Dismantle Mass Incarceration For Public Health Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7281 To require States and units of local government to certify a commitment to release certain individuals from jails and prisons, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 18, 2020 Ms. TLAIB (for herself, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. LEE of California, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. OMAR, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. RUSH, Ms. NORTON, and Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To require States and units of local government to certify a commitment to release certain individuals from jails and prisons, 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 ‘‘Dismantle Mass Incar- 4 ceration For Public Health Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:16 Jul 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7281.IH H7281 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7281 IH SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT FOR RELEASE OF CERTAIN INDIVID- 1 UALS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—In submitting an application for 3 Federal funds under section 502 of the Omnibus Crime 4 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10153), 5 the chief executive of a State or unit of local government 6 shall submit to the Attorney General a certification that 7 not later than 10 days after the enactment of this Act, 8 such State or unit of local government has released any 9 person described from the custody of a correctional facil- 10 ity. 11 (b) PLACEMENT.— 12 (1) IN GENERAL.—A person described released 13 under subsection (a), may be placed on pretrial su- 14 pervision, home confinement, or other supervision 15 determined by the State or unit of local government 16 to be appropriate. 17 (2) PAYMENT OF FEES.—A person described 18 placed on pretrial supervision, home confinement, or 19 other supervision determined by the State or unit of 20 local government to be appropriate shall not be in- 21 carcerated for a violation of the conditions of such 22 supervision or confinement pursuant to paragraph 23 (1), unless such violation is the commission of a 24 crime that causes bodily injury or uses violent force 25 against another individual. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:16 Jul 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7281.IH H7281 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7281 IH (c) APPLICABILITY.—Subsection (a) shall apply to an 1 application for Federal funds under section 502 of the 2 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 3 U.S.C. 10153) beginning fiscal year 2021 and shall apply 4 to such an application for each fiscal year until the fiscal 5 year that is after the date— 6 (1) on which the President declares the end of 7 the COVID-19 national emergency; and 8 (2) on which a Governor of a State declares the 9 end of a state of emergency with respect to the 10 coronavirus, if such state of emergency was declared 11 by such Governor. 12 (d) REPORT.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—On the date that is one 14 month after the date that is 10 days after the date 15 of the enactment of this Act, the chief executive of 16 a State or unit of local government shall submit to 17 the Attorney General a report including— 18 (A) a certification that each correctional 19 facility in such State or unit of local govern- 20 ment has released persons described; 21 (B) how many persons described have been 22 released from each correctional facility, includ- 23 ing the criteria met to qualify for release pursu- 24 ant to section 4(5); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:16 Jul 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7281.IH H7281 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7281 IH (C) an estimate of the amount of sums not 1 expended by a State or unit of local government 2 to keep a person described in a correctional fa- 3 cility in such State or unit of local government. 4 (2) PUBLICATION BY STATE AND LOCAL GOV- 5 ERNMENT.—Not later than seven days after the date 6 on which a report under paragraph (1) is submitted 7 to the Attorney General, the chief executive of a 8 State or unit of local government shall publish on 9 the internet website of such State or unit of local 10 government the report under paragraph (1) and 11 shall provide meaningful access to such report for 12 individuals with limited English proficiency. 13 (3) PUBLICATION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 14 Not later than seven days after the date on which 15 a report under paragraph (1) is submitted to the At- 16 torney General, the Attorney General shall publish 17 on the internet website of the Department of Justice 18 each report under paragraph (1) and shall provide 19 meaningful access to such reports to an individual 20 with limited English proficiency. 21 SEC. 3. CLEANING OF CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES. 22 In submitting an application for Federal funds under 23 section 502 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 24 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10153), the chief executive 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:16 Jul 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7281.IH H7281 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7281 IH of a State or unit of local government shall submit to the 1 Attorney General a certification that not later than 10 2 days after the enactment of this Act, such State or unit 3 of local government has implemented recommendations re- 4 leased by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 5 with respect to preventing the spread of the coronavirus, 6 including— 7 (1) maintaining six feet distance between any 8 individuals at any time; 9 (2) providing hand sanitizer and other cleaning 10 disinfectants to each arrestee, detainee, or inmate 11 who is in the custody of a correctional facility; and 12 (3) providing other protective equipment to 13 each arrestee, detainee, or inmate who is in the cus- 14 tody of a correctional facility. 15 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 16 In this Act: 17 (1) BENCH WARRANT.—The term ‘‘bench war- 18 rant’’ means a written order issued by a judge au- 19 thorizing law enforcement to arrest an individual if 20 such individual fails to appear in court or to pay 21 fines and fees with respect to a charge against such 22 individual. 23 (2) CORRECTIONAL FACILITY.—The term ‘‘cor- 24 rectional facility’’ includes a juvenile facility. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:16 Jul 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7281.IH H7281 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7281 IH (3) COVID-19 NATIONAL EMERGENCY.—The 1 term ‘‘COVID-19 national emergency’’ means the 2 national emergency declared by the President under 3 the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et 4 seq.) on March 13, 2020, with respect to the 5 coronavirus. 6 (4) MEDICALLY VULNERABLE.—The term 7 ‘‘medically vulnerable’’ includes an individual— 8 (A) diagnosed with a chronic lung disease; 9 (B) diagnosed with moderate or severe 10 asthma; 11 (C) diagnosed with a serious heart condi- 12 tion; 13 (D) diagnosed with diabetes; 14 (E) diagnosed with a chronic kidney dis- 15 ease and undergoing dialysis; 16 (F) diagnosed with liver disease; 17 (G) diagnosed with cancer; 18 (H) diagnosed with obesity; or 19 (I) who is immunocompromised. 20 (5) PERSONS DESCRIBED.—The term ‘‘persons 21 described’’ means an arrestee, detainee, or inmate 22 who is in the custody of a correctional facility— 23 (A) solely because such individual is await- 24 ing trial; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:16 Jul 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7281.IH H7281 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7281 IH (B) as a result of a technical violation; 1 (C) as a result of a bench warrant; 2 (D) following a conviction with respect to 3 a controlled substance (as defined in section 4 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 5 U.S.C. 802)); 6 (E) pursuant to an immigration detainer 7 issued by the Secretary of Homeland Security; 8 (F) following a conviction of a mis- 9 demeanor offense; 10 (G) following a conviction for a status of- 11 fense; 12 (H) who is terminally ill, mentally ill, or 13 disabled, as determined by a medical profes- 14 sional; 15 (I) who is medically vulnerable; 16 (J) who is determined by a deciding body 17 or review board of such correctional facility to 18 be unlikely to pose a substantial risk of causing 19 bodily injury or using violent force against an- 20 other individual; 21 (K) who is over the age of 55 years old; 22 (L) who is— 23 (i) incarcerated in a prison and will 24 complete their sentence within 18 months 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:16 Jul 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7281.IH H7281 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7281 IH of the date of the enactment of this Act; 1 or 2 (ii) incarcerated in a jail and will 3 complete their sentence within 180 days of 4 the date of the enactment of this Act; 5 (M) who is a primary caregiver; or 6 (N) who is pregnant. 7 (6) PRIMARY CAREGIVER.—The term ‘‘primary 8 caregiver’’ means an individual who has the respon- 9 sibility for the care of another individual, either vol- 10 untarily, by contract, by receipt of payment for care, 11 or as a result of the operation of law and includes 12 a family member or other individual who provides 13 (on behalf of such individual or of a public or private 14 agency, organization, or institution) compensated or 15 uncompensated care to another individual. 16 (7) STATUS OFFENSE.—The term ‘‘status of- 17 fense’’ means an offense that is criminal if com- 18 mitted by an individual who is under the age of 18 19 years old, but such offense would not be criminal if 20 committed by an individual who is 18 years or older. 21 (8) TECHNICAL VIOLATION.—The term ‘‘tech- 22 nical violation’’ includes a violation of court-ordered 23 supervision, release-ordered supervision, or parole, 24 including— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:16 Jul 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7281.IH H7281 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7281 IH (A) failing to report for a scheduled office 1 visit; 2 (B) violating a curfew; 3 (C) lack of employment or attendance at 4 school; or 5 (D) testing positive for drug or alcohol use. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:16 Jul 13, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H7281.IH H7281 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS