AN ACT ESTABLISHING A PILOT PROGRAM CONCERNING THE USE OF BODY SCANNING MACHINES IN CERTAIN CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES AND REQUIRING REPORTS CONCERNING STRIP AND CAVITY SEARCHES IN CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Josh Elliott and 2 co-sponsors

Summary — HB 7186 (2025)Title: An Act Establishing a Pilot Program Concerning the Use of Body Scanning Machines in Certain Correctional Facilities and Requiring Reports Concerning

TABLED FOR HOUSE CALENDAR

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Purpose / Intent

HB 7186 would authorize a pilot program to deploy body‑scanning technology in selected correctional facilities and would require regular reporting on the use of strip and cavity searches. The stated goals (from the title) are to assess whether scanners can reduce the use of invasive searches, improve contraband detection, and produce data to inform policy and oversight of search practices in correctional settings.

Key provisions (as indicated by the bill title)

Establish a pilot program to use body‑scanning machines (e.g., for detecting contraband on or in a person) at specified correctional facilities.

Require collection and submission of reports concerning strip searches and cavity searches in correctional facilities. Reports would likely document frequency, circumstances/justifications, demographic breakdowns, outcomes (contraband discovered or not), and possibly complaints or civil‑rights incidents.

Note: The full bill text is not provided here. The title specifies the two central actions (pilot plus reporting); the precise operational details (number/type of scanners, selection criteria for facilities, duration of the pilot, required report elements, data privacy rules, training, funding, or enforcement mechanisms) are not available in the provided materials.

Who would be affected

People incarcerated in participating state correctional facilities (search procedures and privacy considerations).

Correctional staff (training, equipment use, search protocols).

Department of Correction and oversight bodies (implementation, data collection, reporting).

Potential indirect effects on families, legal advocates, and civil‑liberties monitoring organizations.

Procedural status and timeline

Introduced: March 6, 2025

Referred to Joint Committee on Government Oversight; public hearing on March 11, 2025

Reported out of committee with Joint Favorable Substitute (3/18/2025)

Referred to Finance, Revenue and Bonding (4/29/2025); Joint Favorable reported 5/5/2025

Filed with LCO and tabled for House Calendar (filed 5/6/2025; status: TABLED FOR HOUSE CALENDAR)

Potential impacts and considerations

Policy tradeoffs: reduced invasive searches vs. privacy and dignity concerns associated with body imaging.

Budgetary impacts: procurement, installation, maintenance, and staff training (not specified in documents).

Legal and civil‑liberties considerations: image data handling, retention, third‑party access, and scope of searches.

Oversight value: mandated reporting could increase transparency about search practices and inform future statewide policy decisions.

If you want, I can (1) locate and summarize the bill’s full text to extract precise operational and reporting requirements, or (2) draft a one‑page memo outlining likely fiscal and legal issues for committee review. Which would be most useful?