2025 -- H 5131

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LC000721

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2025

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

CREATING A SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO STUDY AND PROVIDE

RECOMMENDATIONS TO ADDRESS CONCERNS IN THE DELIVERY OF

HEALTHCARE TO INMATES AND INDIVIDUALS AWAITING TRIAL IN THE CUSTODY

OF THE RHODE ISLAND DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS (RIDOC)

     Introduced By: Representatives Perez, Noret, Finkelman, Azzinaro, Phillips, Slater,
Corvese, Handy, Voas, and DeSimone

     Date Introduced: January 22, 2025

     Referred To: House Judiciary

     WHEREAS, RIDOC's mission “is to maintain a safe and secure correctional system that

prioritizes the well-being of staff, incarcerated individuals, and the community”; and

     WHEREAS, The Health Care Services Unit is constitutionally mandated to provide

medical, dental, and behavioral health care to the incarcerated inmate population who are either

sentenced or awaiting trial within all facilities of RIDOC; and

     WHEREAS, RIDOC has an on-site comprehensive medical program in each facility

provided by internists and generalists under the clinical supervision of the Medical Programs

Director; and

     WHEREAS, In FY23, RIDOC included six Adult Correctional Institutions with an

average population of 2,298 inmates and 7,978 persons awaiting trial, with a significant number

requiring medical services, including mental health and psychiatric care, and treatment for

substance use disorders; and

     WHEREAS, In 2023, between 5 and 10 percent of Rhode Island's prison population were

considered severely and persistently mentally ill; and

     WHEREAS, As of January 2023, 44 percent of Rhode Island's prison population were

receiving psychiatric services, 31 percent were receiving mental health counseling, and 70 to 80

percent have histories of substance use; and

     WHEREAS, RIDOC has faced issues with the delivery of healthcare, including limited

access to mental health care and necessary substance use disorder treatments; and

     WHEREAS, A lack of consistent and adequate medical treatment can have disastrous and

fatal consequences; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That a special legislative commission be and the same is hereby created

consisting of nine (9) members: three (3) of whom shall be members of the Rhode Island House

of Representatives, not more than two (2) from the same political party, to be appointed by the

Speaker of the House; one of whom shall be the Director of the Rhode Island Department of

Corrections, or designee; one of whom shall be the Medical Director of the Rhode Island

Department of Corrections, or designee; one of whom shall be the Rhode Island Attorney

General, or designee; one of whom shall be the Director of the Rhode Island Department of

Health, or designee; and two (2) of whom shall be representatives of an inmates’ rights group, to

be appointed by the Speaker of the House.

     In lieu of any appointment of a member of the legislature to a legislative study

commission, or any commission created by a General Assembly resolution, the appointing

authority may appoint a member of the general public to serve in lieu of a legislator.

     The purpose of said commission shall be to make a comprehensive study and analysis of

the delivery of healthcare services at Rhode Island’s correctional institutions and provide

recommendations to address concerns and deficiencies in the delivery of these healthcare

services.

     Forthwith upon passage of this resolution, the members of the commission shall meet at

the call of the Speaker of the House and organize and shall select a chairperson.

     Vacancies in said commission shall be filled in like manner as the original appointment.

     The membership of said commission shall receive no compensation for their services.

     All departments and agencies of the state shall furnish such advice and information,

documentary and otherwise, to said commission and its agents as is deemed necessary or

desirable by the commission to facilitate the purposes of this resolution.

     The Speaker of the House is hereby authorized and directed to provide suitable quarters

for said commission; and be it further

     RESOLVED, That the commission shall report its findings and recommendations to the

House of Representatives no later than January 5, 2026, and said commission shall expire on

March 5, 2026.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

CREATING A SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE COMMISSION TO STUDY AND PROVIDE

RECOMMENDATIONS TO ADDRESS CONCERNS IN THE DELIVERY OF

HEALTHCARE TO INMATES AND INDIVIDUALS AWAITING TRIAL IN THE CUSTODY

OF THE RHODE ISLAND DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS (RIDOC)

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     This resolution would create a nine (9) member special legislative study commission

whose purpose it would be to study and provide recommendations for improvements in the

delivery of health care services at RIDOC, and who would report back to the House no later than

January 5, 2026, and whose life would expire on March 5, 2026.

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