II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1342 To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide incentives for States to implement policy changes to reduce prison populations, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 27, 2023 Mr. BOOKER introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to provide incentives for States to implement policy changes to reduce prison populations, 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 ‘‘Smart Sentencing Ad- 4 justments Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1342.IS S1342 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1342 IS SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM. 1 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Omnibus Crime 2 Control and Safe Street Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10101 3 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 4 ‘‘PART PP—STATE PRISON POPULATION 5 REDUCTION GRANT PROGRAM. 6 ‘‘SECTION 3061. DEFINITIONS. 7 ‘‘In this part: 8 ‘‘(1) IMPLEMENTATION GRANT.—The term ‘im- 9 plementation grant’ means a grant awarded to a 10 State for the purpose of reducing the prison popu- 11 lation of the State by not less than 20 percent, 12 based on the average total prison population of the 13 State for the 3-year period preceding the date on 14 which the State applies for the implementation grant 15 under section 3062(d). 16 ‘‘(2) PLANNING GRANT.—The term ‘planning 17 grant’ means a grant awarded to a State for the 18 purpose of— 19 ‘‘(A) analyzing criminal justice trends and 20 factors to better understand excessive and un- 21 necessary prison incarceration; and 22 ‘‘(B) exploring the feasibility of developing, 23 adopting, and implementing policy changes to 24 ameliorate criminal justice trends and factors 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1342.IS S1342 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1342 IS causing excessive and unnecessary prison incar- 1 ceration. 2 ‘‘(3) PRISON.—The term ‘prison’ means a pub- 3 licly or privately operated institution of a State for 4 the confinement of an individual convicted of a 5 criminal offense with a sentence of not less than 1 6 year. 7 ‘‘(4) STATE.—The term ‘State’ has the mean- 8 ing given the term in section 901. 9 ‘‘SEC. 3062. GRANT PROGRAM. 10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 11 date of enactment of the Smart Sentencing Adjustments 12 Act, the Attorney General shall award planning grants 13 and implementation grants to States, on a competitive 14 basis, in accordance with this section. 15 ‘‘(b) PLANNING GRANTS.— 16 ‘‘(1) APPLICATIONS.—A State seeking a plan- 17 ning grant under this section shall submit to the At- 18 torney General an application at such time and in 19 such manner as the Attorney General may require, 20 which shall include— 21 ‘‘(A) a description of the State’s need for 22 a planning grant; and 23 ‘‘(B) a description of the activities the 24 State will carry out with the planning grant. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1342.IS S1342 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1342 IS ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—A State that receives a 1 planning grant under this section shall use the grant 2 solely for the purpose of developing plans for the 3 policy changes that would be required to carry out 4 subsection (c)(3). 5 ‘‘(3) PLANNING GRANT REPORT.—Not later 6 than 60 days after the end of the period of the plan- 7 ning grant of a State, the State shall submit to the 8 Attorney General a report that describes— 9 ‘‘(A) the projects to be undertaken by the 10 State using amounts made available under the 11 planning grant; and 12 ‘‘(B) any additional information deter- 13 mined appropriate by the Attorney General. 14 ‘‘(c) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 15 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY.—In order to be eligible to 16 apply for an implementation grant under paragraph 17 (2), a State shall apply for, receive, and fully execute 18 a planning grant under subsection (b). 19 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS.—A State seeking an im- 20 plementation grant under this section shall submit 21 to the Attorney General an application at such time 22 and in such manner as the Attorney General may re- 23 quire, which shall include— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1342.IS S1342 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1342 IS ‘‘(A) the total prison population of the 1 State, including racial, ethnic, gender, and so- 2 cioeconomic information of the population and 3 information relating to the income, education, 4 and housing status of the population; 5 ‘‘(B) the rate of prison population growth 6 of the State in relative and absolute estimates 7 during the 25 year-period preceding the date of 8 the application; and 9 ‘‘(C) a comprehensive and coherent plan 10 detailing the proposals of the State to use 11 amounts from the implementation grant that— 12 ‘‘(i) is based upon the activities the 13 State performed with a planning grant re- 14 ceived under this section; and 15 ‘‘(ii) describes the policy changes 16 planned to carry out paragraph (3) to 17 achieve the purpose of the implementation 18 grant. 19 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—A State that receives an 20 implementation grant under this section shall use 21 amounts from the grant to— 22 ‘‘(A) reduce the prison population of the 23 State by— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1342.IS S1342 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1342 IS ‘‘(i) establishing or supporting pro- 1 grams that divert individuals from incar- 2 ceration; 3 ‘‘(ii) eliminating policies, with a retro- 4 active effect, that drive excessive and un- 5 necessarily lengthy terms of imprisonment, 6 including by— 7 ‘‘(I) repealing mandatory min- 8 imum penalties for certain offenses; 9 ‘‘(II) repealing sentencing en- 10 hancements for certain offenses; and 11 ‘‘(III) downgrading certain crimi- 12 nal offenses, such as reducing felony 13 offenses to misdemeanor offenses; 14 ‘‘(iii) implementing policies, with a 15 retroactive effect, that help promote pro- 16 portionality and fairness in sentencing, in- 17 cluding by— 18 ‘‘(I) capping sentences; and 19 ‘‘(II) reviewing and modifying 20 sentences automatically after 15 21 years; 22 ‘‘(iv) implementing policies, with a 23 retroactive effect, that increase opportuni- 24 ties for early release, including by— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1342.IS S1342 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1342 IS ‘‘(I) expanding opportunities and 1 incentives for incarcerated individuals 2 to earn time off of their custodial sen- 3 tence; 4 ‘‘(II) repealing policies that re- 5 strict or reduce parole eligibility, such 6 as truth in sentencing laws; and 7 ‘‘(III) eliminating policies that 8 delay initial parole eligibility beyond 9 10 years; 10 ‘‘(v) reducing or eliminating the use 11 of incarceration as a sanction for non- 12 criminal rule violations of community su- 13 pervision, such as technical parole and pro- 14 bation violations, including missing drug 15 treatment classes; 16 ‘‘(vi) improving the executive func- 17 tions of the State that can promote early 18 release by— 19 ‘‘(I) establishing or expanding 20 the use of mechanisms providing for 21 the early release of incarcerated indi- 22 viduals based on specific criteria, such 23 as advanced age and terminal illness, 24 by— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1342.IS S1342 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1342 IS ‘‘(aa) convening or staffing 1 boards of experts to advise offi- 2 cials of the State with the au- 3 thority to promulgate sentencing 4 policy on the exercise of the 5 State’s compassionate, medical, 6 and geriatric release power; 7 ‘‘(bb) broadening eligibility 8 criteria for release; 9 ‘‘(cc) streamlining and clari- 10 fying application for release re- 11 view protocols; and 12 ‘‘(dd) increasing the number 13 of compassionate, medical, and 14 geriatric releases; and 15 ‘‘(II) improving clemency proc- 16 esses, including by— 17 ‘‘(aa) convening or staffing 18 boards of experts to advise offi- 19 cials of the State with the au- 20 thority to promulgate sentencing 21 policy on the exercise of the 22 State’s clemency power; 23 ‘‘(bb) broadening eligibility 24 for clemency; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1342.IS S1342 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 1342 IS ‘‘(cc) streamlining and clari- 1 fying clemency application review 2 protocols; and 3 ‘‘(dd) increasing the number 4 of clemency grants; 5 ‘‘(vii) improving prosecutorial func- 6 tions to correct extreme, disproportionate, 7 unjust, or wrongful criminal convictions 8 and custodial sentences by— 9 ‘‘(I) establishing or expanding 10 conviction integrity units or conviction 11 review units within prosecutorial of- 12 fices that work to prevent, identify, 13 and remedy false convictions; or 14 ‘‘(II) establishing or expanding 15 sentencing review units within pros- 16 ecutorial offices to address over- 17 crowding, racial inequities, and 18 lengthy prison sentences that are con- 19 sidered extreme or disproportionate; 20 and 21 ‘‘(viii) improving the quality of indi- 22 gent defense; or 23 ‘‘(B) reduce the recurrence of recidivism 24 after a term of incarceration and reduce the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1342.IS S1342 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 1342 IS collateral consequences experienced by individ- 1 uals with criminal records by— 2 ‘‘(i) expanding programming for in- 3 carcerated populations within prisons that 4 enables those populations to successfully 5 transition back into society; 6 ‘‘(ii) improving access for 7 expungement and record sealing processes; 8 ‘‘(iii) adopting laws prohibiting em- 9 ployers from asking applicants about their 10 criminal history on applications for em- 11 ployment or prior to tendering an employ- 12 ment offer; 13 ‘‘(iv) eliminating fees imposed on a 14 defendant by— 15 ‘‘(I) discharging any fine or fee 16 debt for individuals who are incarcer- 17 ated or exiting prison; or 18 ‘‘(II) developing policies and pro- 19 grams to assess fines and fees based 20 on an individual’s ability to pay; 21 ‘‘(v) establishing or supporting wrap- 22 around or community-based services for in- 23 dividuals reentering their communities 24 after incarceration, including services relat- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1342.IS S1342 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 1342 IS ing to housing, disability, employment, 1 education, healthcare, behavior and mental 2 health, substance abuse, and childcare; or 3 ‘‘(vi) supporting community-based 4 crime prevention programs that work di- 5 rectly with formerly incarcerated individ- 6 uals or in communities that have a higher 7 prevalence of individuals with criminal 8 records, such as— 9 ‘‘(I) programs involving violence 10 prevention; 11 ‘‘(II) housing and supportive 12 housing; 13 ‘‘(III) jobs and job placement; 14 ‘‘(IV) substance abuse or mental 15 health treatment; and 16 ‘‘(V) other wrap-around support 17 services aiming to build pathways to 18 life stabilizing opportunities. 19 ‘‘(4) IMPLEMENTATION GRANT REPORT.—Not 20 later than 1 year after the date on which a State re- 21 ceives an implementation grant under this section, 22 and annually thereafter, the State shall submit to 23 the Attorney General a report, at such time, in such 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1342.IS S1342 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 1342 IS manner, and containing such information as the At- 1 torney General may require, that— 2 ‘‘(A) identifies the programs and policies 3 funded with the grant; 4 ‘‘(B) assesses racial, ethnic, gender, age, 5 and socioeconomic impacts of the programs and 6 policies funded with the grant with independent 7 researchers or a consortium of independent re- 8 searchers, such as research or academic institu- 9 tions; and 10 ‘‘(C) includes an evaluation of increases or 11 decreases in a State’s prison population by as- 12 sessing changes in— 13 ‘‘(i) pretrial detention; 14 ‘‘(ii) sentencing; 15 ‘‘(iii) incarceration; 16 ‘‘(iv) probation; 17 ‘‘(v) parole; 18 ‘‘(vi) clemency; and 19 ‘‘(vii) compassionate, medical, or geri- 20 atric release. 21 ‘‘(5) SUBGRANTS.— 22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State receiving an 23 implementation grant under this section shall 24 use not less than 20 percent of the amount of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1342.IS S1342 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 13 •S 1342 IS the grant to award subgrants to nonprofit orga- 1 nizations that meet the criteria described in 2 subparagraph (B), which shall assist in the im- 3 plementation of the policy changes described in 4 subsection (c)(2). 5 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—In selecting nonprofit or- 6 ganizations to receive subgrants under para- 7 graph (1), a State shall give priority to non- 8 profit organizations that— 9 ‘‘(i) have a demonstrated track record 10 of providing services to reintegrate individ- 11 uals released from prison into society with 12 a goal of reducing the recurrence of recidi- 13 vism; 14 ‘‘(ii) are based in geographic areas 15 with a higher prevalence of individuals 16 with criminal records; 17 ‘‘(iii) are led by or employ individuals 18 who have been incarcerated or have family 19 members who are or have been incarcer- 20 ated; or 21 ‘‘(iv) primarily serve individuals 22 who— 23 ‘‘(I) have been arrested or con- 24 victed of a criminal offense; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1342.IS S1342 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 14 •S 1342 IS ‘‘(II) have spent time in jail, 1 prison, or on probation or parole. 2 ‘‘(6) RENEWAL.—A State that receives an im- 3 plementation grant under this section may apply for 4 an additional implementation grant at the end of the 5 term of the implementation grant if the State has 6 reduced the prison population of the State by not 7 less than 20 p [Text truncated for display. 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