[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 8096 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 8096
To create a civil action to enforce the standards promulgated under the
Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 16, 2022
Ms. Bass (for herself, Ms. Speier, Mr. Swalwell, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mr.
Johnson of Georgia, Ms. Pressley, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Carson, Ms. Norton,
Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Mr. Payne, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, and
Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To create a civil action to enforce the standards promulgated under the
Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``PREA Rights Enforcement Act of
2022''.
SEC. 2. PRISON RAPE ELIMINATION ACT CAUSE OF ACTION.
(a) In General.--Section 8 of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of
2003 (34 U.S.C. 30307) is amended--
(1) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
``(b) Applicability to Federal Bureau of Prisons.--The standards
adopted under subsection (a) shall apply to facilities operated by the
Federal Bureau of Prisons and to facilities operated under contract
with the Federal Bureau of Prisons.'';
(2) in subsection (e)(2)(A)(i), by inserting ``and has in
effect a law that authorizes a cause of action for violation of
such standards, which is substantially similar to the cause of
action under subsection (f)'' before the semicolon; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(f) Violations.--
``(1) Cause of action.--
``(A) In general.--In any case of an alleged
violation of the national standards in effect for the
Bureau of Prisons, the Department of Health and Human
Services, or the Department of Homeland Security, with
respect to facilities operated by, or operated under
contract with, any such agency, a person aggrieved by
such a violation may bring a civil action against the
United States in an appropriate district court for
declaratory or injunctive relief, after exhausting the
procedures under paragraph (2), as applicable.
``(B) Attorney's fees.--In a civil action under
this subsection, the court may allow the prevailing
party (other than the United States) reasonable
attorney's fees, including litigation expenses and
costs.
``(2) Notice.--
``(A) In general.--A person aggrieved by an alleged
violation of the national standards in effect for the
Bureau of Prisons, the Department of Health and Human
Services, and the Department of Homeland Security, may
provide written notice of each such alleged violation
to a PREA Compliance Manager or PREA Coordinator.
``(B) Opportunity to correct.--Not later than 10
days after a notice is submitted to a PREA Compliance
Manager or PREA Coordinator pursuant to subparagraph
(A), such manager or coordinator shall--
``(i) determine whether a violation has
occurred; and
``(ii) correct any violation determined to
have occurred.
``(C) Special circumstances.--Notwithstanding
paragraph (1)(A), exhaustion of the procedures under
this paragraph shall not be required with respect to
any allegation of a violation for which the aggrieved
person shows the existence of special circumstances
making written notice to the PREA Compliance Manager or
PREA Coordinator impracticable or likely to be harmful,
including due to--
``(i) illiteracy;
``(ii) intellectual disability;
``(iii) developmental age, in the case of
individuals who were under 18 years of age at
the time of the offense;
``(iv) lack of access to writing implements
due to restrictive housing;
``(v) imminent risk of serious bodily harm
or death of the aggrieved person; or
``(vi) allegations of personal misconduct
by the PREA Compliance Manager or PREA
Coordinator.
``(3) Removing certain requirements of suits by
prisoners.--Any action brought under this subsection is not
subject to section 7 of the Civil Rights of Institutionalized
Persons Act.
``(4) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) PREA compliance manager.--The term `PREA
Compliance Manager' means an individual who works
collaboratively with the PREA Coordinator to oversee
and sustain an agency's compliance with the Prison Rape
Elimination Act program in a specific facility.
``(B) PREA coordinator.--The term `PREA
Coordinator' means an individual who has the authority
to oversee the design and implementation of the Prison
Rape Elimination Act program for each facility in an
agency's jurisdiction.''.
(b) Effective Date.--This Act and the amendments made by this Act
shall take effect 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, and
shall apply with respect to violations occurring in fiscal year 2024
and every fiscal year thereafter.
<all>