115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 573 

AN ACT 

To establish the National Criminal Justice Commission. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Criminal Jus3 tice Commission Act of 2018’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds that— 

6 (1) it is in the interest of the Nation to estab7 lish a commission to undertake a comprehensive re8 view of the criminal justice system; 

9 (2) there has not been a comprehensive study 

10 since the President’s Commission on Law Enforce11 ment and Administration of Justice was established 

12 in 1965; 

13 (3) that commission, in a span of 18 months, 

14 produced a comprehensive report entitled ‘‘The 

15 Challenge of Crime in a Free Society,’’ which con16 tained 200 specific recommendations on all aspects 

17 of the criminal justice system involving Federal, 

18 State, Tribal, and local governments, civic organiza19 tions, religious institutions, business groups, and in20 dividual citizens; and 

21 (4) developments over the intervening 50 years 

22 require once again that Federal, State, Tribal, and 

23 local governments, law enforcement agencies, includ24 ing rank and file officers, civil rights organizations, 

25 community-based organization leaders, civic organi26 zations, religious institutions, business groups, and 
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1 individual citizens come together to review evidence 

2 and consider how to improve the criminal justice 

3 system. 

4 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

5 There is established a commission to be known as the 

6 ‘‘National Criminal Justice Commission’’ (referred to in 

7 this Act as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

8 SEC. 4. PURPOSE OF THE COMMISSION. 

9 The Commission shall— 

10 (1) undertake a comprehensive review of the 

11 criminal justice system; 

12 (2) make recommendations for Federal criminal 

13 justice reform to the President and Congress; and 

14 (3) disseminate findings and supplemental guid15 ance to the Federal Government, as well as to State, 

16 local, and Tribal governments. 

17 SEC. 5. REVIEW, RECOMMENDATIONS, AND REPORT. 

18 (a) GENERAL REVIEW.—The Commission shall un19 dertake a comprehensive review of all areas of the criminal 

20 justice system, including Federal, State, local, and Tribal 

21 governments’ criminal justice costs, practices, and policies. 

22 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 

24 after the first meeting of the Commission, the Com25 mission shall submit to the President and Congress 
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1 recommendations for changes in Federal oversight, 

2 policies, practices, and laws designed to prevent, 

3 deter, and reduce crime and violence, reduce recidi4 vism, improve cost-effectiveness, and ensure the in5 terests of justice at every step of the criminal justice 

6 system. 

7 (2) UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUIRED.—A rec8 ommendation of the Commission may be adopted 

9 and submitted under paragraph (1) if the rec10 ommendation is approved by a unanimous vote of 

11 the Commissioners at a meeting where a quorum is 

12 present pursuant to section 6(d). 

13 (3) REQUIREMENT.—The recommendations 

14 submitted under this subsection shall be made avail15 able to the public. 

16 (c) REPORT.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months 

18 after the first meeting of the Commission, the Com19 mission shall also disseminate to the Federal Gov20 ernment, as well as to State, local, and Tribal gov21 ernments, a report that details the findings and sup22 plemental guidance of the Commission regarding the 

23 criminal justice system at all levels of government. 

24 (2) MAJORITY VOTE REQUIRED.—Commission 

25 findings and supplemental guidance may be adopted 
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1 and included in the report required under paragraph 

2 (1) if the findings or guidance is approved by a ma3 jority vote of the Commissioners at a meeting where 

4 a quorum is present pursuant to section 6(d), except 

5 that any Commissioners dissenting from particular 

6 finding or supplemental guidance shall have the 

7 right to state the reason for their dissent in writing 

8 and such dissent shall be included in the report of 

9 the Commission. 

10 (3) REQUIREMENT.—The report submitted 

11 under this subsection shall be made available to the 

12 public. 

13 (d) PRIOR COMMISSIONS.—The Commission shall 

14 take into consideration the work of prior relevant commis15 sions in conducting its review. 

