Improving Justice Programs through Science Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2286 To establish a Science Advisory Board at the Department of Justice, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JULY 25, 2019 Mr. SCHATZ (for himself, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. WHITEHOUSE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To establish a Science Advisory Board at the Department of Justice, 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 ‘‘Improving Justice Pro- 4 grams through Science Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD. 6 (a) AMENDMENT.—Part A of title I of the Omnibus 7 Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 8 10101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 9 lowing: 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Jul 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2286.IS S2286 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2286 IS ‘‘SEC. 110. SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD. 1 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established within 2 the Office a Science Advisory Board (in this section re- 3 ferred to as the ‘Board’)— 4 ‘‘(1) which shall be composed of 26 senior rep- 5 resentatives of academic institutions, including pri- 6 mary and secondary educational institutions, institu- 7 tions of higher education, advanced technology edu- 8 cation, and other related entities, and criminal jus- 9 tice and juvenile justice professionals, appointed in 10 accordance with subsection (c); and 11 ‘‘(2) the purpose of which shall be to— 12 ‘‘(A) foster sustained dialogue between the 13 academic and criminal and juvenile justice com- 14 munities on research-based policies; and 15 ‘‘(B) advise the Attorney General with re- 16 spect to— 17 ‘‘(i) relevant developments in criminal 18 and juvenile justice research; 19 ‘‘(ii) the implications of developments 20 described in clause (i) for Federal, State, 21 and local criminal and juvenile justice 22 agencies; and 23 ‘‘(iii) any other matters as requested 24 by the Attorney General. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Jul 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2286.IS S2286 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2286 IS ‘‘(b) CHARTER.—There shall be a charter to govern 1 the structure and mission of the Board, which shall— 2 ‘‘(1) direct the Board to focus on the depart- 3 mental application of science and evidence under the 4 guidance of the Attorney General; and 5 ‘‘(2) be reviewed and updated every 4 years, as 6 appropriate. 7 ‘‘(c) MEMBERS.— 8 ‘‘(1) APPOINTMENT.—The 26 members of the 9 Board shall— 10 ‘‘(A) be appointed by the Attorney Gen- 11 eral, in consultation with the Assistant Attorney 12 General of the Office and considering rec- 13 ommendations from— 14 ‘‘(i) the Director of the National In- 15 stitute of Justice; 16 ‘‘(ii) the Director Bureau of Justice 17 Statistics; 18 ‘‘(iii) the Director of the Office for 19 Victims of Crime; 20 ‘‘(iv) the Director of the Office of Sex 21 Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, and 22 Tracking; and 23 ‘‘(v) the Director of the Office of Ju- 24 venile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Jul 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2286.IS S2286 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2286 IS ‘‘(B) include senior representatives with a 1 balance of backgrounds, experiences, and view- 2 points that will include the expertise of sci- 3 entific, criminal justice, and juvenile justice 4 professionals; 5 ‘‘(C) include not fewer than 8 researchers 6 in the field of statistics, evaluation, social 7 sciences, or physical and biological sciences, 8 which may include those researchers rec- 9 ommended by the National Academy of 10 Sciences; 11 ‘‘(D) be selected to achieve a balance of 12 backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints that 13 will include the expertise of scientific, criminal 14 justice, and juvenile justice practitioners; and 15 ‘‘(E) include not less than three-fifths of 16 the members who hold terminal degrees in their 17 field, have published researcher, and are leading 18 research in areas, including— 19 ‘‘(i) criminology; 20 ‘‘(ii) criminal justice; 21 ‘‘(iii) juvenile justice; 22 ‘‘(iv) tribal justice; 23 ‘‘(v) statistics; 24 ‘‘(vi) economics; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Jul 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2286.IS S2286 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2286 IS ‘‘(vii) sociology; 1 ‘‘(viii) psychology; 2 ‘‘(ix) political science; and 3 ‘‘(x) other relevant sciences. 4 ‘‘(2) TERMS.—The term of each member ap- 5 pointed under paragraph (1) shall be 4 years. 6 ‘‘(3) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the member- 7 ship of the Board shall— 8 ‘‘(A) not affect the powers of the board; 9 ‘‘(B) be filled in the same manner as the 10 original appointment; and 11 ‘‘(C) be only for the remainder of the term 12 of the original appointment. 13 ‘‘(4) CHAIRPERSON.—The Attorney General, 14 with the advice and recommendation of the Assistant 15 Attorney General, shall appoint 1 member of the 16 Science Advisory Board to serve as the Chairperson 17 of the Board. 18 ‘‘(d) MEETINGS.—The Board shall— 19 ‘‘(1) meet on a regular basis to discuss science, 20 research, and ongoing criminal and juvenile justice 21 departmental activities, including coordination with 22 other Federal, State, local, tribal, territorial, and 23 private sector partners; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Jul 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2286.IS S2286 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2286 IS ‘‘(2) make recommendations to the Assistant 1 Attorney General; 2 ‘‘(3) provide advice and recommendations con- 3 cerning support for research, statistics, and grant 4 programs of the Office; 5 ‘‘(4) serve as a point of contact with the aca- 6 demic and practitioner communities to inform the 7 Office of the impact of the research, statistics, and 8 grant programs of the Office on both the academic 9 community and the criminal and juvenile justice 10 fields; 11 ‘‘(5) offer broad input into long-range plans 12 and partnership opportunities; 13 ‘‘(6) serve as a forum for consideration of pro- 14 posed interdisciplinary projects across the sciences; 15 and 16 ‘‘(7) advise on policy development, program im- 17 plementation and evaluation, and identify research 18 needs and opportunities. 19 ‘‘(e) SUPPORT.—The Attorney General shall ensure 20 that the Board complies with the requirements under— 21 ‘‘(1) the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 22 U.S.C. App.); 23 ‘‘(2) section 552b of title 5 (commonly known 24 as the ‘Government in the Sunshine Act’); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Jul 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2286.IS S2286 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2286 IS ‘‘(3) any— 1 ‘‘(A) governing Federal statute or regula- 2 tion; or 3 ‘‘(B) relevant policy or procedure of the 4 Department of Justice.’’. 5 (b) REPORT.—Not later than 90 days after the date 6 of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the At- 7 torney General shall submit to the Committee on the Judi- 8 ciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary 9 of the House of Representatives a report on the status 10 and activities of the Science Advisory Board established 11 under section 110 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 12 and Safe Streets Act of 1968, as added by subsection (a) 13 of this Act. 14 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:03 Jul 27, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2286.IS S2286 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS