Bill > S02666

This bill mandates that institutions and local correctional facilities provide breast pumps and related collection and storage materials to incarcerated nursing birth parents, defined as any incarcerated parent who can produce breast milk, regardless of whether their child is with them, and requires these facilities to allow breastfeeding parents to keep certain health and newborn supplies provided by hospitals upon their return. The bill also outlines the rights of breastfeeding parents, including the right to breastfeed or express milk in authorized locations, store breast milk, and possess personal breast pumps, with provisions for designating someone in the community to collect milk if the parent is not living with their child, and prohibits discrimination based on breastfeeding decisions. Furthermore, it specifies that these parents must be provided with a personal double electric pump, a manual pump, breastfeeding comfort items, comprehensive information about breastfeeding, and access to lactation assistance, and that any restrictions on personal pump possession must be documented and the least restrictive means necessary, with annual reporting on such restrictions required. The bill also mandates the provision of infant formula if needed and ensures that breast pump parts and storage devices are supplied by compliant organizations and cleaned according to health department regulations, with facilities responsible for the safe collection, labeling, storage, and logging of breast milk. Finally, it requires the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision to issue an annual report detailing various data points related to pregnant and postpartum individuals in correctional facilities, including nursery program usage, reasons for nursery application denials or removals, and demographic information, and mandates that all correctional personnel receive annual training on these provisions.