Senate advances bill to require annual reports on in-custody deaths

The Senate advanced First Substitute Senate Bill 205, a measure that would require county jails and state prisons to file annual reports to the Commission on Criminal and Juvenile Justice (CCJJ) detailing in-custody deaths.

Sponsor Senator Weier framed the bill as a response to a sharp increase in deaths in custody over recent years. On the floor he said, "In the year 2012, we had 11 prisoners die in custody. In the first 7 months of 2017, we had 26 die," and described national reports suggesting elevated rates of in-custody deaths. The bill requires facilities to report deaths that occur after transport to a hospital and to include causes and contributing factors; sponsors emphasized that jails should not escape reporting by saying a person died in hospital rather than in custody.

SB205 would also require reporting on policies for notifying next of kin and a list of prescriptions that facilities refuse to dispense, as well as available treatment services for inmates with opioid addiction. The sponsor said many jails informally discontinue certain prescriptions rather than continue them upon arrest and that the change is intended to shed light on those practices.

Floor questions addressed whether county policies and contracts (including ICE-contracted facilities) complicate transparency. The sponsor noted that existing private contractual standards for jail operation have been treated as proprietary and often unavailable; he said the Department of Corrections is working to develop public standards by 2020.

The sponsor moved SB205 to third reading and the motion carried on the floor vote.

What’s next: the bill proceeds to third reading; sponsors said they will work with counties and corrections officials to clarify reporting mechanics and to account for existing confidentiality or contractual limitations.