16 (e) STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—In issuing its 

17 recommendations and report under this section, the Com18 mission shall not infringe on the legitimate rights of the 

19 States to determine their own criminal laws or the enforce20 ment of such laws. 

21 (f) PUBLIC HEARINGS.—The Commission shall con22 duct public hearings in various locations around the 

23 United States. 

24 (g) CONSULTATION WITH GOVERNMENT AND NON25 GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES.— 
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall— 

2 (A) closely consult with Federal, State, 

3 local, and Tribal government and nongovern4 mental leaders, including State, local, and Trib5 al law enforcement officials, including rank and 

6 file officers, legislators, public health officials, 

7 judges, court administrators, prosecutors, de8 fense counsel, victims’ rights organizations, pro9 bation and parole officials, criminal justice 

10 planners, criminologists, civil rights and lib11 erties organizations, community-based organiza12 tion leaders, formerly incarcerated individuals, 

13 professional organizations, and corrections offi14 cials; and 

15 (B) include in the final report required 

16 under subsection (c) summaries of the input 

17 and recommendations of these leaders. 

18 (2) UNITED STATES SENTENCING COMMIS19 SION.—To the extent the review and recommenda20 tions required by this section relate to sentencing 

21 policies and practices for the Federal criminal jus22 tice system, the Commission shall conduct such re23 view in consultation with the United States Sen24 tencing Commission. 
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1 (h) SENSE OF CONGRESS, GOAL OF UNANIMITY.— 

2 It is the sense of the Congress that, given the national 

3 importance of the matters before the Commission, the 

4 Commission should work toward unanimously supported 

5 findings and supplemental guidance, and that unani6 mously supported findings and supplemental guidance 

7 should take precedence over those findings and supple8 mental guidance that are not unanimously supported. 

9 SEC. 6. MEMBERSHIP. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be com11 posed of 14 members, as follows: 

12 (1) The President shall appoint the Attorney 

13 General to serve as chairman and a member of the 

14 Commission. 

15 (2) Six members shall be appointed by the At16 torney General in consultation with— 

17 (A) the leadership of the Senate and 

18 House of Representatives of the same political 

19 party as the President; and 

20 (B) the leadership of the Committee on the 

21 Judiciary of the House of Representatives and 

22 the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate 

23 of the same political party as the President. 

24 (3) Seven members shall be appointed by the 

25 senior members of the leadership of the Senate and 
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1 the House of Representatives of the opposite party 

2 of the President in consultation with the leadership 

3 of the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 

4 Representatives and the Committee on the Judiciary 

5 of the Senate of the opposite political party of the 

6 President. 

7 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Members will be selected 

9 based upon knowledge or experience in such relevant 

10 areas as— 

11 (A) law enforcement; 

12 (B) criminal justice; 

13 (C) national security; 

14 (D) prison and jail administration; 

15 (E) prisoner reentry; 

16 (F) public health, including physical and 

17 sexual victimization, drug addiction and mental 

18 health; 

19 (G) victims’ rights; 

20 (H) civil rights; 

21 (I) civil liberties; 

22 (J) court administration; 

23 (K) social services; and 

24 (L) State, local, and Tribal government. 

25 (2) LAW ENFORCEMENT REPRESENTATION.— 
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1 (A) MEMBERS APPOINTED BY ATTORNEY

2 GENERAL.—Of the 6 members appointed by the 

3 Attorney General under subsection (a)(2)— 

4 (i) not fewer than 2 shall be rep5 resentatives from Federal, State, or local 

6 law enforcement agencies; and 

7 (ii) not fewer than 1 shall be a rep8 resentative from Tribal law enforcement 

9 agencies. 

10 (B) OTHER MEMBERS.—Of the 7 members 

11 appointed under subsection (a)(3)— 

12 (i) not fewer than 2 shall be rep13 resentatives of Federal, State, or local law 

14 enforcement agencies; and 

15 (ii) not fewer than 1 shall be a rep16 resentative from Tribal law enforcement 

17 agencies. 

18 (3) DISQUALIFICATION.—An individual shall 

19 not be appointed as a member of the Commission if 

20 such individual possesses any personal financial in21 terest in the discharge of any of the duties of the 

22 Commission. 

23 (4) TERMS.—Members shall be appointed for 

24 the life of the Commission. 

25 (c) APPOINTMENT; FIRST MEETING.— 
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1 (1) APPOINTMENT.—Members of the Commis2 sion shall be appointed not later than 45 days after 

3 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

4 (2) FIRST MEETING.—The Commission shall 

5 hold its first meeting on the date that is 60 days 

6 after the date of enactment of this Act, or not later 

7 than 30 days after the date on which funds are 

8 made available for the Commission, whichever is 

9 later. 

10 (3) ETHICS.—At the first meeting of the Com11 mission, the Commission shall draft appropriate eth12 ics guidelines for commissioners and staff, including 

13 guidelines relating to conflict of interest and finan14 cial disclosure. The Commission shall consult with 

15 the Senate and House Committees on the Judiciary 

16 as a part of drafting the guidelines and furnish the 

17 Committees with a copy of the completed guidelines. 

18 (d) MEETINGS; QUORUM; VACANCIES.— 

19 (1) MEETINGS.—The Commission shall meet at 

20 the call of the chairman or his or her designee. 

21 (2) QUORUM.—A majority of the members of 

22 the Commission shall constitute a quorum for pur23 poses of conducting business, except that 2 members 

24 of the Commission shall constitute a quorum for 

25 purposes of receiving testimony. 
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1 (3) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commis2 sion shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in 

3 the same manner in which the original appointment 

4 was made. If vacancies in the Commission occur on 

5 any day after 45 days after the date of the enact6 ment of this Act, a quorum shall consist of a major7 ity of the members of the Commission as of such 

8 day, so long as not less than 1 Commission member 

9 chosen by a member of each party, Republican and 

10 Democratic, is present. 

11 (e) ACTIONS OF COMMISSION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission— 

13 (A) shall, subject to the requirements of 

14 section 5, act by resolution agreed to by a ma15 jority of the members of the Commission voting 

16 and present; and 

17 (B) may establish panels composed of less 

18 than the full membership of the Commission for 

19 purposes of carrying out the duties of the Com20 mission under this title— 

21 (i) which shall be subject to the review 

22 and control of the Commission; and 

23 (ii) any findings and determinations 

24 made by such a panel shall not be consid25 ered the findings and determinations of the 
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1 Commission unless approved by the Com2 mission. 

3 (2) DELEGATION.—Any member, agent, or staff 

4 of the Commission may, if authorized by the chair5 man of the Commission, take any action which the 

6 Commission is authorized to take pursuant to this 

7 Act. 

8 SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION. 

9 (a) STAFF.— 

10 (1) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Commission 

11 shall have a staff headed by an Executive Director. 

12 The Executive Director shall be paid at a rate estab13 lished for the Certified Plan pay level for the Senior 

14 Executive Service under section 5382 of title 5, 

15 United States Code. 

16 (2) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION.—The 

17 chairman of the Commission shall designate and fix 

18 the compensation of the Executive Director and, in 

19 accordance with rules agreed upon by the Commis20 sion, may appoint and fix the compensation of such 

21 other personnel as may be necessary to enable the 

22 Commission to carry out its functions, without re23 gard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, 

24 governing appointments in the competitive service, 

25 and without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 
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1 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relat2 ing to classification and General Schedule pay rates, 

3 except that no rate of pay fixed under this sub4 section may exceed the equivalent of that payable for 

5 a position at level V of the Executive Schedule under 

6 section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. 

7 (3) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The executive director 

9 and any personnel of the Commission who are 

10 employees shall be employees under section 

11 2105 of title 5, United States Code, for pur12 poses of chapters 63, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87, 89, 

13 and 90 of that title. 

14 (B) MEMBERS OF COMMISSION.—Subpara15 graph (A) shall not be construed to apply to 

16 members of the Commission. 

