End Solitary Confinement Act
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
End Solitary Confinement Act
This bill restricts the use of solitary confinement and establishes minimum standards for incarceration at the federal, state, and local levels.
At the federal level, the bill generally prohibits the use of solitary confinement in federal facilities with limited exceptions, such as if necessary to de-escalate an emergency situation. The bill also establishes minimum standards for incarceration, including at least 14 hours per day of out-of-cell congregate interaction in a shared space that is conducive to meaningful group interaction.
The bill requires state and local governments to implement laws, policies, and programs that substantially comply with the restrictions on solitary confinement and minimum standards for incarceration in order to receive full funding under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant program.
The bill establishes an independent community monitoring body, as well as an advisory body of stakeholders, to help provide oversight.
Finally, the bill allows a prisoner to file a federal civil action for mental or emotional injury suffered if there is a prior showing of placement in solitary confinement or an alternative unit.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on July 28, 2025. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on July 28, 2025: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 118th Congress (2023-24), 274 of the 16,565 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 1.7 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Edward Markey (D-MA) introduced it on July 28, 2025, and 5 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 4 Democrats, 1 independent.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on July 28, 2025, 409 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 409 days ago, on July 28, 2025.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 119th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2027 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers