Prisons Bureau 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In this document, the Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) revises its rules on Civil Contempt of Court Commitments to include references to relevant D.C. Code provisions regarding civil contempt commitments. We make this revision to accommodate D.C. Code offenders in Bureau institutions or Bureau contract facilities under the National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997 (D.C. Revitalization Act), D.C. Code section 24-101(a) and (b). We also revise this rule to clarify existing provisions by using simpler organization and language. For further simplification, we remove language relating solely to internal agency practices and procedures. We do not, however, make any substantive changes to the current rules.

In this document, the Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) amends its rules on Good Conduct Time (GCT). The purpose of this rule is to more effectively reduce the lengthy General Educational Development (GED) waiting lists and to reevaluate the ``satisfactory progress in a literacy program'' provision of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (VCCLEA) and/or the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PLRA) for aliens with confirmed orders of deportation, exclusion, or removal. This rule will increase the proportion of our literacy funds and resources that go to inmates who will remain in the U.S. after release. This rule will exempt inmate aliens with confirmed orders of deportation, exclusion, or removal from the ``satisfactory progress in a literacy program'' provision of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (VCCLEA) and/or the Prison Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PLRA). The Bureau's Literacy Program rules formerly comprised only GED attainment. This means that inmate aliens who have confirmed orders of deportation, exclusion, or removal, but do not have a high school diploma or GED, will not need to demonstrate satisfactory progress toward earning a GED credential to be considered for the full benefits of GCT. When considering GCT, we will allow 54 days GCT for each year served if the inmate is an alien with a confirmed order of deportation, exclusion, or removal from the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR). In this document, we also reorganize the rule for clarity and accuracy. Other than the substantive change regarding sentenced deportable aliens, we make no further substantive changes.

The fee to cover the average cost of incarceration for Federal inmates in 2004 was $23,267.

The Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) finalizes rules describing procedures we will follow for charging inmates fees for certain kinds of health services, as required under the Federal Prisoner Health Care Copayment Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-294, October 12, 2000, 114 Stat 1038, codified at 18 U.S.C. 4048).

This document finalizes a minor technical correction to the Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) regulations on Over-The-Counter (OTC) medications. Previously, our rule defined an inmate without funds as one who has had an average daily trust fund account balance of less than $6.00 for the past 30 days. The words ``average daily'' in that definition resulted in incorrect classifications by the Bureau's business offices. The more accurate definition of an inmate without funds is one who has not had a trust fund account balance of $6.00 for the past 30 days. We therefore issue this technical correction.

In this document, the Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) finalizes regulations on the management of infectious diseases. The changes address the circumstances under which the Bureau conducts voluntary and involuntary testing for HIV, tuberculosis, and other infectious diseases. We intend this amendment to provide for the health and safety of staff and inmates.