Prisons Bureau November 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.