Topic Descriptions
Budget/Appropriations
Significant budget and appropriations legislation related to sentencing and corrections.
Conditions of Confinement
Legislation related to administrative segregation/solitary confinement, phone calls, visitation, and related topics.
Corrections Oversight
Legislation related to the authority of oversight bodies, establishment and duties of oversight bodies, general task forces and commissions.
Fines and Fees
Legislation related to fines and fees associated with incarceration.
Jails
Legislation related to state regulation of jails. May be cross-tagged with prison topics when addressing both, including in states with unified corrections systems.
Physical and Behavioral Health Care
Legislation related to prison and jail health care, medication-assisted treatment, and mental health care.
Prison Administration
Legislation related to prison management, private prisons, contraband, closing and opening prisons, prison staffing and related topics.
Prison Programming
Legislation related to prison programming, including work, education, and other programming targeted at reentry. Includes bills addressing eligibility for program participation.
Sentencing and Criminal Penalties
Legislation related to second look sentencing, significant changes to mandatory minimums, significant criminal code revisions, three strikes and truth-in-sentencing, and trending criminal penalty enactments.
Specialized Populations
Cross-tags legislation that focus on a specific population, such as women (e.g., gender- or trauma-responsive programs), elderly people, parents, veterans and those with behavioral health needs.