Bill > SB881

This bill amends Title 61 (Prisons and Parole) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes by adding a new chapter that prohibits solitary confinement in correctional institutions or facilities. Instead, the bill requires these institutions or facilities to implement alternative disciplinary measures, such as limiting contact visits, restricting visitors to only immediate family, loss of work opportunities, additional unpaid work duties, loss of telephone/entertainment/yard time privileges, loss of commissary privileges, confinement to the inmate's own cell in the general population area, or a reprimand or warning. The bill defines "solitary confinement" as the confinement of an inmate in a cell or similarly confined holding or living space, alone or with other inmates, for approximately 20 hours or more per day, with severely restricted activity, movement, and social interaction. The bill takes effect 60 days after enactment.