SB 360 — An Act amending Title 61 (Prisons and Parole) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for solitary confinement.

PRINTER'S NO.   306

                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                        SENATE BILL
                        No. 360
                                                Session of
                                                  2025

     INTRODUCED BY HUGHES, KANE, MUTH, COMITTA, KEARNEY, SAVAL,
        HAYWOOD, SCHWANK, TARTAGLIONE AND COSTA, FEBRUARY 28, 2025

     REFERRED TO JUDICIARY, FEBRUARY 28, 2025


                                     AN ACT
 1   Amending Title 61 (Prisons and Parole) of the Pennsylvania
 2      Consolidated Statutes, providing for solitary confinement.
 3      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 4   hereby enacts as follows:
 5      Section 1.    Title 61 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated
 6   Statutes is amended by adding a chapter to read:
 7                                 CHAPTER 51
 8                            SOLITARY CONFINEMENT
 9   Sec.
10   5101.   Definitions.
11   5102.   Data collection and reporting requirements.
12   § 5101.   Definitions.
13      The following words and phrases when used in this chapter
14   shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
15   context clearly indicates otherwise:
16      "Inmate."    Notwithstanding the definition of "inmate" under
17   section 102 (relating to definitions), an adult person committed
18   to a term of imprisonment or otherwise confined in a State
 1   correctional institution.
 2      "Member of a vulnerable population."    Any of the following:
 3          (1)    An inmate who is 21 years of age or younger.
 4          (2)    An inmate who is 70 years of age or older.
 5          (3)    An inmate who is pregnant or in the postpartum
 6      period.
 7          (4)    An inmate who has recently suffered a miscarriage or
 8      terminated a pregnancy.
 9          (5)    An inmate who is perceived to be lesbian, gay,
10      bisexual, transgender or intersex.
11      "Personally identifiable information."    Any representation of
12   information that permits the identity of an individual to whom
13   the information applies to be reasonably inferred by either
14   direct or indirect means, including the individual's:
15          (1)    name;
16          (2)    address;
17          (3)    Social Security number or other identifying number
18      or code;
19          (4)    telephone number; or
20          (5)    email address.
21      "Postpartum period."     The period following delivery before an
22   inmate or a detainee has been discharged from a medical
23   facility.
24      "Solitary confinement."     The confinement of an inmate in a
25   State correctional institution due to disciplinary,
26   administrative, protective, investigative, medical or other
27   classification, in a cell or similarly confined holding or
28   living space, alone or with other inmates for approximately 20
29   hours or more per day, with severely restricted activity,
30   movement and social interaction.

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 1      "State correctional institution."     A correctional institution
 2   or facility housing incarcerated individuals owned or operated
 3   by the Commonwealth.
 4   § 5102.    Data collection and reporting requirements.
 5      (a)    Data collection.--The department shall collect the
 6   following information as required for reporting under subsection
 7   (b):
 8             (1)   The average annual State prison population.
 9             (2)   The number of inmates housed within solitary
10      confinement and the number of inmates released from solitary
11      confinement.
12             (3)   For each inmate housed within solitary confinement,
13      the age, sex, race, ethnicity, mental health code, medical
14      class code, security level and custody level classification
15      of the inmate and whether the inmate is a member of a
16      vulnerable population.
17             (4)   For each inmate released from solitary confinement,
18      any change to the inmate's mental health code, medical class
19      code, security level or custody level classification.
20             (5)   The reason or reasons for which each inmate was
21      placed into solitary confinement.
22             (6)   The number of days each inmate was housed within
23      solitary confinement per confinement.
24             (7)   The number of incidents of self-harm, offenses
25      toward others, suicide attempts and suicides for inmates
26      housed within solitary confinement.
27             (8)   The number of incidents of self-harm, offenses
28      toward others, suicide attempts and suicides for inmates
29      released from solitary confinement.
30             (9)   The current three-year recidivism rate for all

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 1    inmates released from the State prison system and the three-
 2    year recidivism rate for inmates released from the State
 3    prison system who were housed in solitary confinement at any
 4    time in the two years preceding their release.
 5          (10)    The number of staff persons, including a breakdown
 6    by job classification, dedicated to inmates housed within
 7    solitary confinement during the previous calendar year.
 8    (b)   Annual report.--
 9          (1)    On August 1 of the year that begins immediately
10    following the effective date of this paragraph, and each
11    August 1 thereafter, the department shall issue a report that
12    includes:
13                 (i)    In the aggregate, the data collected under
14          subsection (a) for the previous calendar year.
15                 (ii)    A description of any changes made during the
16          previous calendar year to written policies or procedures
17          of the department relating to the use and conditions of
18          solitary confinement.
19          (2)    The department shall ensure that each report under
20    this subsection does not contain any personally identifiable
21    information of any inmate as a result of the required data
22    collection.
23          (3)    The department shall submit each report under this
24    subsection to:
25                 (i)    The Governor.
26                 (ii)    The chairperson and minority chairperson of the
27          Judiciary Committee of the Senate.
28                 (iii)    The chairperson and minority chairperson of
29          the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives.
30    (c)   Publication requirements.--

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 1        (1)   Within 30 days of the effective date of this
 2    paragraph, the department shall:
 3              (i)    Provide a copy of the department's policies and
 4        procedures governing the use of solitary confinement to:
 5                     (A)   The Governor.
 6                     (B)   The chairperson and minority chairperson of
 7              the Judiciary Committee of the Senate.
 8                     (C)   The chairperson and minority chairperson of
 9              the Judiciary Committee of the House of
10              Representatives.
11              (ii)    Post the department's policies and procedures
12        governing the use of solitary confinement on the
13        department's publicly accessible Internet website.
14        (2)   If the department changes a policy or procedure
15    governing the use of solitary confinement following
16    dissemination of policies and procedures under paragraph (1),
17    the department shall update the policies and procedures
18    posted on the department's publicly accessible Internet
19    website and provide written notice to recipients listed in
20    paragraph (1)(i). A policy or procedure updated under this
21    paragraph must include an annotation with dates to indicate
22    any changes that have been made.
23        (3)   Within 10 days of the submittal of a report under
24    subsection (b), the department shall post the report on the
25    department's publicly accessible Internet website.
26    Section 2.      This act shall take effect immediately.




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