[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1675 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1675
To reduce recidivism and increase public safety, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 7, 2013
Mr. Whitehouse introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To reduce recidivism and increase public safety, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Recidivism Reduction and Public
Safety Act of 2013''.
SEC. 2. EVIDENCE-BASED RECIDIVISM REDUCTION PROGRAMMING.
(a) In General.--Section 3621 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) by redesignating subsections (f) and (g) as subsections
(g) and (h), respectively; and
(2) by inserting after subsection (e) the following:
``(f) Recidivism Reduction Programming.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection--
``(A) the term `evidence-based recidivism reduction
programming'--
``(i) means a course of instruction or
activities that have been demonstrated to
reduce recidivism or promote successful
reentry, which may include vocational training,
cognitive behavioral programming, prison
employment, and educational programming; and
``(ii) includes recovery programming; and
``(B) the term `recovery programming' means a
course of instruction or activities, other than a
course described in subsection (e), that have been
demonstrated to reduce drug or alcohol abuse or
dependence among participants, or to promote recovery
among individuals who have previously abused alcohol or
drugs.
``(2) Recidivism reduction programs.--Subject to the
availability of appropriations, the Bureau of Prisons shall
offer evidence-based recidivism reduction programs to prisoners
who have been assessed, pursuant to section 3 of the Recidivism
Reduction and Public Safety Act of 2013, to need to participate
in the programs.
``(3) Consultation.--In carrying out this subsection, the
Bureau of Prisons shall consult with other relevant agencies
within the Department of Justice, including the National
Institute of Justice and the Criminal Division, as well as with
the Administrative Office of the Courts, United States
Probation and Pretrial Services, the United States Sentencing
Commission, and any other entity as appropriate.
``(4) Credit for successful participation.--
``(A) In general.--The period a prisoner remains in
custody after successfully participating in an
evidence-based recidivism reduction program may be
reduced, in the discretion of the Bureau of Prisons, by
no more than 60 days per year of participation in the
program, from the term the prisoner must otherwise
serve.
``(B) Participation in programs lasting less than 1
year.--The credit described in subparagraph may be
prorated for prisoners who successfully participate in
evidence-based recidivism reduction programs lasting
less than 1 year.
``(C) Bureau of prisons determination.--Any
determination as to whether a prisoner has successfully
participated in an evidence-based recidivism reduction
program shall be in the sole discretion of the Bureau
of Prisons and no prisoner shall be entitled to a
reduction in sentence pursuant to this subsection.
``(D) Limitation on reduction in sentence.--The
combined credit awarded under this subsection and
subsection (e) may not exceed 15 percent of the total
sentence imposed.
``(5) Partnerships with non-profit organizations.--In
carrying out this subsection, the Bureau of Prisons shall enter
into partnerships, as appropriate, with non-profit
organizations, including faith- and community-based
organizations and educational institutions, that offer
appropriate evidence-based recidivism reduction programming.
``(6) Prioritization.--In offering programming to prisoners
under this subsection, the Bureau of Prisons shall give
preference to--
``(A) prisoners with earlier anticipated release
dates; and
``(B) prisoners who have demonstrated the greatest
need for such programming.
``(7) Report to congress.--Beginning 2 years after the date
of enactment of this Act, and every year thereafter, the Bureau
of Prisons shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary and
the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on
Appropriations of the Senate a report that describes--
``(A) all evidence-based recidivism reduction
programming offered pursuant to this section and the
Bureau of Prisons facilities in which such programming
was offered;
``(B) the number of participants in each such
recidivism reduction program at each institution; the
number who successfully participated in such program;
and the amount of credit for such successful
participation awarded; and
``(C) the partnerships with non-profit
organizations entered into pursuant to paragraph
(5).''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by this section shall take
effect 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 3. INDIVIDUAL RECIDIVISM RISK FACTOR AND NEEDS ASSESSMENT.
(a) Development of Methodology and Procedures.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall develop a
methodology and procedure to assess the recidivism risk factors
of all prisoners committed to the custody of the Bureau of
Prisons for a term of imprisonment other than life imprisonment
and to identify programming to reduce the risk factors.
(2) Consultation.--In developing the methodology and
procedure required under paragraph (1), and in updating the
methodology and procedure as appropriate, the Attorney General
shall--
(A) use available research in the field;
(B) consult with academic and other experts as
appropriate; and
(C) consult with the Administrative Office of the
Courts, United States Probation and Pretrial Services,
the United States Sentencing Commission, and any other
entity as appropriate.
(b) Assessments of Prisoners.--The Bureau of Prisons shall use the
methodology and procedure developed under subsection (a) to assess each
prisoner's recidivism risk factors and to identify evidence-based
recidivism reduction programming (as defined in section 3621(f) of
title 18, United States Code, as added by this Act) likely to address
such recidivism risk factors.
(c) Time Period for Assessments.--
(1) Sentencing after date of enactment.--For prisoners
sentenced to a term of imprisonment after the date that is 180
days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Bureau of
Prisons shall complete the assessment required by this section
as soon as is practicable after the prisoner is sentenced.
(2) Prior sentencing.--
(A) Definition.--In this paragraph, the term
``covered prisoner'' means a prisoner sentenced to a
term of imprisonment, other than life imprisonment, on
or before the date that is 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act.
(B) Requirement.--The Bureau of Prisons shall
complete the assessment required by this section--
(i) for not less than 20 percent of the
total number of covered prisoners not later
than 2 years after the date of enactment of
this Act;
(ii) for not less than 40 percent of the
total number of covered prisoners not later
than 3 years after the date of enactment of
this Act;
(iii) for not less than 60 percent of the
total number of covered prisoners not later
than 4 years after the date of enactment of
this Act;
(iv) for not less than 80 percent of the
total number of covered prisoners not later
than 5 years after the date of enactment of
this Act; and
(v) for all covered prisoners not later
than 6 years after the date of enactment of
this Act.
(d) Update of Assessments.--The Bureau of Prisons shall update the
assessment of each prisoner required by this section on an appropriate
schedule of review and reassessment, as determined by the Bureau of
Prisons.
(e) Reporting on Recidivism Rates.--
(1) In general.--Beginning 1 year after the date of
enactment of this Act, and every year thereafter, United States
Probation and Pretrial Services shall report to Congress and
the Department of Justice on rates of recidivism among
individuals who have been released from Federal prison and who
are under the supervision of United States Probation and
Pretrial Services.
(2) Contents.--The report required under paragraph (1)
shall contain information on rates of recidivism among former
Federal prisoners, including information on rates of recidivism
among former Federal prisoners based on the following criteria:
(A) Primary offense charged.
(B) Length of sentence.
(C) Bureau of Prisons facility or facilities in
which the prisoner's sentence was served.
(D) Recidivism reduction programming in which the
prisoner successfully participated, if any.
(E) The prisoner's assessed risk of recidivism
pursuant to subsection (b).
SEC. 4. PROMOTING SUCCESSFUL REENTRY.
(a) Federal Reentry Demonstration Projects.--
(1) Evaluation of existing best practices for reentry.--Not
later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Administrative Office of the Courts, in consultation with
the Attorney General, shall--
(A) evaluate best practices used for the reentry
into society of individuals released from the custody
of the Bureau of Prisons, including conducting
examinations of reentry practices in State and local
justice systems and consulting with Federal, State, and
local prosecutors, Federal, State, and local public
defenders, and nonprofit organizations that provide
reentry services; and
(B) shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on
the Judiciary of the Senate a report that details the
evaluation conducted under subparagraph (A).
(2) Creation of reentry demonstration projects.--Not later
than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the
Attorney General, in consultation with the Administrative
Office of the United States Courts, shall select an appropriate
number of Federal judicial districts which shall conduct
Federal reentry demonstration projects using the best practices
identified in the evaluation conducted under paragraph (1). The
Attorney General shall determine the appropriate number of
Federal judicial districts to conduct demonstration projects
under this paragraph.
(3) Project design.--For each Federal judicial district
selected under paragraph (2), the United States Attorney, in
consultation with the Chief Judge, Chief Federal Defender, and
the Chief Probation Officer, shall design a Federal reentry
demonstration project for the Federal judicial district in
accordance with paragraph (4).
(4) Project elements.--A project designed under paragraph
(3) shall coordinate efforts by Federal agencies to assist
participating prisoners in preparing for and adjusting to
reentry into the community and may include, as appropriate--
(A) the use of community correctional facilities
and home confinement, as determined to be appropriate
by the Bureau of Prisons;
(B) a reentry review team for each prisoner to
develop a reentry plan specific to the needs of the
prisoner, and to meet with the prisoner following
transfer to monitor the reentry plan;
(C) steps to assist the prisoner in obtaining
health care, housing, and employment, before the
prisoner's release from a community correctional
facility or home confinement;
(D) regular drug testing;
(E) a system of graduated levels of supervision and
immediate sanctions for violations of the conditions of
participation in the project;
(F) substance abuse treatment, medical treatment,
including mental health treatment, vocational and
educational training, life skills instruction, recovery
support, conflict resolution training, and other
programming to promote effective reintegration into the
community;
(G) the participation of volunteers to serve as
advisors and mentors to prisoners being released into
the community; and
(H) steps to ensure that the prisoner makes
satisfactory progress toward satisfying any obligations
to victims of the prisoner's offense, including any
obligation to pay restitution.
(5) Review of project outcomes.--Not later than 5 years
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrative
Office of the Courts, in consultation with the Attorney
General, shall--
(A) evaluate the results from each Federal judicial
district selected under paragraph (2), including the
extent to which participating prisoners released from
the custody of the Bureau of Prisons were successfully
reintegrated into their communities, maintained
employment, and refrained from committing further
offenses; and
(B) submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the
House of Representatives and the Committee on the
Judiciary of the Senate a report that contains--
(i) the evaluation of the best practices
identified in the report required under
paragraph (1); and
(ii) the results of the demonstration
projects required under paragraph (2).
(b) Study on the Impact of Reentry on Certain Communities.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in consultation
with the Administrative Office of the Courts, shall submit to
the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives
and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate a report on
the impact of reentry of prisoners on communities in which a
disproportionate number of individuals reside upon release from
incarceration.
(2) Contents.--The report required under paragraph (1)
shall analyze the impact of reentry of individuals released
from both State and Federal correctional systems as well as
State and Federal juvenile justice systems, and shall include--
(A) an assessment of the reentry burdens borne by
local communities;
(B) a review of the resources available in such
communities to support successful reentry, including
resources provided by State, local, and Federal
governments, the extent to which those resources are
used effectively; and
(C) recommendations to strengthen the resources in
such communities available to support successful
reentry and to lessen the burden placed on such
communities by the need to support reentry.
SEC. 5. ADDITIONAL TOOLS TO PROMOTE RECOVERY AND PREVENT DRUG AND
ALCOHOL ABUSE AND DEPENDENCE.
(a) Reentry and Recovery Planning.--
(1) Presentence reports.--Section 3552 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended--
(A) by redesignating subsections (b), (c), and (d)
as subsections (c), (d), and (e), respectively;
(B) by inserting after subsection (a) the
following:
``(b) Reentry and Recovery Planning.--
``(1) In general.--In addition to the information required
by rule 32(d) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the
report submitted pursuant to subsection (a) shall contain the
following information, unless such information is required to
be excluded pursuant to rule 32(d)(3) of the Federal Rules of
Criminal Procedure or except as provided in paragraph (2):
``(A) Information about the defendant's history of
substance abuse and addiction, if any.
``(B) A detailed plan, which shall include the
identification of programming provided by the Bureau of
Prisons that is appropriate for the defendant's needs,
that the probation officer determines will--
``(i) reduce the likelihood the defendant
will abuse drugs or alcohol;
``(ii) reduce the defendant's likelihood of
recidivism by addressing the defendant's
specific recidivism risk factors; and
``(iii) assist the defendant preparing for
reentry into the community.
``(2) Exception.--The information described in paragraph
(1)(B) shall not be required to be included under paragraph (1)
if the applicable sentencing range under the sentencing
guidelines, as determined by the probation officer, includes a
sentence of life imprisonment.'';
(C) in subsection (c), as redesignated, in the
first sentence, by striking ``subsection (a) or (c)''
and insertion ``subsection (a) or (d)''; and
(D) in subsection (d), as redesignated, by striking
``subsection (a) or (b)'' and inserting ``subsection
(a) or (c)''.
(2) Technical and conforming amendment.--Section 3672 of
title 18, United States Code, is amended in the eighth
undesignated paragraph by striking ``subsection (b) or (c)''
and inserting ``subsection (c) or (d)''.
(b) Promoting Full Utilization of Residential Drug Treatment.--
Section 3621(e)(2) of title 18, United States Code, is amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(C) Commencement of treatment.--Not later than 3
years after the date of enactment of the Recidivism
Reduction and Public Safety Act of 2013, the Bureau of
Prisons shall ensure that each eligible prisoner has an
opportunity to commence participation in treatment
under this subsection by such date as is necessary to
ensure that the prisoner completes such treatment not
later than 1 year before the date on which the prisoner
would otherwise be released from custody prior to the
application of any reduction in sentence pursuant to
this paragraph.''.
(c) Supervised Release Pilot Program To Reduce Recidivism and
Improve Recovery From Alcohol and Drug Abuse.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 2 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, United States Probation and Pretrial
Services shall establish a recidivism reduction and recovery
enhancement pilot program, premised on high-intensity
supervision and the use of swift, predictable, and graduated
sanctions for noncompliance with program rules, in Federal
judicial districts selected by the Administrative Office of the
Courts in consultation with the Attorney General.
(2) Requirements of program.--Participation in the pilot
program required under paragraph (1) shall be subject to the
following requirements:
(A) Upon entry into the pilot program, the court
shall notify program participants of the rules of the
program and consequences for violating such rules,
including the penalties to be imposed as a result of
such violations pursuant to paragraph (E).
(B) Probation officers shall conduct regular drug
testing of all pilot program participants with a
history of substance abuse.
(C) In the event that a probation officer
determines that a participant has violated a term of
supervised release, the officer shall notify the court
within 24 hours of such violation.
(D) As soon as is practicable, and in no case more
than 1 week after the violation was reported by the
probation officer, absent good cause, the court shall
conduct a hearing on the alleged violation.
(E) If the court determines that a program
participant has violated a term of supervised release,
it shall impose an appropriate sanction, which may
include the following, if appropriate:
(i) Modification of the terms of such
participant's supervised release, which may
include imposition of a period of home
confinement.
(ii) Referral to appropriate substance
abuse treatment.
(iii) Revocation of the defendant's
supervised release and the imposition of a
sentence of incarceration that is no longer
than necessary to punish the participant for
such violation and deter the participant from
committing future violations.
(iv) For participants who habitually fail
to abide by program rules or pose a threat to
public safety, termination from the program.
(3) Status of participant if incarcerated.--
(A) In general.--In the event that a program
participant is sentenced to incarceration as described
in paragraph (2)(E)(iii), the participant shall remain
in the program upon release from incarceration unless
terminated from the program in accordance with
paragraph (2)(E)(iv).
(B) Policies for maintaining employment.--The
Bureau of Prisons, in consultation with the Chief
Probation Officers of the Federal judicial districts
selected for participation in the pilot program
required under paragraph (1), shall develop policies to
enable program participants sentenced to terms of
incarceration as described in paragraph (2)(E) to,
where practicable, serve the terms of incarceration
while maintaining employment, including allowing the
terms of incarceration to be served on weekends.
(4) Advisory sentencing policies.--
(A) In general.--The United States Sentencing
Commission, in consultation with the Chief Probation
Officers, the United States Attorneys, Federal
Defenders, and Chief Judges of the districts selected
for participation in the pilot program required under
paragraph (1), shall establish advisory sentencing
policies to be used by the district courts in imposing
sentences of incarceration in accordance with paragraph
(2)(E).
(B) Requirement.--The advisory sentencing policies
established under subparagraph (A) shall be consistent
with the stated goal of the pilot program to impose
predictable and graduated sentences that are no longer
than necessary for violations of program rules.
(5) Duration of program.--The pilot program required under
paragraph (1) shall continue for not less than 5 years and may
be extended for not more than 5 years by the Administrative
Office of the Courts.
(6) Assessment of program outcomes and report to
congress.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 6 years after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Administrative
Office of the Courts shall conduct an evaluation of the
pilot program and submit to Congress a report on the
results of the evaluation.
(B) Contents.--The report required under
subparagraph (A) shall include--
(i) the rates of substance abuse among
program participants;
(ii) the rates of violations of the terms
of supervised release by program participants,
and sanctions imposed;
(iii) information about employment of
program participants;
(iv) a comparison of outcomes among program
participants with outcomes among similarly
situated individuals under the supervision of
United States Probation and Pretrial Services
not participating in the program; and
(v) an assessment of the effectiveness of
each of the relevant features of the program.
SEC. 6. CALCULATION OF GOOD-TIME CREDIT.
(a) In General.--Section 3624(b) of title 18, United States Code,
is amended--
(1) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following:
``(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3)(C), a prisoner who
is serving a term of imprisonment of more than 1 year, other
than a term of imprisonment for the duration of the prisoner's
life, shall receive credit toward the service of the prisoner's
sentence, in addition to the time actually served by the
prisoner, beginning on the date on which the sentence of the
prisoner commences, at the rate of 54 days per year of sentence
imposed, if the Bureau of Prisons determines that the prisoner
has displayed exemplary compliance with institutional
disciplinary regulations.''; and
(2) by striking paragraphs (3) and (4) and inserting the
following:
``(3)(A) This subsection shall apply to all prisoners
serving a term of imprisonment for offenses committed on or
after November 1, 1987.
``(B) With respect to a prisoner serving a term of
imprisonment on the date of enactment of the Recidivism
Reduction and Public Safety Act of 2013, this subsection shall
apply to the entirety of the sentence imposed on the prisoner,
including time already served.
``(C) A prisoner may not be awarded credit under this
subsection that would cause the prisoner to be eligible for
release earlier than the time already served by the prisoner on
the imposed sentence.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall
take effect 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act.
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of
Justice to carry out this Act such sums as may be necessary for each of
fiscal years 2015 through 2019.
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