[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1322 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1322
To establish Federal policies and procedures to notify the next of kin
or other emergency contact upon the death, or serious illness or
serious injury, of an individual in Federal custody, to provide model
policies for States, units of local government, and Indian Tribes to
implement and enforce similar policies and procedures, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 8, 2025
Mr. Ossoff (for himself and Mr. Kennedy) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish Federal policies and procedures to notify the next of kin
or other emergency contact upon the death, or serious illness or
serious injury, of an individual in Federal custody, to provide model
policies for States, units of local government, and Indian Tribes to
implement and enforce similar policies and procedures, 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 ``Family Notification of Death,
Injury, or Illness in Custody Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) In the event an individual dies or becomes seriously
ill or injured while being detained, arrested, or while in law
enforcement custody, their family members deserve to be
notified in a timely and compassionate manner. Such
notification is necessary to uphold the basic human dignity of
incarcerated people, a concept rooted in the Eighth Amendment
and Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment to the
Constitution of the United States.
(2) The lack of a national standard governing notification
of death, illness, and injury that occur in prisons, jails, and
police custody can lead to inhumane treatment of incarcerated
people and their loved ones. Poor communication regarding the
death of a loved one may exacerbate the grief and other
physical and psychological reactions of surviving relatives.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Custodial record.--The term ``custodial record'' means
the central file of an individual in custody.
(2) Detention agency.--The term ``detention agency'' means
any government agency, including a law enforcement agency or
correctional agency, that has the authority to detain
individuals for violations or alleged violations of criminal or
civil law.
(3) In custody of a detention agency.--The term ``in the
custody of a detention agency'' means an individual who, after
being detained and booked into a jail or holding facility for a
Federal, State, or local offense--
(A) is physically housed at a jail, prison, boot
camp prison, contract correctional facility, community
correctional facility, halfway house, or other
correctional facility (including any juvenile detention
facility); or
(B) has been or is being transferred to a medical
facility from a correctional facility.
SEC. 4. EMERGENCY CONTACT NOTIFICATION POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.
(a) Emergency Contact Notification Policies and Procedures.--Not
later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney
General shall, consistent with the requirements in this section--
(1) implement policies and procedures for the detention
agencies of the Department of Justice to notify the next of kin
or other emergency contact in the event of the death, or
serious illness or serious injury, of an individual in the
custody of a detention agency of the Department of Justice; and
(2) develop and distribute model policies and procedures
for detention agencies of States, territories of the United
States, Tribes, and units of local government to notify the
next of kin or other emergency contact in the event of the
death, or serious illness or serious injury, of an individual
in the custody of the detention agency, and provide assistance
to such detention agencies so that the agencies may implement
such procedures or substantially similar processes.
(b) Contents of Emergency Contact Notification Policies and
Procedures.--The policies and procedures described in subsection (a)
shall include best practices that address the following:
(1) Emergency contact information.--In the case of an
individual that is in the custody of a detention agency, the
detention agency shall obtain, to the greatest extent
practicable--
(A) the name, last known address, telephone number,
and email of any individual or individuals who--
(i) shall be notified in the event of the
death or serious illness or serious injury, of
the individual in custody; and
(ii) are authorized to receive the body and
personal effects of the individual in custody;
(B) whether the individual in custody would like a
faith leader to participate in the notification process
and, if so, of what denomination; and
(C) whether the individual has in place a medical
proxy decision maker or medical power of attorney,
advanced directive, or do not resuscitate order, and
the name and contact information of the individual or
individuals holding such authorities.
(2) Notification requirements for death, serious illness,
and serious injury while in custody.--
(A) Notification of death in custody.--In the event
an individual dies while in the custody of the
detention agency, the detention agency shall notify the
emergency contact of the individual not later than 12
hours after the declaration of death and between the
hours of 6:00 a.m. and to midnight local time. Such
notification shall include information about the
circumstances surrounding the death, including the
official time of death, the cause of death, and whether
the death is under investigation, including the reason
for opening the investigation.
(B) Notification of serious illness or serious
injury.--In the event an individual becomes seriously
ill or seriously injured while in the custody of a
detention agency, the detention agency shall attempt to
notify the emergency contact of the individual as soon
as practicable after the serious injury or serious
illness occurs. Such notification shall include
information about the serious illness or injury,
including the cause and nature of the serious injury or
serious illness event, whether the individual is
incapacitated, unconscious, or unable to speak, whether
any medical procedures or life-saving measures were, or
will be, performed in response to the incident, and the
contact information of the facility and provider of
medical treatment.
(3) Compassionate and professional notification.--The
policies and procedures described in subsection (a) shall
include best practices to provide notification of death,
serious illness, or serious injury in custody in a
compassionate and professional manner to minimize confusion and
trauma suffered by the next of kin or other emergency contact.
The best practices shall address the manner of notification,
including--
(A) providing notification by an individual trained
in notification best practices;
(B) if notification occurs in person, providing the
next of kin or other emergency contact a point of
contact at the detention facility; and
(C) providing notification of a death in custody
via a telephone or in-person conversation, immediately
followed by a written letter of condolence that advises
the person of the circumstances of the death, and
providing a description of what information can and
cannot be provided over voicemail.
(4) Definition of serious illness or serious injury.--The
policies and procedures described in subsection (a) shall
define when a medical event, episode, condition, accident, or
other incident constitutes a serious illness or serious injury.
In defining such term, the Attorney General shall require
notification in at least situations where--
(A) without immediate treatment for the condition,
death is imminent;
(B) admission to a hospital is required;
(C) an individual attempted suicide;
(D) an individual is unconscious or incapacitated
such that they are incapable of providing consent for
medical treatment; and
(E) an individual has been diagnosed with a
terminal illness.
(5) Emergency contact form.--The policies and procedures
described in subsection (a) shall include a template form for
detention agencies to record the emergency contact information
for inclusion in the custodial record of the individual.
(6) Additional best practices.--The policies and practices
described in subsection (a) shall include best practices to--
(A) permit individuals in custody to modify their
emergency contact information as needed;
(B) provide individuals in custody the opportunity
to fill out a medical power of attorney, health care
proxy, advanced directive, a do not resuscitate order,
or any other similar document that complies with the
State law in the location of detention;
(C) return the belongings and remains of the
individual to the emergency contact, if desired;
(D) document and maintain within the custodial
record of the individual each notification attempt
performed pursuant to this Act by the detention agency;
(E) provide the emergency contact meaningful
opportunity to visit with a seriously ill or seriously
injured individual in custody and to communicate with
the medical staff caring for that individual;
(F) provide the individual in custody information
about the purpose and permissible uses of the emergency
contact information provided pursuant to this section;
and
(G) in the event of a death in custody, notify the
emergency contact if an autopsy is going to be
performed and the procedures for obtaining any autopsy
report.
(c) Written Notification Plan.--The policies and procedures
described in subsection (a) shall instruct detention agencies to
develop a written notification plan, or revise an existing written
notification plan, that provides for notification of a death, serious
illness, or serious injury of an individual in custody that conforms
with the policies described in subsection (b). Such written
notification plans shall be published on the website of the detention
agency and made accessible to individuals in the custody of the
detention agency through inclusion in any intake information, manuals,
or other materials distributed or made available to individuals upon
being taken into custody.
(d) Additional Requirements.--
(1) DOJ support of state and local implementation of model
policies.--To support implementation of the model policies and
procedures described in subsection (a)(2), the Attorney General
shall provide ongoing online training and directed outreach to
law enforcement, prosecution and defense agencies through
national and State membership associations, and by other means.
(2) Publication of emergency contact policies and
procedures.--The Attorney General, acting through the Assistant
Attorney General of the Office of Justice Programs, shall--
(A) publish on the website of the Office of Justice
Programs the policies and procedures described in
subsection (b); and
(B) shall include a copy of the procedures
described in subsection (b)(1) in any intake
information, manuals, or other materials distributed or
made available to individuals upon being taken into
custody of a detention agency of the Department of
Justice.
(3) Intergovernmental service contracts and agreements.--
Any Department of Justice detention agency, including the
United States Marshals Service, that contracts with State,
municipality, Tribal, private, or other entities to house
individuals in custody shall require adoption of the procedures
or substantially similar procedures as described in subsection
(b)(2) as a condition of such contract or contract renewal.
(4) Department of justice to monitor compliance with
notification and communication requirements.--The Attorney
General shall appoint an individual within the Department of
Justice with the authority to receive and investigate
complaints regarding the failure to provide--
(A) the notifications required under this Act,
including inadequate notifications; and
(B) opportunities for communication and visitation
in accordance with this Act.
(e) Voluntary Collection.--A detention agency may not--
(1) attempt to persuade or coerce an individual in the
custody of a detention agency to provide the information
described in subsection (a); or
(2) impose any penalty, fine, or fee on the individual
for--
(A) the failure or refusal of the individual to
provide the information requested; or
(B) providing information that is later determined
to be inaccurate.
SEC. 5. RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.
Nothing in this Act may be construed to--
(1) create any legal or financial obligation on the part of
any individual designated as a next of kin or other emergency
contact under this Act;
(2) require the individual in custody of a detention agency
to provide the emergency contact information described in
section 4(a); or
(3) create a private right of action to enforce any
provision of this Act.
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