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SB2381
THE SENATE
S.B. NO.
2381
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026
STATE OF HAWAII
A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating
to corrections
.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
����
SECTION 1.
�
The legislature finds that experts have long
documented the detrimental effects of restrictive housing on individuals.
�
Spending time in restrictive housing has been
found to increase the risk of premature death, even after release from
incarceration.
�
Restrictive housing is a
severe form of punishment that is closely associated with long-lasting
psychological harm and poor post-release outcomes.
�
The official purposes of restrictive housing
are typically divided into punishment and correctional facility
management.
�
When used as punishment by
facility authorities, sometimes called "disciplinary custody" or
"disciplinary segregation", restrictive housing serves as a response
to misconduct charges such as fighting or drug use.
�
When used for correctional facility
management, often called "administrative custody" or
"administrative segregation", restrictive housing serves to separate
inmates deemed to pose a threat to staff, self, or other inmates, or as
protective custody for inmates who seem or are determined to be unsafe in the
general prison population.
�
Although the
purposes of restrictive housing vary, correctional facility conditions and
restrictions are often similar whether an incarcerated person is in
disciplinary or administrative custody.
����
The
legislature also finds that an overwhelming body of evidence shows that
restrictive housing, which deprives inmates of meaningful human contact,
including phone privileges that allow them to speak with loved ones, creates
permanent psychological, neurological, and physical damage.
�
Studies show that the detrimental effects of
restrictive housing far exceed the immediate psychological consequences
identified by previous research, such as anxiety, depression, and
hallucinations.
�
Unfortunately, these
detrimental effects do not disappear once an inmate is released from
restrictive housing.
�
Even after release
back into a community setting, a former inmate faces an elevated risk of
suicide, drug overdose, heart attack, and stroke.
����
The
legislature recognizes that as of 2021, legislation to ban or limit the use of
restrictive housing in prison has been introduced in thirty-two states and the
United States Congress.
�
Further,
twenty-four states have enacted statutes that limit or prohibit restrictive
housing while other states have limited its use through administrative code,
policy, or court rules.
�
Many of these
new laws, codes, policies, or court rules represent significant reforms to
existing practices and thus have the potential to facilitate more humane and
effective practices in prisons and jails.
����
The legislature further finds that in
response to the foregoing, Act 292, Session Laws of Hawaii 2025, (Act 292) was
enacted to:
����
(1)
�
Beginning July 1, 2026,
restrict the
use of restrictive housing in state-operated and state‑contracted
correctional facilities, with certain specified exceptions, which is codified
as section 353-41, Hawaii Revised Statutes;
����
(2)
�
Establish a restrictive housing
legislative working group by August 1, 2025, to develop and recommend to the
legislature more comprehensive laws, policies, and procedures regarding
restrictive housing for members of vulnerable populations by January 8, 2027;
����
(3)
�
Require
the Hawaii correctional system oversight commission to review restrictive
housing placements on an annual basis;
����
(4)
�
Authorize the department of corrections
and rehabilitation, by December 1, 2027, to implement, if practicable, policies
and procedures recommended by the restrictive housing working group related to
committed persons who are members of certain vulnerable populations and placed
in restrictive housing and develop transition and service plans for these
committed persons in restrictive housing; and
����
(5)
�
Require interim and final reports to
the legislature and Hawaii correctional system oversight commission.
����
The legislature further finds that the
deadlines and restrictions contained in Act 292 have proven difficult to comply
with, and therefore amendments to Act 292 are necessary.
����
Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to:
����
(1)
�
Extend
the start date of the restriction on the use of restrictive housing in
contracted correctional facilities under Act 292, Session Laws of 2025, to July
1, 2027;
����
(2)
�
Extend
the deadline for establishment of the restrictive housing legislative working
group to August 1, 2026;
����
(3)
�
Extend
the date by which the department of corrections and rehabilitation may
implement recommendations of the restrictive housing working group to December
1, 2028;
����
(4)
�
Amend
certain procedures for restrictive housing, including repealing certain
procedures for restrictive housing, restrictions on circumstances under which
restrictive housing is permitted, and reporting requirements; and
����
(5)
�
Repeal
the requirement that the restrictive housing working group make recommendations
to the legislature by January 8, 2027.
����
SECTION
2
.
�
Section 353-41,
Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
����
"[
[
]�353-41[
]
]
�
Restrictive housing;
restrictions
on use; policies and procedures.
�
(a)
�
Beginning July 1, [
2026,
]
2027,
except as otherwise provided in subsection (d), the use of restrictive housing
in correctional facilities shall be restricted as follows:
����
(1)
�
A committed person shall not be placed
in restrictive housing unless there is reasonable cause to believe that the
committed person would create a substantial risk of immediate serious harm to
the committed person's self or another, as evidenced by recent threats or
conduct, and that a less restrictive intervention would be insufficient to
reduce this risk; [
provided that the correctional facility shall bear the
burden of establishing the foregoing by clear and convincing evidence;
]
����
(2)
�
A committed person shall only be held
in restrictive housing pursuant to initial procedures and reviews that provide
timely, fair, and meaningful opportunities for the committed person to contest
the [
confinement.
]
restrictive housing.
�
These procedures and reviews shall include [
the
right to
]:
���������
(A)
�
An initial [
hearing
]
review
held within twenty‑four hours of placement in restrictive housing, in the
absence of exceptional circumstances, unavoidable delays, or reasonable
postponements;
��������
[
(B)
�
Appear at the hearing;
���������
(C)
�
Be represented at the hearing;
��������
(D)
]
�
(B)
�
An independent hearings officer; and
�������
[
(E)
]
�
(C)
�
[
Receive a
]
A
written statement of reasons for the
decision made [
at the hearing
];
����
(3)
�
The final decision to place a committed
person in restrictive housing shall be made by the warden or the warden's
designee[
;
]
unless medically indicated;
����
(4)
�
A committed person shall not be placed
or held in restrictive housing if the warden or the warden's designee
determines that the committed person no longer meets the criteria for the
confinement[
;
]
unless medically determined by a clinician;
���
[
(5)
�
A disciplinary sanction of
restrictive housing imposed on a committed person who is subsequently removed
from restrictive housing pursuant to this subsection shall be deemed completed;
����
(6)
�
During a facility-wide lockdown, a
committed person shall not be placed in restrictive housing for more than
thirty consecutive days, or for more than forty-five days total during any
sixty-day period;
����
(7)
]
(5)
�
Cells or other holding or living space
used for restrictive housing shall be properly ventilated, lit,
temperature-controlled, clean, and equipped with properly functioning sanitary
fixtures;
���
[
(8)
]
(6)
�
A correctional facility shall
strive
to
maximize the amount of time spent outside of the cell by a committed
person held in restrictive housing by providing the committed person with
access to recreation, education, clinically appropriate treatment therapies,
skill-building activities, and social interaction with staff and other
committed persons, as appropriate;
���
[
(9)
]
(7)
�
A committed person held in restrictive
housing shall not be denied access to:
���������
(A)
�
Food, water, or any other necessity;
���������
(B)
�
Appropriate medical care, including
emergency medical care; and
���������
(C)
�
Legal counsel;
��
[
(10)
]
(8)
�
Each committed person held in restrictive housing shall receive a
written copy of the committed person's sanction and the criteria for a pathway
back into the general population.
�
The
department shall ensure that the committed person understands the reason for
the sanction and the criteria for the pathway back into the general
population.
�
The committed person's case
manager shall work with the committed person in restrictive housing to develop
a plan of action to [
reduce the committed person's violations,
] return
the committed person to the general population[
,
] and work on the
committed person's rehabilitation; and
��
[
(11)
]
(9)
�
[
A
]
Facilities shall
attempt to ensure that
a
committed person shall not be
released directly from restrictive housing to the community [
during the
final one hundred eighty days of the committed person's term of incarceration,
]
unless necessary for the safety of the committed person, staff, other committed
persons, or the public.
�
This paragraph
shall not be interpreted to delay a committed person's scheduled release.
����
(b)
�
Beginning July 1, [
2026,
]
2027,
except as otherwise provided in subsection (c), a committed person who is
twenty-one years of age or younger, or is pregnant, in the postpartum period,
or recently suffered a miscarriage or terminated pregnancy shall not be placed
in restrictive housing; provided that a committed person who:
����
(1)
�
Is t
wenty-one years of age or younger,
has a disability based on mental illness, or has a developmental disability
shall:
���������
(A)
�
Not be subject to discipline for
refusing treatment or medication, or for engaging in self‑harm [
or
related conduct
] or threatening to do so[
; and
]
unless medically
determined; and
���������
(B)
�
Be screened by a correctional facility
clinician or the appropriate screening service pursuant to rules and, if found
to meet the criteria for civil commitment, shall be placed in a specialized
unit designated by the [
director or deputy director
]
facility warden
as ordered by the clinician
of the department, or civilly committed
by
the courts
to the least restrictive appropriate short-term care or
psychiatric facility designated by the department of health, but only if the
committed person would otherwise have been placed in restrictive housing; or
����
(2)
�
Is pregnant, is in the postpartum
period, or recently suffered a miscarriage or terminated a pregnancy, shall
alternatively be placed in an appropriate medical or other unit designated by
the [
director or deputy director
]
facility warden as ordered by the
clinician
of the department, but only if the committed person would
otherwise have been placed in restrictive housing.
����
(c)
�
Beginning July 1, [
2026,
]
2027,
the use of restrictive housing
in
correctional facilities
shall
be permitted only under the following limited circumstances:
���
[
(1)
�
The warden or the warden's designee
determines that a facility-wide lockdown is necessary to ensure the safety of
committed persons in the facility, until the warden or the warden's designee
determines that the threat to a committed person's safety no longer
exists.
�
The warden or the warden's
designee shall document the specific reasons that any facility-wide lockdown
was necessary for more than twenty-four hours, and the specific reasons why
less restrictive interventions were insufficient to accomplish the facility's
safety goals.
�
Within twelve hours of a
decision to extend a facility-wide lockdown beyond twenty-four hours, the
director or deputy director of the department shall publish the foregoing
reasons on the department's website and shall provide meaningful notice to the
legislature of the reasons for the lockdown;
����
(2)
]
(1)
�
The warden [
or
]
,
the
warden's designee
, or the clinician
determines that a committed person
should be placed in [
emergency confinement;
]
restrictive housing;
provided that[
:
���������
(A)
�
A committed person shall not be held
in emergency confinement for more than forty-eight hours; and
���������
(B)
�
A
]
a
committed person
placed in [
emergency confinement
]
restrictive housing
shall
receive an initial medical and mental health [
evaluation
]
screen
within twelve hours and a personal and comprehensive medical and mental health
examination conducted by a clinician within [
twenty-four
]
seventy-two
hours[
.
�
Reports of these evaluations
shall be immediately provided to the warden or the warden's designee
];
���
[
(3)
]
(2)
�
A [
physician,
]
clinician,
based upon the [
physician's
]
clinician's
personal examination of
a committed person, determines that the committed person should be placed or
held in medical isolation[
; provided that any decision to place or hold a
committed person in medical isolation due to a mental health emergency shall be
made by a clinician and based upon the clinician's personal examination of the
committed person
].
�
In any case of
medical isolation occurring under this paragraph, a clinical review shall be
conducted [
at least every twelve hours and
] as clinically
indicated.
�
A committed person in medical
isolation due to a mental health emergency pursuant to this paragraph shall be
placed in a mental health unit [
designated
] by the [
director or
deputy director
]
mental health clinician
of the department[
;
]
.
�
If a unit is not available at the facility, a
committed person may be transferred to a facility with higher level of care;
���
[
(4)
]
(3)
�
The warden or the warden's designee
determines that a committed person should be placed in protective custody;
provided that:
���������
(A)
�
A committed person may be placed in
voluntary protective custody only when the committed person has provided
voluntary[
, informed, and written consent
]
information
and there
is reasonable cause to believe that protective custody is necessary to prevent
reasonably foreseeable harm.
�
When a
committed person [
makes a
]
provides
voluntary[
, informed, and
]
information and a
written request to be placed in protective custody and
the request is denied, the correctional facility shall bear the burden of
establishing a basis for denying the request;
���������
(B)
�
A committed person may be placed in
involuntary protective custody only when the correctional facility is able to
establish by clear and convincing [
evidence
]
information
that
protective custody is necessary to prevent reasonably foreseeable harm and that
a less restrictive intervention would be insufficient to prevent the harm;
���������
(C)
�
[
A
]
The department shall
strive to provide a
committed person placed in protective custody [
shall
be provided
] opportunities for activities, movement, and social
interaction, in a manner consistent with ensuring the committed person's safety
and the safety of other persons, that are comparable to the opportunities
provided to committed persons in the facility's general population;
���������
(D)
�
A committed person subject to removal
from protective custody shall be provided with a timely, fair, and meaningful
opportunity to contest the removal;
���������
(E)
�
A committed person who is currently or
may be placed in voluntary protective custody may
request to
opt out of
that status by providing voluntary[
, informed, and written refusal of that
status;
]
information stipulating the person's request for refusal;
and
���������
(F)
�
Before placing a committed person in
protective custody, the warden or the warden's designee shall
fully review
the information surrounding the reasons and
use
of protective custody
and, if possible, implement
a less restrictive intervention[
, including
]
;
provided further that less restrictive interventions may include
transfer
to the general population of another facility or to a special-purpose housing
unit for committed persons who face similar threats, unless the committed
person poses an extraordinary security risk so great that transferring the
committed person would be insufficient to ensure the committed person's safety;
and
���
[
(5)
]
(4)
�
The warden or the warden's designee
determines that a committed person should be placed in restrictive housing
pending investigation of an alleged disciplinary offense; provided that:
���������
(A)
�
[
The
]
A
committed person's
placement in restrictive housing is pursuant to approval granted by the
warden
or the warden's designee [
in an emergency situation, or is
] because the
committed person's presence in the facility's general population while the
investigation is ongoing poses a danger to the committed person, staff, other
committed persons, or the public; provided further that the determination of
danger shall be based upon a consideration of the seriousness of the committed
person's alleged offense, including whether the offense involved violence or
escape, or posed a threat to institutional safety by encouraging other persons
to engage in misconduct;
��������
[
(B)
�
The committed person's placement in
restrictive housing shall not revert to another form of segregation after the
initial sanction has been served;
��������
(C)
]
�
(B)
�
A committed person's placement in
restrictive housing pending investigation of an alleged disciplinary offense
shall be reviewed within twenty-four hours by a supervisory-level employee who
was not involved in the initial placement decision; and
�������
[
(D)
]
�
(C)
�
A committed person who has been placed
in restrictive housing pending investigation of an alleged disciplinary offense
shall be considered for release to the facility's general population if
upon
review of the initial incident, the threat to the safety of the inmate, staff,
other inmates, and the general facility would not be jeopardized,
the
committed person demonstrates good behavior while in restrictive housing[
.
]
,
and the threat has been mitigated.
�
If the committed person is found guilty of the disciplinary offense, the
committed person's good behavior shall be considered when determining the
appropriate penalty for the offense.
����
(d)
�
No later than July 1, [
2026,
]
2027,
the department shall develop written policies and implement procedures, as
necessary and appropriate, to effectuate this section, including:
����
(1)
�
Establishing less restrictive
interventions as alternatives to restrictive housing, including separation from
other committed persons, transfer to other correctional facilities, and any
other sanction not involving restrictive housing that is authorized by the
department's policies and procedures; provided that any temporary restrictions
on a committed person's privileges or access to resources, including religious
services, mail and telephone privileges, visitation by contacts, and outdoor or
recreation access, [
shall be imposed only when necessary to ensure the
safety of the committed person or other persons, and
] shall not restrict
the committed person's access to food, water, basic necessities, or legal
assistance;
����
(2)
�
Requiring periodic training of
disciplinary staff and all other staff who interact with committed persons held
in restrictive housing; provided that the training:
���������
(A)
�
Is developed and conducted with
assistance from appropriately trained and qualified professionals; and
���������
(B)
�
Clearly communicates the applicable
standards for restrictive housing, including the standards set forth in this
section;
����
(3)
�
Requiring documentation of all
decisions, procedures, and reviews of committed persons placed in restrictive
housing;
and
����
(4)
�
Requiring monitoring of compliance with
all rules governing cells, units, and other spaces used for restrictive housing[
;
����
(5)
�
Requiring the posting of quarterly
reports on the department's official website that:
���������
(A)
�
Describe the nature and extent of
each correctional facility's use of restrictive housing and include data on the
age, sex, gender identity, ethnicity, incidence of mental illness, and type of
confinement status for committed persons placed in restrictive housing;
���������
(B)
�
Include the population of committed
persons as of the last day of each quarter and a non-duplicative, cumulative
count of the number of committed persons placed in restrictive housing during
the fiscal year;
���������
(C)
�
Include the incidence of emergency
confinement, self-harm, suicide, and assault in any restrictive housing unit,
as well as explanations for each instance of facility-wide lockdown; and
���������
(D)
�
Exclude personally identifiable
information regarding any committed person; and
����
(6)
�
Updating the department's
corrections administration policy and procedures manual, as necessary and
appropriate, to comply with this section, including the requirement to
use appropriate alternatives to restrictive housing for
committed persons
.
����
(e)
�
Following the initial hearing for the
placement of an individual into restrictive housing, the department shall
immediately notify and transmit all relevant documentation to the Hawaii
correctional system oversight commission.
�
The Hawaii correctional system oversight commission shall review the
determinations regarding the imposition, ongoing use, and termination of
restrictive housing for fairness, impartiality, alignment with best practices,
and availability of resources and adequate staffing, and shall issue annual
reports on the utilization thereof.
����
The
Hawaii correctional system oversight commission shall actively monitor and
review all housing placements involving individuals subjected to twenty or more
hours of cell confinement, irrespective of whether the placements are
designated as restrictive housing by the department or state-contracted
facilities, to ensure that the department and its contracted entities do not
implement cell confinement exceeding twenty or more hours without proper
adherence to the procedures set forth in this section
].
����
[
(f)
]
(e)
�
As used in this section[
:
����
"Correctional
facility" means a state prison, other penal institution, or an institution
or a facility designated by the department as a place of confinement under this
chapter.
�
"Correctional facility"
includes community correctional centers, high-security correctional facilities,
temporary correctional facilities, in-state correctional facilities,
state-contracted correctional facilities operated by private entities, and
jails maintained by county police departments.
����
"Restrictive
]
,
"restrictive
housing" is defined as occurring when all of the
following conditions are present:
����
(1)
�
A committed person is confined in a
correctional facility pursuant to disciplinary, administrative, protective,
investigative, medical, or other purposes;
����
(2)
�
The confinement occurs i
n a cell or
similarly physically restrictive holding or living space, whether alone or with
one or more other committed persons, for [
twenty
]
twenty-two
hours or more per day; and
����
(3)
�
The committed person's activities,
movements, and social interactions are severely restricted."
����
SECTION
3.
�
Act 292, Session Laws of Hawaii 2025,
is amended by amending section 3 to read as follows:
����
"SECTION
3.
�
(a)
�
A restrictive housing legislative working group shall be convened by
August 1, [
2025, to:
����
(1)
�
Review,
]
2026, to review,
consider, and identify laws, policies, and procedures regarding restrictive
housing for members of vulnerable populations including committed persons who:
���������
[
(A)
]
(1)
�
Are sixty years of age or
older;
���������
[
(B)
]
(2)
�
Have a physical or mental
disability, a history of psychiatric hospitalization, or recently exhibited
conduct, including serious self-mutilation, that indicates the need for further
observation or evaluation to determine the presence of mental illness;
���������
[
(C)
]
(3)
�
Have a developmental
disability, as defined in section 333F-1, Hawaii Revised Statutes;
���������
[
(D)
]
(4)
�
Have a serious medical
condition that cannot be effectively treated while the committed person is in
restrictive housing;
or
���������
[
(E)
]
(5)
�
Have a significant auditory
or visual impairment[
; or
���������
(F)
�
Is perceived to be lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender, or intersex; and
����
(2)
�
By January 8, 2027, make
recommendations to the legislature regarding more comprehensive laws, policies,
and procedures regarding restrictive housing for members of vulnerable
populations
].
����
(b)
�
The restrictive housing legislative working
group shall consist of the following members, or their designees:
����
(1)
�
The chairperson of the house of
representatives standing committee with primary jurisdiction over corrections
and rehabilitation, who shall serve as co‑chairperson;
����
(2)
�
The chairperson of the senate standing
committee with primary jurisdiction over corrections and rehabilitation, who
shall serve as co-chairperson;
����
(3)
�
The director of corrections and
rehabilitation;
����
(4)
�
The senior advisor for mental health
and the justice system in the office of the governor; and
����
(5)
�
A commissioner on the Hawaii
correctional system oversight commission.
����
(c)
�
The co-chairpersons of the working group
shall invite the following individuals to serve as members of the working
group:
����
(1)
�
A representative of the office of
Hawaiian affairs;
����
(2)
�
A representative from the American
Civil Liberties Union of Hawaii;
and
����
(3)
�
A representative from the Community
Alliance on Prisons[
; and
����
(4)
�
Any other individuals identified by
the chairpersons of the working group
].
����
(d)
�
The working group shall be dissolved on
January 8, [
2027,
]
2028,
or upon submission of its final report
to the legislature, whichever is later.
����
(e)
�
The department of corrections and
rehabilitation may implement, if practicable by December 1, [
2027,
]
2028,
recommended policies and procedures of the restrictive housing legislative
working group regarding the placement of committed persons who are members of
certain vulnerable populations into restrictive housing and develop transition
and service plans for these committed persons in restrictive housing."
����
SECTION
4.
�
Statutory material to be repealed is
bracketed and stricken.
�
New statutory
material is underscored.
����
SECTION 5.
�
This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
INTRODUCED BY:
_____________________________
Report Title:
Corrections;
Restrictive Housing Requirements; Working Group
Description:
Extends the effective date of restrictions on the use of
restrictive housing in correctional facilities to 7/1/2027.
�
Extends the establishment of the Restrictive
Housing Legislative Working Group to 8/1/2026.
�
Extends the date that the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
may implement recommendations of the working group to 12/1/2028.
�
Amends procedures for restrictive housing.
�
Amends circumstances under which restrictive
housing may be used.
�
Repeals
requirements for the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to post
quarterly reports on the Department's website, update its policy and procedures
manual in compliance with the restrictive housing restrictions, and report to
the Hawaii Correctional System Oversight Commission.
�
Repeals requirements for the Hawaii
Correctional System Oversight Commission to review and monitor housing
placements.
�
Repeals the requirement that
the Restrictive Housing Working Group make recommendations to the Legislature
by 1/1/2027.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.