Bill > SB316

This bill establishes a Prison Oversight Coordinator position within the Alabama Department of Examiners of Public Accounts to monitor correctional facilities and investigate systemic issues affecting inmate and staff well-being, safety, and rehabilitation, with the coordinator reporting findings and recommendations to a newly created Corrections Oversight Board and the Joint Legislative Prison Oversight Committee. The bill mandates regular inspections of all correctional facilities, assessing various aspects like inmate care policies, conditions of confinement, program availability, visitation procedures, medical services, lockdown data, staffing levels, and incident reports, and assigns a safety and compliance classification to each facility based on these inspections. Furthermore, the bill outlines the powers and responsibilities of the Prison Oversight Coordinator, including the ability to initiate investigations based on complaints, interview inmates and staff, access facility records, and report significant issues to the Governor and Attorney General, while also prohibiting retaliation against those who provide information. A Corrections Oversight Board, composed of legislators and appointed members representing various stakeholders, is established to review the coordinator's reports and hold public hearings, and the bill also mandates that Department of Corrections employees report violations to the State Bureau of Investigations and provides for special prosecutors in districts with correctional facilities.

Justice

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