What This Bill Does
This bill changes the amount of cocaine needed to trigger certain criminal penalties under federal law. It also requires the Attorney General to review whether people sentenced before this law passed should receive lower sentences under the new amounts. Additionally, the bill directs federal agencies to research cocaine and report their findings to Congress.
Who It Affects
People previously sentenced for cocaine-related federal crimes, the Attorney General, federal courts, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, the United States Sentencing Commission, and Congress.
Key Provisions
• The bill lowers the amount of cocaine that triggers mandatory federal penalties by changing thresholds from 5 kilograms to 4 kilograms and from 500 grams to 400 grams in certain situations (Sec. 2(a)(1)(A) and 2(a)(1)(B)).
• The bill raises the amount of cocaine in other situations from 280 grams to 1,600 grams and from 28 grams to 160 grams (Sec. 2(a)(1)(A) and 2(a)(1)(B)).
• The Attorney General must certify to the court whether defendants sentenced before this law passed should receive reduced sentences under the new amounts (Sec. 2(b)(1)).
• Courts may reduce sentences for past defendants if the Attorney General certifies that a reduced sentence is appropriate (Sec. 2(b)(2)).
• Federal agencies must submit a report within one year studying cocaine dosage, lethality, addiction potential, and violence associated with cocaine use (Sec. 3(a)).
• The United States Sentencing Commission must submit a report within one year analyzing federal cocaine offenses, trafficking patterns, and state sentencing policies (Sec. 3(b)).
What Changes
If this becomes law, the specific amounts of cocaine triggering certain federal criminal penalties will change. Some thresholds will decrease while others will increase. People already sentenced for cocaine crimes may be eligible to have their sentences reduced based on the Attorney General's review. Federal agencies will be required to conduct research on cocaine and report their findings to Congress.
Important Definitions
The bill does not explicitly define key terms.
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 522
To establish appropriate penalties for cocaine-related offenses, and for other
purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
FEBRUARY 16, 2023
Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. LEE, Mr. WICKER, and Mr. GRAHAM) intro-
duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com-
mittee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To establish appropriate penalties for cocaine-related
offenses, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Start Making Adjust-
4
ments and Require Transparency in Cocaine Sentencing
5
Act’’ or the ‘‘SMART Cocaine Sentencing Act’’.
6
SEC. 2. PENALTIES FOR COCAINE-RELATED OFFENSES.
7
(a) IN GENERAL.—
8
VerDate Sep 11 2014
06:20 Mar 07, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\S522.IS
S522
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
2
•S 522 IS
(1) CONTROLLED
SUBSTANCES
ACT.—Section
1
401(b)(1) of the Controlled Substances Act (21
2
U.S.C. 841(b)(1)) is amended—
3
(A) in subparagraph (A)—
4
(i) in clause (ii), in the matter pre-
5
ceding subclause (I), by striking ‘‘5 kilo-
6
grams’’ and inserting ‘‘4 kilograms’’; and
7
(ii) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘280
8
grams’’ and inserting ‘‘1,600 grams’’; and
9
(B) in subparagraph (B)—
10
(i) in clause (ii), in the matter pre-
11
ceding subclause (I), by striking ‘‘500
12
grams’’ and inserting ‘‘400 grams’’; and
13
(ii) in clause (iii), by striking ‘‘28
14
grams’’ and inserting ‘‘160 grams’’.
15
(2) CONTROLLED
SUBSTANCES
IMPORT
AND
16
EXPORT
ACT.—Section 1010(b) of the Controlled
17
Substances Import and Export Act (21 U.S.C.
18
960(b)) is amended—
19
(A) in paragraph (1)—
20
(i) in subparagraph (B), in the matter
21
preceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘5 kilo-
22
grams’’ and inserting ‘‘4 kilograms’’;
23
VerDate Sep 11 2014
06:20 Mar 07, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\S522.IS
S522
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
3
•S 522 IS
(ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking
1
‘‘280
grams’’
and
inserting
‘‘1,600
2
grams’’; and
3
(iii) in subparagraph (H), by striking
4
the period at the end and inserting a semi-
5
colon; and
6
(B) in paragraph (2)—
7
(i) in subparagraph (B), in the matter
8
preceding clause (i), by striking ‘‘500
9
grams’’ and inserting ‘‘400 grams’’;
10
(ii) in subparagraph (C), by striking
11
‘‘28 grams’’ and inserting ‘‘160 grams’’;
12
and
13
(iii) in subparagraph (H), by striking
14
the period at the end and inserting a semi-
15
colon.
16
(b) ATTORNEY GENERAL CERTIFICATION.—
17
(1) IN GENERAL.—For a defendant sentenced
18
before the date of enactment of this Act, the Attor-
19
ney General shall submit to the court that sentenced
20
the defendant a certification regarding whether, in
21
the opinion of the Attorney General, the sentence of
22
the defendant should be reduced, as if the amend-
23
ments made by subsection (a) were in effect at the
24
time the offense was committed. In making a certifi-
25
VerDate Sep 11 2014
06:20 Mar 07, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\S522.IS
S522
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
4
•S 522 IS
cation under this paragraph, the Attorney General
1
shall consider the factors in section 3553(a) of title
2
18, United States Code.
3
(2) RESENTENCING.—If the Attorney General
4
submits a certification under paragraph (1) indi-
5
cating that, in the opinion of the Attorney General,
6
the sentence of the defendant should be reduced, as
7
if the amendments made by subsection (a) were in
8
effect at the time the offense was committed, the
9
court that imposed the sentence of the defendant
10
may impose such a reduced sentence.
11
SEC. 3. FEDERAL RESEARCH.
12
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the
13
date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in
14
coordination with the Administrator of the Drug Enforce-
15
ment Administration and the Secretary of Health and
16
Human Services, shall review and submit to the Com-
17
mittee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Health,
18
Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the
19
Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Energy
20
and Commerce of the House of Representatives a report
21
on—
22
(1) the average individual dosage amount of
23
both powder cocaine and cocaine base;
24
VerDate Sep 11 2014
06:20 Mar 07, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\S522.IS
S522
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
5
•S 522 IS
(2) the lethality of both powder cocaine and co-
1
caine base as measured by individual dosage;
2
(3) the impact on lethality that polysubstance
3
use, specifically as to synthetic drugs such as
4
fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances, has on
5
both powder cocaine and cocaine base users;
6
(4) the addictiveness of both powder cocaine
7
and cocaine base;
8
(5) the violence attributed to or associated with
9
both powder cocaine and cocaine base, which may in-
10
clude but is not limited to, criminal charges, statu-
11
tory enhancements, criminal history, and recidivism
12
data; and
13
(6)
the
impact
on
addictiveness
that
14
polysubstance use, specifically as to synthetic drugs
15
such as fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances,
16
has on both powder cocaine and cocaine base users.
17
(b) REPORT BY UNITED STATES SENTENCING COM-
18
MISSION.—
19
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after
20
the date of enactment of this Act, the United States
21
Sentencing Commission shall submit to Congress
22
and publicly issue a report regarding cocaine of-
23
fenses and offenders.
24
VerDate Sep 11 2014
06:20 Mar 07, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\S522.IS
S522
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS
6
•S 522 IS
(2) CONTENTS.—The report under paragraph
1
(1) shall include—
2
(A) an analysis of data available to the
3
Commission on Federal cocaine offenses and of-
4
fenders;
5
(B) an updated description of the forms of
6
cocaine, methods of use, effects, dependency po-
7
tential, effects of prenatal exposure, and preva-
8
lence of cocaine use;
9
(C) an updated description of trends in co-
10
caine trafficking patterns, price, and use;
11
(D) a review of State sentencing policies
12
and an examination of the interaction of State
13
penalties with Federal prosecutorial decisions;
14
(E) a review of recent Federal case law de-
15
velopments relating to Federal cocaine sen-
16
tencing; and
17
(F) recommendations to Congress.
18
Æ
VerDate Sep 11 2014
06:20 Mar 07, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\S522.IS
S522
kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS