SCORE Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3529 To direct the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to establish a grant program to promote re-entry training programs and reduce recidivism, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 25, 2021 Mr. NEHLS (for himself, Mrs. DEMINGS, Mr. WEBER of Texas, Mr. BABIN, Mr. CARTER of Texas, and Mr. SESSIONS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To direct the Director of the Bureau of Justice Assistance to establish a grant program to promote re-entry training programs and reduce recidivism, 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 ‘‘Second Chance Oppor- 4 tunity for Re-Entry Education Act of 2021’’ or the 5 ‘‘SCORE Act of 2021’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:34 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3529.IH H3529 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3529 IH SEC. 2. GRANT TO PROMOTE RE-ENTRY TRAINING PRO- 1 GRAMS AND REDUCE RECIDIVISM. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 3 date of the enactment of this Act, the Director of the Bu- 4 reau of Justice Assistance shall establish a grant program 5 called the ‘‘Second Chance Opportunity for Re-Entry Edu- 6 cation Grant Program’’ (in this Act referred to as the 7 ‘‘Program’’) to promote re-entry training programs and 8 reduce recidivism to county jails for qualified non-violent 9 inmates. 10 (b) GRANT AUTHORITY.—In carrying out the Pro- 11 gram, the Director may award a grant on a competitive 12 basis in accordance with this section. 13 (c) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS.— 14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director may award a 15 grant under the Program to a county with a county 16 jail inmate population of 500 or more inmates, de- 17 termined by the Director to have the authority and 18 capability to carry out a project described in sub- 19 section (d). 20 (2) COUNTY COORDINATION.—The Director 21 may award a grant under the Program to two or 22 more counties, as a group, with a county jail inmate 23 population of less than 500 inmates if the combined 24 inmate population of these counties is 500 or more 25 inmates and together these counties are determined 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:34 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3529.IH H3529 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3529 IH by the Director to have the authority and capability 1 to carry out a project described in subsection (d). 2 (d) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—Grant funds awarded 3 under the Program may only be used to develop or manage 4 an existing career training program at a county jail to pro- 5 vide training in welding, heating ventilation, and air condi- 6 tioning (HVAC), plumbing, or any other career training 7 program determined to be an eligible project by the Direc- 8 tor. 9 (e) APPLICATIONS.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—To be eligible for a grant 11 under the Program, a county with a county jail in- 12 mate population of 500 or more inmates may submit 13 to the Director an application in such form, at such 14 time, and containing such information as the Direc- 15 tor determines to be appropriate. 16 (2) COUNTY COORDINATION.—To be eligible for 17 a grant under the Program, two or more counties 18 with a combined county jail inmate population of 19 500 or more inmates may submit to the Director an 20 application as a group, in such form, at such time, 21 and containing such information as the Director de- 22 termines to be appropriate. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:34 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3529.IH H3529 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3529 IH (f) PRIORITY.—In making a grant under the Pro- 1 gram, the Director shall give priority to an eligible recipi- 2 ent that— 3 (1) has career training programs and facilities 4 for such programs; 5 (2) coordinates with local or adjacent civilian 6 trade schools, technical or vocational institutes, or 7 community colleges that can provide paid instructors 8 for inmate classroom instruction; 9 (3) as county owned or leased land that can 10 support construction of classroom and vocational 11 training space; 12 (4) has county assets so that the county can 13 transport, feed, and secure inmates during inmate 14 classroom instruction and traveling to and from such 15 classroom instruction; 16 (5) has administrative support from a county 17 sheriff, county judge, or county commissioners court 18 members, as applicable; and 19 (6) coordinates with non-profit organizations 20 and unions that have expertise and experience in ca- 21 reer training programs. 22 (g) LIMITATION ON GRANT AMOUNTS.—The amount 23 of a grant under the Program shall not exceed $500,000, 24 including if a grant is made to two or more counties with 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:34 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3529.IH H3529 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3529 IH a combined county jail inmate population of 500 or more 1 inmates. 2 (h) FEDERAL SHARE.—The Federal share of the cost 3 of a project assisted with a grant under the Program shall 4 not exceed 75 percent. 5 (i) EVALUATION OF PROGRAM.—Not later than 365 6 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annu- 7 ally thereafter, an eligible recipient who is awarded a 8 grant under the Program shall submit to the Director a 9 report on the Program, including: 10 (1) The number of inmates that entered career 11 training programs developed pursuant to the Pro- 12 gram. 13 (2) The number of inmates that completed or 14 graduated career training programs developed pur- 15 suant to the Program. 16 (3) The number of inmates that completed or 17 graduated career training programs developed pur- 18 suant to the Program and re-entered the county jail 19 after their release from jail. 20 (4) The number of inmates that completed or 21 graduated career training programs developed pur- 22 suant to the Program who found employment after 23 release and what career field they are employed in. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:34 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3529.IH H3529 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3529 IH (j) QUALIFIED NON-VIOLENT INMATES DEFINED.— 1 In this section, the term ‘‘qualified non-violent inmates’’ 2 means— 3 (1) a non-violent individual who has not been 4 convicted of an offense during the course of which— 5 (A) the individual used a firearm or other 6 dangerous weapon; or 7 (B) there occurred the death of, or serious 8 bodily injury to, any person; 9 (2) a non-violent individual who has not been 10 charged or convicted of any offense under Federal or 11 State law, punishable by imprisonment for a term 12 exceeding one year, that is murder, voluntary man- 13 slaughter, kidnapping, aggravated assault, a forcible 14 sex offense, robbery, arson, extortion, or the use or 15 unlawful possession of a firearm described in section 16 5845(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1968 (26 17 U.S.C. 5845(a)) or explosive material as defined in 18 section 841(c) of title 18, United States Code. 19 (k) FUNDING OF PROGRAM.—Section 506 of the Om- 20 nibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 198 (34 21 U.S.C. 10157) is amended by inserting the following new 22 subsection: 23 ‘‘(c) Of the total amount made available to carry out 24 this part for a fiscal year, the Attorney General shall re- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:34 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3529.IH H3529 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3529 IH serve not more than 3 percent to be granted to 1 or more 1 county for the grant program established pursuant to the 2 ‘SCORE Act of 2021’ for each of the fiscal years 2022 3 to 2027.’’. 4 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:34 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3529.IH H3529 dlhill on DSK120RN23PROD with BILLS