AL HB554

Increases the Joint Legislative Prison Oversight Committee membership from 8 to 10 members, adding the chairs of the Finance Taxation General Fund Committee and Ways and Means General Fund Committee as ex officio members.

Requires the committee to make annual reports to the Legislature by the fifteenth legislative day of each regular session and to meet at least quarterly to review Department of Corrections reports.

Mandates the Department of Corrections provide quarterly reports to the committee including litigation summaries, sexual assault cases, inmate deaths with causes, contraband seized, and weapons collected.

Requires the Department of Corrections to screen all individuals entering correctional facilities, including staff, visitors, volunteers, and inmates, with implementation rules to be adopted by the department.

Directs the Department of Corrections to develop a centralized electronic system by October 1, 2019, containing information on all inmate deaths in custody, including autopsy reports, in coordination with the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences.