HR7111-119

What This Bill Does

The Correctional Facility Disaster Preparedness Act of 2026 defines major disaster to include Stafford Act major disasters and other natural disasters, extreme weather, or public-health emergencies that damage a facility or disrupt core services and are determined by BOP to be major disasters. The BOP Director must submit annual reports to Senate and House appropriations, judiciary, and homeland security committees, GAO, and the DOJ Inspector General on physical disaster damage at BOP facilities and contract prisons. Reports must cover injury and loss of life, medical care, food, special diets, drinking water, PPE, hygiene products, early release or home confinement decisions, legal and visitor access, disability accommodations, education and work programs, grievances, damage costs, repair estimates, staffing, equipment, financial resources, and civil-rights impacts. Reports must include corrective actions, timelines, and legislative recommendations, and BOP must appoint an official within 90 days to carry out the corrective action plan. The bill also expands the National Institute of Corrections advisory board from 10 to 14 members by adding seats for a formerly incarcerated or incarcerated-person advocate, an emergency response coordinator, a public-health expert, and a BOP employee union representative. NIC must hold a public field hearing within one year on emergency preparedness and recovery in correctional facilities.

Who Benefits and How

Incarcerated people, BOP employees, contract-prison staff, people with disabilities in custody, legal counsel, families visiting incarcerated people, GAO, DOJ Inspector General staff, and congressional oversight committees benefit from detailed reporting on how disasters affect health, safety, legal access, and civil rights. Emergency-management and public-health experts benefit from formal roles in NIC advice.

Who Bears the Burden and How

BOP facility leaders, contract prison operators, BOP headquarters, NIC staff, DOJ Inspector General staff, and the appointed corrective-action official must collect detailed disaster data, estimate repair costs, evaluate early-release decisions, document visitation disruptions, prepare reports, appoint new advisory members, and conduct a public field hearing. Facilities may face scrutiny if emergency plans failed to protect food, medical care, disability access, or legal visitation.

Key Provisions

• Requires annual BOP reports on disaster damage at federal prisons and contract prisons.
• Requires reports to cover injuries, deaths, medical care, food, water, PPE, hygiene, legal visits, disability access, education, work, grievances, repair costs, staffing, and civil-rights impacts.
• Requires corrective actions, timelines, legislative recommendations, and a responsible BOP official within 90 days.
• Expands the National Institute of Corrections advisory board from 10 to 14 members.
• Adds advisory seats for lived experience or advocacy, emergency response, public health, and BOP labor representation.
• Requires a public field hearing within one year on correctional facility emergency preparedness and recovery.