ALBANY – Civil liberties advocates and lawmakers gathered at the Capitol Tuesday to urge legislators to pass a bill restricting the use of solitary confinement in state prisons before the end of the session next week.

The bill (S.4784/A.3080) seeks to place a limit of 15 consecutive days on solitary confinement, and a limit of 20 days within a 60-day period. Anything beyond the 15 or 20 days in total would require that the inmate be released or sent to a separate, secure residential rehabilitation unit.

The legislation sponsored by two Democratic lawmakers also seeks to prohibit solitary segregation of “vulnerable groups,” including the young and elderly, people with mental disabilities, pregnant women, new mothers and those who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual or intersex.