Sec. 9. Grant program to improve environmental health outcomes for people in State, local, and Tribal carceral facilities
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/bill/118/s/4757/is/section-9A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
In this section: The term eligible entity means— a State government; a local government; or a federally recognized Tribal government. The term Program means the Environmental Health for Incarcerated People Grant Program established under subsection (b). The term State means any State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. There is established within the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights of the Environmental Protection Agency the Environmental Health for Incarcerated People Grant Program.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, acting through the Assistant Administrator of the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights, shall award grants under the Program to eligible entities for the purpose of decreasing the size of the incarcerated population, updating, installing, or retrofitting infrastructure, or establishing, supporting, or expanding programs in State, local, and Tribal carceral facilities to improve environmental health outcomes for incarcerated people and carceral facility staff pursuant to subsection (g).
An eligible entity seeking a grant under the Program shall submit to the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Assistant Administrator of the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights may require. In awarding grants under the Program, the Assistant Administrator of the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights shall consult stakeholders, such as— relevant community-based organizations, such as organizations that represent incarcerated and formerly incarcerated people including people currently and formerly incarcerated in juvenile secure facilities and civil commitment facilities, and organizations that seek to improve environmental health outcomes for incarcerated people and carceral facility staff; environmental and public health researchers and policy experts; and relevant advocacy organizations.
In awarding grants under the Program, the Assistant Administrator of the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights shall prioritize eligible entities based on— the size of the vulnerable population incarcerated under the jurisdiction of the eligible entity; the known prevalence of environmental stressors in or near carceral facilities under the jurisdiction of the eligible entity; the degree to which grants would fill gaps in data on environmental health variables described in subsection
(g)at State, local, and Tribal carceral facilities; the proximity of carceral facilities under the jurisdiction of the eligible entity to sources of pollution, such as landfills, factories, and Superfund sites; and the extent to which the eligible entity has demonstrated a commitment to improving the environmental health of incarcerated people, including by making— prior investments in environmental health infrastructure at carceral facilities; and prior efforts to comply with court-ordered schedules to meet environmental standards at carceral facilities. An eligible entity that receives a grant under the Program shall use amounts from the grant to decrease the size of the incarcerated population, update, install, or retrofit infrastructure, and establish, support, or expand programs that minimize environmental stressors at points of use or exposure of incarcerated people by— improving infrastructure in carceral facilities relating to air quality, ventilation, temperature, shade, water quality, water treatment, waste management, noise pollution, or light pollution; increasing the access of incarcerated people and carceral facility staff to natural light and green space; establishing, supporting, or expanding opportunities for incarcerated people to grow or raise nutritious and culturally relevant food through organic farming, hydroponics, or greenhouses to be consumed by incarcerated people within the carceral facility at which the food is grown; improving the nutrition of meals served to incarcerated people, including by serving fresh fruits and vegetables at no additional charge; improving the occupational health and safety of incarcerated people by providing personal protective equipment and establishing safer work opportunities; educating incarcerated people and carceral facility staff on strategies and options to minimize exposure to environmental stressors and otherwise safeguard or improve environmental health; training carceral facility staff to recognize signs of illness relating to environmental health and appropriately intervene to mitigate the environmental stressors causing such illnesses; establishing, supporting, or expanding pretrial diversion, reentry, compassionate release, and other programs that provide an alternative to incarceration, especially for vulnerable populations; improving access to quality medical care from non-profit providers for incarcerated people and carceral facility staff, including physical and mental health care, ensuring medical personnel in carceral facilities are adequately trained to detect and treat illnesses related to environmental health, and facilitating the transfer of health records to community providers as people exit the criminal justice system to facilitate continuity of care; or purchasing items that could be used to rapidly mitigate exposure to environmental health stressors in times of an emergency without additional cost to incarcerated people and carceral facility staff, such as clothing, blankets, bottled water, fans, and air filters. An eligible entity that receives a grant under the Program may use amounts from the grant to compensate community based organizations and other non-profit organizations that support or further the improvements and programs pursuant to subsection (g). In carrying out this subsection— funds may not be used to carry out infrastructure improvements or actions that increase the capacity of carceral facilities to hold additional incarcerated people; funds may not be used to pay carceral facility staff; and an eligible entity may not use more than 5 percent of amounts from a grant awarded under the Program to facilitate the aims pursuant to subsection (g)(9) or purchase rapid response items pursuant to subsection (g)(10). A grant awarded under the Program shall be for a 5-year period. A State, local, or Tribal government that receives a grant under the Program shall— implement the program or initiative funded by the grant; and not later than 1 year after the date of the termination of the grant, report to the Attorney General outputs and outcomes of the program or initiative described in paragraph (1), including information on— quantitative indicators of the success of the program or initiative at improving the environmental health of incarcerated people and carceral facility staff, including data disaggregated by race, ethnicity, sex, gender, primary language, age, disability status, sexuality, and, in the case of an incarcerated person, the category of the criminal charge against the person; relevant quantitative and qualitative evaluations of incarcerated people and carceral facility staff on the perceived impact of the program or initiative; strategies to sustain the program or initiative beyond the duration of the grant; emergency management protocols for responding to environmental health threats at carceral facilities under the jurisdiction of the grant recipient; and strategies to replicate the successful aspects of the program or initiative at other carceral facilities. Not later than 6 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report detailing the outcomes of grants awarded under the Program. There are authorized to be appropriated to the Assistant Administrator of the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights to carry out this section $50,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2025 through 2029. Not less than 15 percent of funds appropriated under this section shall be directed to support programs and initiatives that benefit Tribal carceral facilities.