S. 1295 — BOP SCAN Mail Act

This section sets forth congressional findings concerning drug smuggling—particularly synthetic drugs such as fentanyl—via inmate mail into Bureau of Prisons (BOP) facilities, which operate 122 institutions, employ nearly 38,000 staff, and house more than 150,000 inmates. The findings highlight a 600% rise in drug overdoses, the success of a digital mail scanning pilot program at two facilities from March 2020 through June 2021 in interdicting contraband, the lack of other 100% effective detection technologies, and budgetary and staffing benefits from removing mail processing from BOP facilities.

This section establishes definitions for purposes of the Act. (1) The term "Director" means the Director of the Bureau of Prisons. (2) The term "opioid" has the meaning given the term in the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802). (3) The term "synthetic drug" means a controlled substance analogue, as defined in the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802), and includes any analogue of fentanyl.

This section directs the Director of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP), within 180 days of enactment, to evaluate synthetic drug interdiction equipment, mail scanning technologies used by federal correctional facilities and other agencies or state/local corrections systems, and their applicability to BOP facilities. Within 90 days thereafter, the BOP Director must submit to the Senate and House Judiciary Committees a strategy to equip all federal correctional facilities to (1) protect staff and inmates from synthetic drugs and opioids in mail; (2) provide inmates digital copies of mail within 24 hours of receipt and physical copies within 30 days if drug-free, with delivery documented; (3) process legal mail by verifying senders while preserving attorney-client privilege; and (4) scan 100% of incoming mail. The strategy must identify required information technology, scanning equipment, and services; assess operational needs such as prioritizing high-security/large-population facilities, personnel training, and maintenance/upgrades; propose budgets for FY2025-FY2027; and outline contractor oversight. The BOP must implement the strategy within three years of submission, subject to appropriations, and submit annual reports to the Judiciary Committees thereafter on implementation efficiency and quantities of detected synthetic drugs and opioids.