prisoners; medical treatment; pregnancy; requirements

HB2529 - 572R - I Ver

REFERENCE TITLE:
prisoners; medical treatment; pregnancy; requirements

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Fifty-seventh Legislature

Second Regular Session

2026

HB 2529

Introduced by

Representatives
Stahl Hamilton: Contreras P, Garcia, Gutierrez, Luna-N�jera, Simacek,
Travers, Villegas, Volk;� Senators Gabald�n, Ortiz

AN
ACT

amending section 31-201.01, Arizona
Revised Statutes; amending title 31, chapter 2, article 1, Arizona Revised
Statutes, by adding section 31-202; amending section 31-601,
Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to prisoners.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:

Section 1. Section 31-201.01, Arizona Revised
Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
31-201.01.

Duties of the director; tort actions; medical treatment costs;
state immunity; definitions

A. The director shall hold in custody all persons
who are sentenced to the department under the law and shall hold such persons
for the term directed by the court, subject to law.

B. In addition to the medical and health services to
be provided pursuant to subsection D of this section, the director, in
cooperation with the department of health services, may provide to prisoners
psychiatric care and treatment pursuant to sections 31-226 and 31-226.01.

C. The director may institute and pursue programs
that promote the rehabilitation of the prisoners in the director's charge.

D. The director shall provide medical and health
services for the prisoners. The director may contract for
professional services to assist the director in carrying out this
responsibility on behalf of the state, except that all records made and
retained in connection with the services provided by this subsection shall be
made and retained only by duly authorized or qualified medical and professional
personnel and not by any prisoner. Such records when not in use
shall be retained in a safe and secure place.

E. If a victim of a person for whom a cost of
incarceration has been calculated notifies the state that full restitution has
not been made by the person for whom a cost of incarceration has been
calculated, the state shall interplead with the superior court the disputed
amount and set off the amounts owed the state from the remaining obligation.

F. Any and all causes of action that may arise out
of tort caused by the director, prison officers or employees of the department,
within the scope of their legal duty, shall run only against the state.

G. The director shall establish by rule reasonable
medical and health service fees for the medical and health services that are
provided pursuant to subsection D of this section. Except as
provided in subsection I of this section, every inmate shall be charged a
reasonable medical and health services fee for each medical visit an inmate
makes pursuant to a health needs request form or for emergency treatment.

H. Except as provided in subsection I of this
section, the director may charge each inmate a reasonable fee for
prescriptions, medication or prosthetic devices.

I. The director shall exempt the following inmates
or medical visits by inmates from payment of medical and health services fees
and fees for prescriptions, medication or prosthetic devices:

1. Medical visits initiated by the medical or mental
health staff of the department.

2. Medical visits to a physician by inmates who are
referred by a physician assistant or nurse practitioner.

3. Inmates at reception centers.

4. Juvenile inmates.

5. Pregnant inmates.

6. Seriously mentally ill inmates. For
the purposes of this paragraph, "seriously mentally ill inmates"
means inmates who as a result of a mental disorder as defined in section 36-501
exhibit emotional or behavioral functioning which is so impaired as to
interfere substantially with their capacity to remain in the general prison
population without supportive treatment or services of a long-term or
indefinite duration and whose mental disability is severe and persistent,
resulting in a long-term limitation of their functional capacities for
primary activities of daily living, including interpersonal relationships, self-care,
employment and recreation.

7. Inmates with developmental disabilities who are
housed in a special programs unit.

8. Inmates who are housed in unit 8 at the Florence
prison facility.

9. Inmates who are inpatients at the Alhambra prison
facility special programs psychiatric hospital.

10. Inmates who are inpatients at the Flamenco
prison facility mental health treatment unit.

11. Inmates who are undergoing administrative
physical examinations for statewide driver status and fire fighting crews.

12. Inmates who are undergoing follow-up
medical treatment for chronic diseases.

J. An inmate shall not be refused medical treatment
for financial reasons.

K. All monies received by the department for medical
and health service fees shall be deposited in the general fund.

L. A person who is convicted of a felony offense and
who is incarcerated while awaiting sentence or while serving a sentence imposed
by a court of law may not bring a cause of action seeking damages or equitable
relief from the state or its political subdivisions, agencies, officers or
employees for injuries suffered while in the custody of the state or its
political subdivisions or agencies unless the complaint alleges specific facts
from which the court may conclude that the plaintiff suffered serious physical
injury or the claim is authorized by a federal statute.

M. The director shall establish criteria for
reasonable deductions from monies credited to the prisoner's spendable account
to repay the cost of:

1. State property that the inmate wilfully damages
or destroys during the inmate's incarceration.

2. Medical treatment for injuries that the inmate
inflicts on himself or others.

3. Searching for and apprehending an inmate who
escapes or attempts to escape.

4. Quelling a riot or other disturbance in which the
inmate is unlawfully involved.

5. Fees prescribed by title 28 or the department of
transportation's rules for the issuance of either a driver license or a
nonoperating identification license to the inmate, if eligible.

N. On request of a female inmate, the director shall
provide female inmates with a sufficient supply of feminine hygiene products
that meet applicable industry standards
. Notwithstanding
any other law, the director may not charge female inmates for feminine hygiene
products.

O. For the purposes of this section:

1. "Feminine hygiene products" includes
tampons, sanitary napkins, menstrual sponges, menstrual cups and similar items
that are used for a menstrual cycle.

2. "Reasonable fee" means an amount not to
exceed $5.

3. "Serious physical injury" means an
impairment of physical condition that creates a substantial risk of death or
that causes serious disfigurement, prolonged impairment of health or prolonged
loss or impairment of the function of any bodily organ.
END_STATUTE

Sec. 2. Title 31, chapter 2, article 1, Arizona
Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 31-202, to read:

START_STATUTE
31-202.

Non-life-threatening medical conditions; refusal of medical
treatment; procedures

The department's health care staff shall do all
of the following if a prisoner refuses medical treatment after being diagnosed
with a medical condition that is not life-threatening:

1. Explain to the prisoner the
consequences of not receiving medical treatment.

2. Complete a refusal to submit to
medical treatment form that thoroughly documents the medical condition, the
consequences of not receiving treatment and any other relevant information in
the presence of the prisoner and do both of the following:

(
a
) Have the
prisoner sign the completed form. if the prisoner refuses to sign
the form, two department health care staff members must witness the refusal and
sign the form with a notation that the prisoner refused to sign the completed
form.

(
b
) Place the
completed form in the prisoner's medical record.

3. Honor a prisoner's preference to
refuse medical treatment.

4. Continue to respond to future
medical conditions involving the same prisoner.

END_STATUTE

Sec. 3. Section 31-601, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

START_STATUTE
31-601.

Pregnant prisoners; restraints; written findings; rules;
appropriate food and dietary supplements; restrictive housing; bed placement;
training; reporting; definitions

A. After a correctional institution receives
information that a prisoner or detainee is pregnant or after a prisoner's or
detainee's pregnancy diagnosis, a correctional institution shall not use
restraints on
a
the
prisoner
or detainee for the duration of the pregnancy and for thirty days following the
delivery of
a
the
child,
including when the prisoner or detainee is being transported for delivery or
during labor, delivery and postpartum recovery, unless either of the following
applies:

1. Attending medical staff requests the use of
restraints.

2. The corrections official makes an individualized
determination that the prisoner or detainee presents an extraordinary
circumstance.

B. Leg restraints, waist restraints or restraints
that hinder the ability of the physician to move the prisoner or detainee, as
determined by the physician, shall not be used on any prisoner or detainee who
is in labor or delivery.

C. If restraints are used on a prisoner or detainee
pursuant to subsection A of this section:

1. The type of restraint applied and the application
of the restraint must be done in the least restrictive manner necessary.

2. The corrections official shall make written
findings within seventy-two hours as to the extraordinary circumstance
that dictated the use of the restraints. These findings shall be
kept on file by the correctional institution for at least two years and made
available for public inspection unless otherwise
dictated
prescribed
by state or federal law.

D. The state department of
corrections and any of the department's employees, agents and contractors may
not compel, coerce or request a pregnant prisoner or detainee to electively
induce labor. Before a prisoner or detainee agrees to induce labor,
the prisoner or detainee must sign a written notice that states that the state
department of corrections and any of the department's employees, agents and
contractors may not compel, coerce or request the prisoner or detainee to agree
to labor induction.�

D.
E.
Notwithstanding
subsection A of this section, a security tether chain that is attached to the
bed frame and the prisoner's or detainee's ankle may be used during postpartum
recovery.� The security tether chain shall be long enough for the prisoner or
detainee to reach the bathroom in a private or semi-private room or to exit the
bed and stand in any other recovery setting.

E.
F.
Unless
the correctional employee is a licensed health care professional, the
correctional employee may not conduct a body cavity search on a pregnant
prisoner or detainee unless the correctional employee has a reasonable belief
that the pregnant prisoner or detainee is concealing contraband.� The
correctional employee shall submit a written report to the person in charge of
the correctional institution within seventy-two hours after a body cavity
search for contraband that provides the justification for the search and
whether any contraband was found.

F.
G.

When ordered by the attending medical staff or a nutritionist
A
correctional institution shall ensure that a pregnant prisoner or detainee is
provided sufficient food and dietary supplements that meet generally accepted
prenatal nutritional guidelines
set by the American college of
obstetricians and gynecologists
for pregnant women.� During the first
seventy-two hours after the prisoner or detainee gives birth, the
correctional institution shall provide all necessary hygiene and nutritional
products
without cost
to the prisoner or detainee.�
If the prisoner or detainee is indigent, the correctional institution
shall provide the products without cost to the prisoner or detainee.

G.
H.
A
correctional institution may not place a pregnant prisoner or detainee or a
prisoner or detainee who has given birth within the past thirty days in
restrictive housing unless a corrections official makes an individualized
determination that the prisoner or detainee presents an extraordinary
circumstance. The corrections official shall provide written
findings within seventy-two hours as to the extraordinary circumstance
that dictates the placement in restrictive housing. The correctional
institution shall keep these findings on file for at least two years and make
the findings available for public inspection unless otherwise dictated by state
or federal law.

H.
I.
A
correctional institution may not place a pregnant prisoner or detainee or a
prisoner or detainee who has given birth within the past thirty days in a bed
that is elevated more than three feet from the floor of the correctional
institution.

I.
J.
The
corrections official shall compile a monthly summary of the
written
findings and
reports that are received pursuant to subsections C,
E
F
and
G
H
of this section.� The corrections official shall provide the

written findings and
reports to the director of the state
department of corrections each month.

J.
K.
The
correctional institution shall allow a newborn baby to remain with the mother
for seventy-two hours following the delivery unless the attending medical
staff has a reasonable belief that remaining with the mother poses a health or
safety risk to the newborn baby.

K.
L.

Within thirty days after the effective date of this amendment to this
section,
All correctional institutions in this state shall adopt rules
or policies pursuant to this section.

L.
M.
The
state department of corrections shall develop and provide to all:

1. Correctional employees who have contact with
pregnant prisoners or detainees training that is related to the physical and
mental health of a pregnant prisoner or detainee and the fetus, including all
of the following:

(a) General care of a pregnant woman.

(b) The impact of restraints on a pregnant prisoner
or detainee and the fetus.

(c) The impact on pregnant prisoners or detainees
who are placed in restrictive housing.

(d) The impact of an invasive body cavity search on
a pregnant prisoner or detainee.

2. Pregnant prisoners and detainees the following
educational programming:

(a) Prenatal care.

(b) Pregnancy-specific hygiene.

(
c
) In-person
birthing classes.

(
d
) Written
educational materials that explain the different birthing options that may be
available, including information on inducing labor and not inducing labor.

(c)
(
e
)
Parenting skills.

(d)
(
f
)
The impact of alcohol and drugs on the fetus.

(e)
(
g
)
General health topics for children.

M.
N.
For
the purposes of this section:

1. "Correctional institution" means any
entity under the authority of any state or county law enforcement agency that
has the power to detain or restrain a person under the laws of this state,
including a juvenile detention center.

2. "Corrections official" means the
official who is responsible for oversight of a correctional institution or the
official's designee.

3. "Detainee" includes any female person
who is detained under the immigration laws of the United States at any
correctional institution.

4. "Extraordinary circumstance" means a
substantial flight risk or some other medical or security circumstance that
dictates restraints be used to ensure the safety and security of the prisoner
or detainee, the staff of the correctional institution or medical facility,
other prisoners or detainees or the public.

5. "Labor" means, as determined by a
physician, nurse, physician's assistant or other medical practitioner, the
period of time before a birth during which contractions are of sufficient
frequency, intensity and duration to bring about effacement and progressive
dilation of the cervix.

6. "Postpartum
recovery" means, as determined by the woman's physician, the period
immediately following delivery and directly related to the birth, including the
period a woman is in the hospital or infirmary after birth.

7. "Prisoner" means any female person who
is incarcerated or detained in any correctional institution and who is accused
of, convicted of, sentenced for or adjudicated delinquent for a violation of a
criminal law or the terms and conditions of community supervision, probation,
pretrial release or diversionary programs.

8. "Restraints" means any physical
restraint or mechanical device used to control the movement of a prisoner's or
detainee's body or limbs, including flex cuffs, soft restraints, hard metal
handcuffs, a black box, chubb cuffs, leg irons, belly chains, a security tether
chain or a convex shield.
END_STATUTE