I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2698 To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to condition eligibility for grants under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 18, 2023 Mr. TRONE (for himself and Ms. WATERS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to condition eligibility for grants under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, 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 ‘‘Workforce Justice Act 4 of 2023’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds the following: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Apr 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2698.IH H2698 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2698 IH (1) There are an estimated 70,000,000 adults 1 in the United States with an arrest or conviction 2 history. 3 (2) Nearly 700,000 adults reenter their commu- 4 nities after incarceration every year. 5 (3) Research shows that a conviction record re- 6 duces the likelihood of a job callback or offer by 7 nearly 50 percent. 8 (4) Employment is a critical factor in successful 9 community reentry and reduction of recidivism for 10 adults with a conviction history. 11 (5) After two years, nearly twice as many em- 12 ployed adults with criminal records avoided another 13 interaction with the criminal justice system com- 14 pared to their unemployed counterparts. 15 (6) A study conducted by the Kellogg School of 16 Management at Northwestern University found the 17 turnover rate for employed adults with criminal 18 records to be approximately 13 percent lower than 19 individuals without criminal records. 20 SEC. 3. ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS UNDER THE BYRNE JAG 21 PROGRAM. 22 (a) ELIGIBILITY FOR GRANTS UNDER THE BYRNE 23 JAG PROGRAM.—Section 505(a) of the Omnibus Crime 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Apr 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2698.IH H2698 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2698 IH Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 1 10156(a)) is amended— 2 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘in paragraph 3 (2)’’ and inserting ‘‘in paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; and 4 (2) by adding at the end the following: 5 ‘‘(3) ELIGIBILITY.—Beginning with the third 6 fiscal year that begins after the date of the enact- 7 ment of the Workforce Justice Act of 2023, to be el- 8 igible for an allocation under this section, a State 9 shall have enacted and be implementing legislation 10 that prohibits private employers from— 11 ‘‘(A) requiring an applicant to disclose 12 whether the applicant has a criminal record; 13 ‘‘(B) inquiring about the criminal record of 14 an applicant prior to a conditional offer of em- 15 ployment; and 16 ‘‘(C) conducting a criminal background 17 check on an applicant prior to a conditional 18 offer of employment.’’. 19 (b) REALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Section 505(f) of 20 the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 21 (34 U.S.C. 10156(f)) is amended— 22 (1) by amending the subsection heading to read 23 as follows: ‘‘REALLOCATION’’; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Apr 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2698.IH H2698 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2698 IH (2) by inserting ‘‘(including that a State is in- 1 eligible under subsection (a)(3))’’ after ‘‘receive 2 funds under this subpart’’. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Apr 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2698.IH H2698 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS