Bill > SB788

This bill amends Pennsylvania's prison regulations to comprehensively prohibit solitary confinement and establish alternative disciplinary measures for correctional institutions and facilities, including state prisons, county jails, juvenile detention centers, and immigration detention facilities. The bill defines solitary confinement as confining an inmate alone or with others for approximately 20 hours per day with severely restricted movement and social interaction, and then explicitly bans this practice. Instead, correctional facilities must use alternative disciplinary approaches such as limiting contact visits, restricting visitors to immediate family, loss of work or commissary privileges, assigning additional unpaid work duties, restricting telephone or entertainment privileges, confining an inmate to their cell in the general population area, and issuing reprimands or warnings. These alternative measures are limited to a maximum of 14 days for most provisions, ensuring that disciplinary actions remain proportionate and do not approach the isolation levels of traditional solitary confinement. The bill will take effect 60 days after its enactment, giving correctional facilities time to adjust their disciplinary procedures to comply with the new requirements.