Florida Senate - 2025                                    SB 1758
       
       
        
       By Senator Osgood
       
       
       
       
       
       32-01501-25                                           20251758__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to restrictive housing in prisons;
    3         creating s. 944.022, F.S.; defining terms; requiring
    4         the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
    5         Accountability to conduct a specified annual study;
    6         requiring the office to report the findings of the
    7         annual study to the Governor and the Legislature;
    8         specifying requirements for the study; providing an
    9         effective date.
   10          
   11  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   12  
   13         Section 1. Section 944.022, Florida Statutes, is created to
   14  read:
   15         944.022 Study on the use of restrictive housing.—
   16         (1)As used in this section, the term:
   17         (a)“Administrative confinement” means a temporary removal
   18  of a prisoner from the general prison population to maintain
   19  safety and security until prison officials can arrange a more
   20  permanent housing placement. While administrative confinement
   21  typically lasts no longer than 90 days, the department may hold
   22  a prisoner for a longer period.
   23         (b)“Close Management” means an indefinite housing
   24  assignment for prisoners who have shown that they are unable to
   25  live in the general population without abusing the rights and
   26  privileges of others. Close Management I is the most
   27  restrictive, with conditions becoming progressively less
   28  restrictive from Close Management II to Close Management III.
   29         (c)“Disciplinary confinement” means a temporary form of
   30  solitary confinement for prisoners who have violated department
   31  rules. Depending on the severity of the misconduct, prisoners
   32  may be confined to a cell for 30 to 60 days. If multiple
   33  disciplinary charges are issued, confinement may extend beyond
   34  60 days.
   35         (d)“Maximum Management” means the most extreme form of
   36  solitary confinement used by the department, in which prisoners
   37  are held in single-person isolation cells or confined within a
   38  cage inside the cell, with no natural light. This term includes
   39  severely limited out-of-cell time, a ban on telephone calls and
   40  personal visits, and reading materials restricted to religious
   41  texts. This level of confinement is reserved for individuals
   42  deemed an extreme security risk.
   43         (e)Restrictive housing” or solitary confinement” means
   44  confinement to one’s cell for 22 to 24 hours per day with
   45  extremely limited and rare contact with other people.
   46         (2)The Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
   47  Accountability shall conduct an annual study on the use of
   48  restrictive housing for all prisoners in the state correctional
   49  system. The restrictive housing placements to be studied
   50  include, but are not limited to, maximum management;
   51  disciplinary confinement; Close Management I, II, and III; and
   52  administrative confinement pursuant to rule 33-602.220, Florida
   53  Administrative Code. These types of restrictive housing are
   54  generally referred to as solitary confinement. The study must
   55  include prisoners placed in both single and double cells. The
   56  Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability
   57  shall report the findings of the annual study to the Governor,
   58  the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
   59  Representatives.
   60         (3)The study must include all of the following
   61  information, disaggregated by age group, correctional facility,
   62  and type of restrictive housing, as well as aggregated for
   63  department facilities:
   64         (a)The total number of prisoners placed in restrictive
   65  housing, including the monthly placements at each facility,
   66  categorized by type of restrictive housing.
   67         (b)The duration of each placement, including the total and
   68  consecutive days spent in restrictive housing and in each
   69  specific type of restrictive housing.
   70         (c)The reasons for placement in restrictive housing.
   71         (d)The frequency with which each prisoner is placed in
   72  restrictive housing during the year.
   73         (e)For each prisoner placed in restrictive housing, the
   74  person’s gender, race, ethnicity, weight, age, and any
   75  disability, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act
   76  (ADA).
   77         (f)An assessment of whether alternative strategies or
   78  mental health interventions were attempted before the use of
   79  restrictive housing, including the frequency of security checks
   80  and medical checks, and any property, such as a mattress,
   81  sheets, clothing, or personal items, restricted or removed,
   82  including the reason, duration, and type of property removed.
   83         (g)The number of ADA accommodation requests and approvals
   84  and whether the prisoner has an individualized education plan.
   85         (h)An evaluation of facility conditions, including air
   86  conditioning, access to legal telephone calls, reading
   87  materials, nutrition, clothing, medical care, showers, hygiene
   88  supplies, and the size of restrictive housing cells.
   89         (i)An analysis of the impact of restrictive housing on
   90  mental health, including changes in the severity of mental
   91  illness before, during, and after placement; placements in self
   92  harm observation status; instances of self-injurious behavior,
   93  including self-mutilation; inpatient mental health treatment
   94  placements, such as crisis stabilization units and transitional
   95  care units; suicide attempts and suicides in restrictive
   96  housing; incidents of self-harm and suicide attempts before
   97  placement; and psychological autopsies of individuals previously
   98  placed in restrictive housing.
   99         (j)Economic data comparing the average yearly cost of
  100  housing prisoners in Maximum Management, disciplinary
  101  confinement, close management, and administrative confinement
  102  versus the cost of housing them in the general population,
  103  including an overall cost comparison and the methodology used
  104  for cost calculations.
  105         (k)A determination of whether restrictive housing is more
  106  or less expensive than housing in the general population.
  107         (l)An assessment of whether the 3-year recidivism rate
  108  differs between persons who experienced restrictive housing and
  109  persons who did not.
  110         Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.