Session Laws

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. Chapter 111 of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 20, as appearing in the 1984 Official Edition, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 20. The department shall, semiannually, inspect each correctional institution, as defined in section one of chapter one hundred and twenty-five, and shall, annually, inspect each lockup established pursuant to the provisions of section thirty-four of chapter forty or under the jurisdiction of the metropolitan district commission or the state police, and shall file a report of its findings and recommendations, with respect to the compliance of each such facility with the rules and regulations promulgated under the authority of section twenty-one, with the department of correction, the secretary of human services, the superintendent or administrator of each such facility and the general court.

SECTION 2. Said chapter 111 is hereby further amended by striking out section 21, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 21. The department shall make rules and regulations for police station houses, lockups, houses of detention, jails, houses of correction, prisons and reformatories, regarding the care and use of drinking cups and of dishes used for food, the care and use of bedding, appropriate clothing for detainees, the ventilation of the buildings, the minimum plumbing facilities for human habitation, and the general health and safety of the detainee. A copy of such rules as are applicable to station houses, houses of detention or lockups shall be sent by the said department to the mayor of every city and to the selectmen of every town to which the rules apply; and a copy of such rules as are applicable to jails, houses of correction, prisons or reformatories shall be sent by the department to the proper authorities. Said officials shall enforce said rules.

The commissioner shall, following a public hearing, cause any facility failing to comply with the rules and regulations promulgated under the authority of this section to close until said facility is found to be in compliance and receives written notification from the department to that effect.

SECTION 3. Said chapter 111 is hereby further amended by striking out section 22, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 22. No station house, house of detention or lockup shall be built until the department has approved, in writing, the plans for the provisions for lighting, heating, ventilation and plumbing, the dimensions and form of construction and the location of the cells. The commissioner may cause any facility failing to comply with the provisions of this section to close until such time as the department has approved the plans of such facility and has inspected the facility in accordance with the provisions of section twenty.

SECTION 4. Chapter 465 of the acts of 1984 is hereby amended by striking out section 4, inserted by section 1 of chapter 3 of the acts of 1985, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 4. Section thirty-six B of chapter forty of the General Laws shall take effect on April thirtieth, nineteen hundred and eighty-six.