Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Criminal Justice topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee adopts amendment and passes SB116 to formalize inmate grievance exhaustion process
Summary
The committee adopted Amendment 1 to SB116 and passed the bill as amended; the legislation creates a statutory framework requiring inmates to exhaust administrative grievance procedures before filing federal claims, a change prompted by recent court rulings.
Senate Bill 116 was amended and passed by the State Agencies Committee after a sponsor explained the change is intended to restore a statutory requirement that inmates exhaust administrative remedies before filing federal lawsuits. Committee members said the amendment reflected guidance from recent court decisions that left the state without an explicit statutory exhaustion requirement.
A Department of Corrections representative explained the grievance process and rationale: an informal problem-solver system can resolve many complaints immediately, while the formal grievance and appeals process can run "somewhere between two to three months inclusive of appeals." The representative said the department processed "over 30,000 grievances" last calendar year and that restoring a statutory exhaustion requirement would reduce litigation and associated costs.
Committee members voted to adopt Amendment 1 by voice vote and then approved SB116 as amended. The transcript records the procedural voice votes and the chair declared the bill passed; no numeric roll-call tally or fiscal estimate for litigation savings was provided on the record.
