Smarter Sentencing Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2850 To focus limited Federal resources on the most serious offenders. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 13, 2019 Mr. LEE (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Ms. BALDWIN, Ms. HARRIS, Mr. KAINE, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. BOOKER, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. KING, and Ms. WARREN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To focus limited Federal resources on the most serious offenders. 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 ‘‘Smarter Sentencing 4 Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. SENTENCING MODIFICATIONS FOR CERTAIN DRUG 6 OFFENSES. 7 (a) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT.—The Con- 8 trolled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) is amend- 9 ed— 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2850.IS S2850 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 2850 IS (1) in section 102 (21 U.S.C. 802)— 1 (A) by redesignating paragraph (58) as 2 paragraph (59); 3 (B) by redesignating the second paragraph 4 (57) (relating to ‘‘serious drug felony’’) as 5 paragraph (58); and 6 (C) by adding at the end the following: 7 ‘‘(60) The term ‘courier’ means a defendant 8 whose role in the offense was limited to transporting 9 or storing drugs or money.’’; and 10 (2) in section 401(b)(1) (21 U.S.C. 11 841(b)(1))— 12 (A) in subparagraph (A), in the flush text 13 following clause (viii)— 14 (i) by striking ‘‘10 years or more’’ 15 and inserting ‘‘5 years or more’’; and 16 (ii) by striking ‘‘15 years’’ and insert- 17 ing ‘‘10 years’’; and 18 (B) in subparagraph (B), in the flush text 19 following clause (viii)— 20 (i) by striking ‘‘5 years’’ and inserting 21 ‘‘2 years’’; and 22 (ii) by striking ‘‘not be less than 10 23 years’’ and inserting ‘‘not be less than 5 24 years’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2850.IS S2850 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 2850 IS (b) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES IMPORT AND EXPORT 1 ACT.—Section 1010(b) of the Controlled Substances Im- 2 port and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 960(b)) is amended— 3 (1) in paragraph (1), in the flush text following 4 subparagraph (H)— 5 (A) by inserting ‘‘, other than a person 6 who is a courier,’’ after ‘‘such violation’’; 7 (B) by striking ‘‘person commits’’ and in- 8 serting ‘‘person, other than a courier, com- 9 mits’’; and 10 (C) by inserting ‘‘If a person who is a cou- 11 rier commits such a violation, the person shall 12 be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not 13 less than 5 years and not more than life. If a 14 person who is a courier commits such a viola- 15 tion after a prior conviction for a felony drug 16 offense has become final, the person shall be 17 sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less 18 than 10 years and not more than life.’’ before 19 ‘‘Notwithstanding section 3583’’; and 20 (2) in paragraph (2), in the flush text following 21 subparagraph (H)— 22 (A) by inserting ‘‘, other than a person 23 who is a courier,’’ after ‘‘such violation’’; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2850.IS S2850 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 2850 IS (B) by striking ‘‘person commits’’ and in- 1 serting ‘‘person, other than a courier, com- 2 mits’’; and 3 (C) by inserting ‘‘If a person who is a cou- 4 rier commits such a violation, the person shall 5 be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not 6 less than 2 years and not more than life. If a 7 person who is a courier commits such a viola- 8 tion after a prior conviction for a felony drug 9 offense has become final, the person shall be 10 sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not less 11 than 5 years and not more than life.’’ before 12 ‘‘Notwithstanding section 3583’’. 13 SEC. 3. DIRECTIVE TO THE SENTENCING COMMISSION. 14 (a) DIRECTIVE TO SENTENCING COMMISSION.—Pur- 15 suant to its authority under section 994(p) of title 28, 16 United States Code, and in accordance with this section, 17 the United States Sentencing Commission shall review and 18 amend, if appropriate, its guidelines and its policy state- 19 ments applicable to persons convicted of an offense under 20 section 401 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 21 841) or section 1010 of the Controlled Substances Import 22 and Export Act (21 U.S.C. 960) to ensure that the guide- 23 lines and policy statements are consistent with the amend- 24 ments made by section 2 of this Act. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2850.IS S2850 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 2850 IS (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In carrying out this section, 1 the United States Sentencing Commission shall con- 2 sider— 3 (1) the mandate of the United States Sen- 4 tencing Commission, under section 994(g) of title 5 28, United States Code, to formulate the sentencing 6 guidelines in such a way as to ‘‘minimize the likeli- 7 hood that the Federal prison population will exceed 8 the capacity of the Federal prisons’’; 9 (2) the findings and conclusions of the United 10 States Sentencing Commission in its October 2011 11 report to Congress entitled, Mandatory Minimum 12 Penalties in the Federal Criminal Justice System; 13 (3) the fiscal implications of any amendments 14 or revisions to the sentencing guidelines or policy 15 statements made by the United States Sentencing 16 Commission; 17 (4) the relevant public safety concerns involved 18 in the considerations before the United States Sen- 19 tencing Commission; 20 (5) the intent of Congress that penalties for 21 violent, repeat, and serious drug traffickers who 22 present public safety risks remain appropriately se- 23 vere; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2850.IS S2850 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 2850 IS (6) the need to reduce and prevent racial dis- 1 parities in Federal sentencing. 2 (c) EMERGENCY AUTHORITY.—The United States 3 Sentencing Commission shall— 4 (1) promulgate the guidelines, policy state- 5 ments, or amendments provided for in this Act as 6 soon as practicable, and in any event not later than 7 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act, in 8 accordance with the procedure set forth in section 9 21(a) of the Sentencing Act of 1987 (28 U.S.C. 994 10 note), as though the authority under that Act had 11 not expired; and 12 (2) pursuant to the emergency authority pro- 13 vided under paragraph (1), make such conforming 14 amendments to the Federal sentencing guidelines as 15 the Commission determines necessary to achieve 16 consistency with other guideline provisions and ap- 17 plicable law. 18 SEC. 4. REPORT BY ATTORNEY GENERAL. 19 Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 20 of this Act, the Attorney General shall submit to the Com- 21 mittees on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives 22 and the Senate a report outlining how the reduced expend- 23 itures on Federal corrections and the cost savings result- 24 ing from this Act will be used to help reduce overcrowding 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2850.IS S2850 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 2850 IS in the Federal Bureau of Prisons, help increase proper in- 1 vestment in law enforcement and crime prevention, and 2 help reduce criminal recidivism, thereby increasing the ef- 3 fectiveness of Federal criminal justice spending. 4 SEC. 5. REPORT ON FEDERAL CRIMINAL OFFENSES. 5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 6 (1) the term ‘‘criminal regulatory offense’’ 7 means a Federal regulation that is enforceable by a 8 criminal penalty; and 9 (2) the term ‘‘criminal statutory offense’’ 10 means a criminal offense under a Federal statute. 11 (b) REPORT ON CRIMINAL STATUTORY OFFENSES.— 12 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this 13 Act, the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee 14 on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the 15 Judiciary of the House of Representatives a report, which 16 shall include— 17 (1) a list of all criminal statutory offenses, in- 18 cluding a list of the elements for each criminal stat- 19 utory offense; and 20 (2) for each criminal statutory offense listed 21 under paragraph (1)— 22 (A) the potential criminal penalty for the 23 criminal statutory offense; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2850.IS S2850 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 2850 IS (B) the number of prosecutions for the 1 criminal statutory offense brought by the De- 2 partment of Justice each year for the 15-year 3 period preceding the date of enactment of this 4 Act; and 5 (C) the mens rea requirement for the 6 criminal statutory offense. 7 (c) REPORT ON CRIMINAL REGULATORY OF- 8 FENSES.— 9 (1) REPORTS.—Not later than 1 year after the 10 date of enactment of this Act, the head of each Fed- 11 eral agency described in paragraph (2) shall submit 12 to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and 13 the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 14 Representatives a report, which shall include— 15 (A) a list of all criminal regulatory of- 16 fenses enforceable by the agency; and 17 (B) for each criminal regulatory offense 18 listed under subparagraph (A)— 19 (i) the potential criminal penalty for a 20 violation of the criminal regulatory offense; 21 (ii) the number of violations of the 22 criminal regulatory offense referred to the 23 Department of Justice for prosecution in 24 each of the years during the 15-year period 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2850.IS S2850 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 2850 IS preceding the date of enactment of this 1 Act; and 2 (iii) the mens rea requirement for the 3 criminal regulatory offense. 4 (2) AGENCIES DESCRIBED.—The Federal agen- 5 cies described in this paragraph are the Department 6 of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, the 7 Department of Education, the Department of En- 8 ergy, the Department of Health and Human Serv- 9 ices, the Department of Homeland Security, the De- 10 partment of Housing and Urban Development, the 11 Department of the Interior, the Department of 12 Labor, the Department of Transportation, the De- 13 partment of the Treasury, the Commodity Futures 14 Trading Commission, the Consumer Product Safety 15 Commission, the Equal Employment Opportunity 16 Commission, the Export-Import Bank of the United 17 States, the Farm Credit Administration, the Federal 18 Communications Commission, the Federal Deposit 19 Insurance Corporation, the Federal Election Com- 20 mission, the Federal Labor Relations Authority, the 21 Federal Maritime Commission, the Federal Mine 22 Safety and Health Review Commission, the Federal 23 Trade Commission, the National Labor Relations 24 Board, the National Transportation Safety Board, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2850.IS S2850 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 2850 IS the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Occupa- 1 tional Safety and Health Review Commission, the 2 Office of Compliance, the Postal Regulatory Com- 3 mission, the Securities and Exchange Commission, 4 the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, the 5 Environmental Protection Agency, the Small Busi- 6 ness Administration, the Federal Housing Finance 7 Agency, and the Office of Government Ethics. 8 (d) INDEX.—Not later than 2 years after the date 9 of enactment of this Act— 10 (1) the Attorney General shall establish a pub- 11 lically accessible index of each criminal statutory of- 12 fense listed in the report required under subsection 13 (b) and make the index available and freely acces- 14 sible on the website of the Department of Justice; 15 and 16 (2) the head of each agency described in sub- 17 section (c)(2) shall establish a publically accessible 18 index of each criminal regulatory offense listed in 19 the report required under subsection (c)(1) and 20 make the index available and freely accessible on the 21 website of the agency. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2850.IS S2850 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 2850 IS (e) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec- 1 tion shall be construed to require or authorize appropria- 2 tions. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Nov 20, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S2850.IS S2850 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS