of a copy of any report or complaint of a sexual assault; (26) Reporting to other confinement facilities; (27) Staff first responder duties; (28) Coordinated response; (29) Agency protection against retaliation; (30) Duty to investigate; (31) Duty to intervene; [(31)] (32) Criminal and administrative agency investigations; [(32)] (33) Evidence standard for administrative investigations; [(33)] (34) Disciplinary sanctions for staff; [(34)] (35) Disciplinary sanctions for inmates; [(35)] (36) Referrals for prosecution for detainee-on-detainee sexual Substitute Senate Bill No. 89 Public Act No. 26-10 4 of 7 abuse; [(36)] (37) Medical and mental health screenings: History of sexual abuse; [(37)] (38) Access to emergency medical and mental health services; [(38)] (39) Ongoing medical and mental health care for sexual abuse victims and abusers; (40) Immediate and ongoing access to sexual assault crisis services; [(39)] (41) Sexual abuse incident reviews; [(40)] (42) Data collection; [(41)] (43) Data review for corrective action; [(42)] (44) Data storage, publication, and destruction; and [(43)] (45) Audits of standards. (c) The agency head of any executive branch agency of the state or the chief elected official or governing legislative body of any political subdivision of the state that incarcerates or detains juvenile offenders shall, annually, not later than January fifteenth, certify its compliance with the provisions of subsections (a) and (b) of this section to the Criminal Justice Policy and Planning Division within the Office of Policy and Management. (d) Not later than January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, the Commissioner of Correction shall report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to the Department of Correc
View Connecticut SB 89 on LegisTrack → — full text, sponsors, votes, campaign finance, and cross-state matches.