Washington, D.C.; September 16th, 2026.
President Donald J. Trump signed two statutory enactments into law Wednesday: expanding the geographical boundaries where federal court sessions may be convened in Texas and California, and directing the Department of Justice to enforce administrative standards regarding sexual misconduct committed against federal correctional personnel by incarcerated individuals.
The statutory measures, designated as Senate Bill 32 and Senate Bill 307, received final bicameral approval from the 119th United States Congress before transmission to the Executive Mansion.
The first enactment, the “Local Access to Courts Act” (recorded as Senate Bill 32), alters Title 28 of the United States Code to designate two additional municipalities as authorized statutory sites for holding federal district court:
- Texas: Section 124(b)(2) of Title 28 is amended to add College Station, located within Brazos County, as an authorized location for the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas.
- California: Section 84(d) of Title 28 is amended to insert El Centro, situated within Imperial County, as an authorized location for the Southern District of California alongside San Diego.
The statutory additions grant federal judges the legal authority to convene proceedings within those specific communities; previously, federal proceedings were restricted to existing statutory seats, requiring litigants, witnesses, and jurors within those surrounding territories to travel to existing division centers in Houston or San Diego. The measure passed the Senate by unanimous consent, followed by House approval on August 31st, 2026.
The second enactment, the “Prison Staff Safety Enhancement Act” (recorded as Senate Bill 307), establishes binding administrative mandates for the Bureau of Prisons within the Department of Justice. The statutory findings cite an investigation conducted by the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Justice, which documented widespread incidents of sexual assault and harassment committed by incarcerated individuals against prison employees, deficiencies in data reporting, and unfulfilled corrective recommendations.
The statute imposes three operational requirements upon the correctional agency and federal law enforcement leadership:
- Inspector General Directives: The Bureau of Prisons must implement all outstanding recommendations from the Inspector General report within 90 days of enactment; if the bureau fails to implement those directives within that timeframe, the director must submit an explanatory report and operational schedule directly to Congress.
- Data Auditing: The Bureau of Prisons is ordered to provide comprehensive records documenting all incidents of inmate on staff sexual harassment and assault occurring between 2022 and 2025 to the Office of the Inspector General for formal review, alongside a 5-year evaluation of facility level disciplinary actions and employee risk assessments.
- Attorney General Regulatory Standards: The Attorney General of the United States is mandated to formulate and adopt binding, nationwide standards within 1 year of receiving the completed Inspector General analysis, establishing rules to prevent, report, and punish sexual misconduct directed at correctional staff.
The legislation was sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, Sen. Jon Ossoff, Sen. Jim Justice, and Sen. Mark Kelly. The House of Representatives passed the measure on August 31st, 2026, under a suspension of the rules by a recorded roll call vote of 376 affirmative votes to 8 negative votes.
Sources
Primary First Hand Sources
- The White House, Briefing and Statement: Congressional Bills S. 32 and S. 307 Signed into Law, issued September 16th, 2026
- 119th United States Congress, Enrolled Bill Text: S. 32, Local Access to Courts Act, authenticated September 2026
- 119th United States Congress, Enrolled Bill Text: S. 307, Prison Staff Safety Enhancement Act, authenticated September 2026
- Office of the Clerk of the United States House of Representatives, Official Roll Call Vote Record Number 284, recorded August 31st, 2026
- Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Justice, Institutional Findings and Investigative Audit on Inmate-on-Staff Misconduct within the Federal Bureau of Prisons
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