1.1 A bill for an act
1.2 relating to corrections;
providing for improved medical care in licensed facilities;
1.3 amending Minnesota Statutes
2024, section 241.021, subdivision 1, by adding a
1.4 subdivision.
1.5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.6 Section 1. TITLE.
1.7 This act shall be known as "Larry R. Hill Medical
Reform Act."
1.8 Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes
2024, section 241.021, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
1.9 Subdivision
1.Correctional facilities; inspection; licensing. (a) Except as provided
1.10 in paragraph (b), the
commissioner of corrections shall inspect and license all correctional
1.11 facilities throughout the
state, whether public or private, established and operated for the
1.12 detention and confinement of
persons confined or incarcerated therein according to law
1.13 except to the extent that they
are inspected or licensed by other state regulating agencies.
1.14 The commissioner shall
promulgate pursuant to chapter 14, rules establishing minimum
1.15 standards for these facilities
with respect to their management, operation, physical condition,
1.16 and the security, safety,
health, treatment, and discipline of persons confined or incarcerated
1.17 therein. These minimum
standards shall include but are not limited to specific guidance
1.18 pertaining to:
1.19 (1) screening, appraisal,
assessment, and treatment for persons confined or incarcerated
1.20 in correctional facilities with
mental illness or substance use disorders;
2.1 (2) a policy on the
involuntary administration of medications, including a process for
2.2 determining on intake
whether a Jarvis Order is in place and ensuring it will be followed
2.3 during the confinement
or incarceration;
2.4 (3) suicide prevention plans
and training;
2.5 (4) verification of
medications in a timely manner;
2.6 (5) well-being checks;
2.7 (6) discharge planning,
including providing prescribed medications to persons confined
2.8 or incarcerated in
correctional facilities upon release;
2.9 (7) a policy on referrals or
transfers to medical or mental health care in a noncorrectional
2.10 institution;
2.11 (8) use of segregation and
mental health checks;
2.12 (9) critical incident
debriefings;
2.13 (10) clinical management of
substance use disorders and opioid overdose emergency
2.14 procedures;
2.15 (11) a policy regarding
identification of persons with special needs confined or
2.16 incarcerated in correctional
facilities;
2.17 (12) a policy regarding the use
of telehealth;
2.18 (13) self-auditing of
compliance with minimum standards;
2.19 (14) information sharing with
medical personnel and when medical assessment must be
2.20 facilitated;
2.21 (15) a code of conduct policy
for facility staff and annual training;
2.22 (16) a policy on death review
of all circumstances surrounding the death of an individual
2.23 committed to the custody of the
facility; and
2.24 (17) dissemination of a rights
statement made available to persons confined or
2.25 incarcerated in licensed
correctional facilities.
2.26 No individual, corporation,
partnership, voluntary association, or other private
2.27 organization legally
responsible for the operation of a correctional facility may operate the
2.28 facility unless it possesses a
current license from the commissioner of corrections. Private
2.29 adult correctional facilities
shall have the authority of section 624.714, subdivision 13, if
2.30 the Department of Corrections
licenses the facility with the authority and the facility meets
2.31 requirements of section 243.52.
3.1 The commissioner shall review
the correctional facilities described in this subdivision
3.2 at least once every two
years, except as otherwise provided, to determine compliance with
3.3 the minimum standards
established according to this subdivision or other Minnesota statute
3.4 related to minimum standards and
conditions of confinement.
3.5 The commissioner shall grant
a license to any facility found to conform to minimum
3.6 standards or to any facility
which, in the commissioner's judgment, is making satisfactory
3.7 progress toward substantial
conformity and the standards not being met do not impact the
3.8 interests and well-being of
the persons confined or incarcerated in the facility. A limited
3.9 license under subdivision 1a
may be issued for purposes of effectuating a facility closure.
3.10 The commissioner may grant
licensure up to two years. Unless otherwise specified by
3.11 statute, all licenses issued
under this chapter expire at 12:01 a.m. on the day after the
3.12 expiration date stated on the
license.
3.13 The commissioner shall have
access to the buildings, grounds, books, records, staff, and
3.14 to persons confined or
incarcerated in these facilities. The commissioner may require the
3.15 officers in charge of these
facilities to furnish all information and statistics the commissioner
3.16 deems necessary, at a time and
place designated by the commissioner. Notwithstanding
3.17 chapter 13 or any other state
law classifying or restricting access to data, the officers in
3.18 charge of these facilities must
furnish all data available to the facility that the commissioner
3.19 deems necessary to conduct a
review of any emergency or unusual occurrence at the facility.
3.20 Failure to provide or grant
access to relevant information or statistics necessary to fulfill
3.21 inspection or emergency or
unusual occurrence reviews, as requested by the commissioner,
3.22 may be grounds for the
commissioner to take action against a correctional facility's license
3.23 under subdivision 1a, 1b, or
1c.
3.24 All facility administrators of
correctional facilities are required to report all deaths of
3.25 individuals who died while
committed to the custody of the facility, regardless of whether
3.26 the death occurred at the
facility or after removal from the facility for medical care stemming
3.27 from an incident or need for
medical care at the correctional facility, as soon as practicable,
3.28 but no later than 24 hours of
receiving knowledge of the death, including any demographic
3.29 information as required by the
commissioner.
3.30 All facility administrators of
correctional facilities are required to report all other
3.31 emergency or unusual
occurrences as defined by rule, including uses of force by facility
3.32 staff that result in
substantial bodily harm or suicide attempts, to the commissioner of
3.33 corrections within ten days
from the occurrence, including any demographic information
3.34 as required by the
commissioner. The commissioner of corrections shall consult with the
3.35 Minnesota Sheriffs' Association
and a representative from the Minnesota Association of
4.1 Community Corrections Act
Counties who is responsible for the operations of an adult
4.2 correctional facility to
define "use of force" that results in substantial bodily harm for
4.3 reporting purposes.
4.4 The commissioner may require
that any or all such information be provided through the
4.5 Department of Corrections
detention information system. The commissioner shall post each
4.6 inspection report publicly
and on the department's website within 30 days of completing
4.7 the inspection. The education
program offered in a correctional facility for the confinement
4.8 or incarceration of juvenile
offenders must be approved by the commissioner of education
4.9 before the commissioner of
corrections may grant a license to the facility.
4.10 (b) For juvenile facilities
licensed by the commissioner of human services, the
4.11 commissioner may inspect and
certify programs based on certification standards set forth
4.12 in Minnesota Rules. For the
purpose of this paragraph, "certification" has the meaning given
4.13 it in section 245A.02.
4.14 (c) Any state agency which
regulates, inspects, or licenses certain aspects of correctional
4.15 facilities shall, insofar as is
possible, ensure that the minimum standards it requires are
4.16 substantially the same as those
required by other state agencies which regulate, inspect, or
4.17 license the same aspects of
similar types of correctional facilities, although at different
4.18 correctional facilities.
4.19 (d) Nothing in this section
shall be construed to limit the commissioner of corrections'
4.20 authority to promulgate rules
establishing standards of eligibility for counties to receive
4.21 funds under chapter 401, or to
require counties to comply with operating standards the
4.22 commissioner establishes as a
condition precedent for counties to receive that funding.
4.23 (e) The department's inspection
unit must report directly to a division head outside of
4.24 the correctional institutions
division.
4.25 Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes
2024, section 241.021, is amended by adding a subdivision to
4.26 read:
4.27 Subd. 4f.Medication
provision in correctional facilities. Correctional facilities, as
4.28 defined in subdivision
1, shall provide to incarcerated individuals the same medications
4.29 prescribed to those
individuals prior to their incarceration or confinement unless a licensed
4.30 health care
professional, as defined in chapter 147 or 148, determines the medication is no
4.31 longer needed because
the condition treated by the medication has resolved; the incarcerated
4.32 individual no longer
wishes to take the medication; or a more effective medication is
4.33 prescribed to treat the
condition and is acceptable to the incarcerated individual.
