Community First Pretrial Reform and Jail Decarceration Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8647 To establish a new Justice Department grant program to reduce the number of individuals incarcerated in local jails, reduce the number of days individuals are incarcerated in local jails, and support community-led local justice reinvestment. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 20, 2020 Mr. TRONE (for himself and Mr. ARMSTRONG) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To establish a new Justice Department grant program to reduce the number of individuals incarcerated in local jails, reduce the number of days individuals are incarcer- ated in local jails, and support community-led local jus- tice reinvestment. 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 ‘‘Community First Pre- 4 trial Reform and Jail Decarceration Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:39 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8647.IH H8647 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8647 IH SEC. 2. GRANTS AUTHORIZED. 1 (a) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.—The Attorney General, 2 acting through the Bureau of Justice Assistance, shall 3 make grants to eligible partnerships for purposes of reduc- 4 ing the number of individuals in jails operated by units 5 of local government and the number of days such individ- 6 uals spend in jail as follows: 7 (1) Grants for analysis and planning, which 8 shall be used to— 9 (A) collect and analyze local criminal jus- 10 tice and incarceration data, including data on 11 racial and ethnic disparities; and 12 (B) develop a strategic, collaborative plan 13 to decrease local jail incarceration that shall be 14 public facing. 15 (2) Grants for implementation of the plan de- 16 scribed in paragraph (1)(B) and which may be used 17 for activities to reduce the number of individuals in- 18 carcerated in local jails and to reduce the number of 19 days that individuals are so incarcerated including— 20 (A) eliminating or reducing the use of cash 21 bail; 22 (B) reducing revocations of conditional re- 23 lease; 24 (C) creating or increasing the availability 25 of pretrial services, including efforts undertaken 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:39 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8647.IH H8647 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8647 IH in collaboration with community-based organi- 1 zations and nonprofits; 2 (D) investing in case processing and proc- 3 esses to reduce overall time to disposition and 4 time between court events; 5 (E) ensuring early assignment of counsel 6 and presence of counsel at individuals’ first 7 court appearance or bail hearing; 8 (F) providing training to various actors 9 within the criminal justice system on indigent 10 defense that is aligned with best practices in 11 the field; 12 (G) creating or expanding diversion pro- 13 grams that do not require an individual to enter 14 into a guilty plea and do not use incarceration 15 as a sanction for noncompliance— 16 (i) at the pre-arrest phase; 17 (ii) at the pre-booking phase; and 18 (iii) at the post-booking phase; or 19 (H) any other emerging, promising, or evi- 20 dence-based practices that an eligible partner- 21 ship proposes and the Attorney General deems 22 likely to reduce local jail incarceration. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:39 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8647.IH H8647 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8647 IH (b) ELIGIBLE PARTNERSHIP.—An eligible partner- 1 ship is a partnership between not less than 2 of the fol- 2 lowing: 3 (1) A unit of local government. 4 (2) A territory. 5 (3) An Indian tribe. 6 (4) A nonprofit organization. 7 (c) APPLICATION.—An application for a grant shall 8 include the following: 9 (1) Details of the range of pretrial services 10 available within the jurisdiction where the jail being 11 targeted for incarceration rate reduction under this 12 Act is located. 13 (2) A plan for ongoing process evaluation and 14 outcome evaluation. 15 (3) Either— 16 (A) data— 17 (i) disaggregated by race, ethnicity, 18 and gender on incarceration for correc- 19 tional facilities within the local jurisdiction 20 for each of the last five calendar years that 21 includes— 22 (I) the average daily population; 23 (II) the percentage of individuals 24 held pretrial and post-conviction; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:39 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8647.IH H8647 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8647 IH (III) the average length of stay 1 for individuals held pretrial and post- 2 conviction; and 3 (ii) disaggregated by race, ethnicity, 4 and gender on arrests made by all law en- 5 forcement entities operating within the 6 local jurisdiction over each of the last five 7 calendar years; or 8 (B) in the event that elements of such in- 9 carceration or arrest data are not able to be 10 compiled and reported, a comprehensive plan to 11 obtain as much of the unavailable data as pos- 12 sible within the first year of the award. 13 SEC. 3. REQUIREMENTS. 14 (a) IN GENERAL.—Grantees shall— 15 (1) consult in all phases of planning, implemen- 16 tation, and evaluation with municipal, county, and 17 state law enforcement agencies, courts in the local 18 jurisdiction, public defense organizations and crimi- 19 nal defense practitioners in the local jurisdiction, 20 local substance use and mental health authorities, 21 local community members, local community members 22 who have been justice-involved, and community- 23 based organizations and service providers; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:39 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8647.IH H8647 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8647 IH (2) analyze local jail incarceration and arrest 1 data to identify the drivers of jail incarceration and 2 racial and ethnic disparities and ground jail popu- 3 lation reduction strategies in that data; 4 (3) reduce incarceration rates by no less than 5 5 percent the first year of an implementation grant, 6 10 percent in each subsequent year, and 50 percent 7 by the end of the grant period; 8 (4) in consultation with the Bureau of Justice 9 Assistance— 10 (A) adopt and implement a methodology 11 for measuring racial and ethnic disparities in 12 jail incarceration; 13 (B) set goals for the reduction of racial 14 and ethnic jail incarceration disparities; and 15 (C) decrease levels of incarceration across 16 all races and ethnicities; 17 (5) engage an external evaluator to coordinate 18 data collection and reporting in an ongoing fashion 19 and perform both a process and outcome evaluation, 20 with support from the Bureau of Justice Assistance; 21 and 22 (6) use financial savings created through de- 23 creased incarceration to sustain programmatic and 24 community-based efforts to reduce jail incarceration. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:39 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8647.IH H8647 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8647 IH (b) GRANT OVERSIGHT REQUIREMENT.— 1 (1) IN GENERAL.—If a grantee fails to meet 2 the incarceration rate and racial and ethnic dispari- 3 ties reduction requirements under subsection (a)(3) 4 in any year of the award, the Bureau of Justice As- 5 sistance shall perform an audit of the use of their 6 award and the grantee shall implement new strate- 7 gies based on that audit. If a grantee fails to meet 8 the incarceration rate and racial and ethnic dispari- 9 ties reduction requirements under subsection (a)(3) 10 in any two consecutive years of the award, the At- 11 torney General shall terminate the award. 12 (2) MODIFICATION AUTHORITY.—The Bureau 13 of Justice Assistance may grant a modification to 14 the incarceration rate reduction requirement under 15 subsection (a)(3) if the Bureau determines after an 16 audit that the failure to meet the incarceration rate 17 reduction requirement was caused by an increase in 18 population in the covered jurisdiction. If a grantee 19 fails to meet the modified reduction requirements in 20 any two subsequent years of the award, the Attorney 21 General shall terminate the award. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:39 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8647.IH H8647 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8647 IH SEC. 4. GRANT AMOUNTS. 1 (a) PLANNING GRANTS.—A grant under section 2 2(a)(1) may be for not more than $100,000 for a single 3 grantee, and shall be for a term of 1 year. 4 (b) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.—A grant under sec- 5 tion 2(a)(2) shall be for a term of 6 years, and shall be 6 structured as follows: 7 (1) For the first year of the grant term, an 8 amount shall be disbursed that is to be not less than 9 $500,000 and not more than $3,000,000, contingent 10 upon acceptance of a grantee’s proposed budget for 11 activities under the grant, which may be subject to 12 revision during the award process. 13 (2) Award amounts shall decrease annually 14 by— 15 (A) 10 percent in the second year; 16 (B) 15 percent in the third year; 17 (C) 20 percent in the fourth year; and 18 (D) 25 percent in the fifth year. 19 (3) Award amounts during the sixth year of the 20 award may not be used for programmatic activities 21 and shall support only program evaluation and the 22 drafting of a final report, and such funds shall be 23 available to the grantees until expended. 24 SEC. 5. SELECTION PRIORITY. 25 In selecting grantees, the Attorney General shall— 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:39 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8647.IH H8647 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 8647 IH (1) give priority to applicants from jurisdictions 1 with the highest incarceration rates that are not al- 2 ready in decline and whose applications contain the 3 most ambitious and attainable plans for reducing 4 that rate; 5 (2) give additional priority to applicants from 6 jurisdictions seeking to use funds under this Act to 7 prevent the local government from expanding the 8 number of beds in local correctional facilities; 9 (3) for any year in which there will only be one 10 new or ongoing award, ensure that a small metro- 11 politan, micropolitan, or noncore area is the recipi- 12 ent of the award; 13 (4) for any year in which there will be more 14 than one new or ongoing award, ensure that small 15 metropolitan, micropolitan, or noncore areas are the 16 recipients of at least two awards; and 17 (5) for any year in which there will be three or 18 more new or ongoing awards, ensure that no more 19 than one large central metropolitan area is a recipi- 20 ent of an award. 21 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 22 In this Act: 23 (1) The term ‘‘conditional release’’ means pro- 24 bation, parole, supervised release, home confinement, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:10 Nov 07, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8647.IH H8647 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 8647 IH community supervision, and other practices under 1 which an individual is supervised in the community 2 by the criminal justice system and may be incarcer- 3 ated if found in violation of the conditions of their 4 release. 5 (2) The term ‘‘diversion’’ means a program or 6 practice that— 7 (A) places individuals who come into con- 8 tact with the criminal justice system into alter- 9 native processes outside the standard scope of 10 criminal justice processing; and 11 (B) reduces an individual’s involvement in 12 the criminal justice system in both the short 13 and long term. 14 (3) The term ‘‘emerging practice’’ means a pro- 15 gram or practice— 16 (A) with initial implementation resulting in 17 decreased local jail incarceration in one or more 18 communities; and 19 (B) that will be evaluated through a well- 20 designed and rigorous study. 21 (4) The term ‘‘evidence-based practice’’ means 22 a program or practice that— 23 (A) is demonstrated to be effective when 24 implemented with fidelity; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:39 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8647.IH H8647 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 8647 IH (B) is based on a clearly articulated and 1 empirically supported theory; 2 (C) has measurable outcomes relevant to 3 reducing jail incarceration, including a detailed 4 description of the outcomes produced in a par- 5 ticular population, whether urban or rural; and 6 (D) has been scientifically tested and prov- 7 en effective through randomized control studies 8 or comparison group studies and with the abil- 9 ity to replicate and scale. 10 (5) The term ‘‘micropolitan area’’ has the 11 meaning established under the Centers for Disease 12 Control and Prevention’s (hereinafter in this Act re- 13 ferred to as the ‘‘CDC’’) National Center for Health 14 Statistics Urban-Rural Classification Scheme for 15 Counties. 16 (6) The term ‘‘small metropolitan area’’ has the 17 meaning established under the CDC’s National Cen- 18 ter for Health Statistics Urban-Rural Classification 19 Scheme for Counties. 20 (7) The term ‘‘noncore areas’’ has the meaning 21 established under the CDC’s National Center for 22 Health Statistics Urban-Rural Classification Scheme 23 for Counties. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:39 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8647.IH H8647 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 8647 IH (8) The term ‘‘post-booking diversion’’ means a 1 program or practice that diverts individuals from 2 formal criminal justice system processing after for- 3 mal intake processing into jail. 4 (9) The term ‘‘pre-booking diversion’’ means a 5 program or practice that diverts individuals from 6 formal criminal justice system processing prior to 7 arrest or prior to formal intake processing into jail. 8 (10) The term ‘‘promising practice’’ means a 9 program or practice that— 10 (A) is demonstrated to be effective based 11 on positive outcomes relevant to reducing jail 12 incarceration from one or more objective, inde- 13 pendent, and scientifically valid evaluations, as 14 documented in writing to the Attorney General; 15 and 16 (B) will be evaluated through a well-de- 17 signed and rigorous study. 18 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 19 There are authorized to be appropriated— 20 (1) $20,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 21 through 2025 for planning grants; and 22 (2) $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2021 23 through 2025 for implementation grants, of which 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 18:39 Nov 06, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8647.IH H8647 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]