Requires female inmates be provided with family planning services prior to release from correctional facility.

S3806

SENATE, No. 3806

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

INTRODUCED MARCH 5, 2026

Sponsored by:

Senator� M. TERESA RUIZ

District 29 (Essex and Hudson)

SYNOPSIS

���� Requires female inmates be provided with family
planning services prior to release from correctional facility.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� As introduced.

��

An Act
concerning female inmates and amending P.L.2009, c.329.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� Section 2 of P.L.2009,
c.329 (C.30:1B-6.2) is amended to read as follows:�

���� 2.���
[
The
]

Except as
provided in subsection m. of this section, the
Commissioner of Corrections
shall provide to each inmate at least 10 days prior to release from a State
correctional facility:

���� a.���� A copy of the inmate's
criminal history record and written information on the inmate's right to have
his criminal records expunged under chapter 52 of Title 2C of the New Jersey
Statutes;

���� b.��� General written
information on the inmate's right to vote under R.S.19:4-1;

���� c.���� General written
information on the availability of programs, including faith-based and secular
programs, that would assist in removing barriers to the inmate's employment or
participation in vocational or educational rehabilitative programs, including
but not limited to, information concerning the "Rehabilitated Convicted
Offenders Act," P.L.1968, c.282 (C.2A:168A-1 et seq.) and the certificate
of rehabilitation under P.L.2007, c.327 (C.2A:168A-7 et seq.);

���� d.��� A detailed written
record of the inmate's participation in educational, training, employment, and
medical or other treatment programs while the inmate was incarcerated;

���� e.���� A written accounting of
the fines, assessments, surcharges, restitution, penalties, child support
arrearages, and any other obligations due and payable by the inmate upon
release;

���� f.���� (Deleted by amendment,
P.L.2020, c.45)

���� g.��� A copy of the inmate's
birth certificate, as issued by the Department of Health, Office of Vital
Statistics, if the inmate was born in New Jersey;

���� h.��� Assistance in obtaining
a Social Security card;

���� i.���� A one-day New Jersey
bus or rail pass;

���� j.���� A two-week supply of
prescription medication and, to the extent consistent with clinical guidelines,
a two-week prescription order with two additional refills;

���� k.��� General written
information concerning child support, including child support payments owed by
the inmate, information on how to seek child support payments and information
on where to seek services regarding child support, child custody, and
establishing parentage;
[
and
]

���� l. (1) A medical discharge
summary, which shall include instructions on how to obtain from the
commissioner a copy of the inmate's full medical record.� Upon request from the
inmate, the commissioner shall provide a copy of the inmate's full medical record
in a safe and secure manner, at no charge to the inmate.�

���� (2) Within 90 days of the
effective date of this act, the commissioner, in consultation with the State
Board of Medical Examiners, shall adopt rules and regulations, pursuant to the
"Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.),
to ensure that these records are expeditiously and securely provided, in a
manner consistent with the provision of medical records by other providers
;
and

����
m.�� In the case of a
female inmate, family planning services
.

(cf: P.L.2021, c.312, s.1)

���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the fourth month after enactment.

STATEMENT

���� This bill requires the
Commissioner of Corrections to provide family planning services to a female
inmate at least 10 days prior to her release from a State correctional
facility.

���� The "Fair Release and
Reentry Act of 2009," (P.L.2009, c.329; C.30:1B-6.1 et seq.) requires the
Commissioner of Corrections to provide inmates, at least ten days before their
release, with various documents, information, and other items.� Examples of
these items include a copy of the inmate's criminal history record and written
information on expungement of criminal records, information on voting rights, a
two week supply of prescription medication, and a medical discharge summary.�
This bill requires the commissioner to also provide female inmates with family
planning services to aid in their successful reentry into the community.