Bill > S1720

This bill establishes comprehensive new regulations for visitation in Massachusetts state prisons and county correctional facilities, aimed at maximizing family and community connections for incarcerated individuals. The legislation requires facilities to provide at least two daily visiting periods (with one being at least four hours long), an eight-hour weekend visiting period, and a four-hour visiting period on holidays. Facilities cannot unreasonably limit in-person visitations and must create a complaint process for visitors. The bill mandates that visitors cannot be excluded based solely on criminal history, and facilities must allow reasonable physical contact during visits, including hugging and hand-holding. Visitors must be permitted to sit side-by-side, and children under 18 are encouraged to interact with incarcerated parents. The legislation also requires facilities to accommodate people with disabilities, implement a non-discriminatory dress code, and provide separate confidential rooms for legal visits. Additionally, the bill establishes requirements for video visitation, ensuring it supplements rather than replaces in-person visits, and mandates bi-annual training for corrections staff on the importance of visitation in reducing recidivism and promoting respectful interactions. Corrections staff who refuse training or violate these provisions can be prohibited from working in visitation areas.

Justice

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S1720