17 (4) THE COMPENSATION OF COMMISSIONERS.— 

18 Each member of the Commission may be com19 pensated at not to exceed the daily equivalent of the 

20 annual rate of basic pay in effect for a position at 

21 level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 

22 of title 5, United States Code, for each day during 

23 which that member is engaged in the actual per24 formance of the duties of the Commission. All mem25 bers of the Commission who are officers or employ-
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1 ees of the United States, State, or local government 

2 shall serve without compensation in addition to that 

3 received for their services as officers or employees. 

4 (5) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—While away from 

5 their homes or regular places of business in the per6 formance of services for the Commission, members 

7 of the Commission shall be allowed travel expenses, 

8 including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the 

9 same manner as persons employed intermittently in 

10 the Government service are allowed expenses under 

11 section 5703(b) of title 5, United States Code. 

12 (b) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—With the ap13 proval of the Commission, the Executive Director may 

14 procure temporary and intermittent services under section 

15 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code. 

16 (c) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Upon 

17 the request of the Commission, the head of any Federal 

18 agency may detail, without reimbursement, any of the per19 sonnel of such agency to the Commission to assist in car20 rying out the duties of the Commission. Any such detail 

21 shall not interrupt or otherwise affect the civil service sta22 tus or privileges of the Federal employee. 

23 (d) OTHER RESOURCES.—The Commission shall 

24 have reasonable access to materials, resources, statistical 

25 data, and other information such Commission determines 
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1 to be necessary to carry out its duties from the Library 

2 of Congress, the Department of Justice, the Office of Na3 tional Drug Control Policy, the Department of State, and 

4 other agencies of the executive and legislative branches of 

5 the Federal Government. The chairman of the Commis6 sion shall make requests for such access in writing when 

7 necessary. 

8 (e) VOLUNTEER SERVICES.—Notwithstanding the 

9 provisions of section 1342 of title 31, United States Code, 

10 the Commission is authorized to accept and utilize the 

11 services of volunteers serving without compensation. The 

12 Commission may reimburse such volunteers for local travel 

13 and office supplies, and for other travel expenses, includ14 ing per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by sec15 tion 5703 of title 5, United States Code. A person pro16 viding volunteer services to the Commission shall be con17 sidered an employee of the Federal Government in per18 formance of those services for the purposes of chapter 81 

19 of title 5, United States Code, relating to compensation 

20 for work-related injuries, chapter 171 of title 28, United 

21 States Code, relating to tort claims, and chapter 11 of 

22 title 18, United States Code, relating to conflicts of inter23 est. 

24 (f) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commission 

25 may secure directly from any agency of the United States 
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1 information necessary to enable it to carry out this Act. 

2 Upon the request of the chairman of the Commission, the 

3 head of that department or agency shall furnish that infor4 mation to the Commission. The Commission shall not have 

5 access to sensitive information regarding ongoing inves6 tigations. 

7 (g) MAILS.—The Commission may use the United 

8 States mails in the same manner and under the same con9 ditions as other departments and agencies of the United 

10 States. 

11 (h) ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTING.—The Commission 

12 shall issue biannual status reports to Congress regarding 

13 the use of resources, salaries, and all expenditures of ap14 propriated funds. 

15 (i) CONTRACTS.—The Commission is authorized to 

16 enter into contracts with Federal and State agencies, pri17 vate firms, institutions, and individuals for the conduct of 

18 activities necessary to the discharge of its duties and re19 sponsibilities. A contract, lease or other legal agreement 

20 entered into by the Commission may not extend beyond 

21 the date of the termination of the Commission. 

22 (j) GIFTS.—Subject to existing law, the Commission 

23 may accept, use, and dispose of gifts or donations of serv24 ices or property. 
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1 (k) ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE.—The Adminis2 trator of General Services shall provide to the Commis3 sion, on a reimbursable basis, the administrative support 

4 services necessary for the Commission to carry out its re5 sponsibilities under this Act. These administrative services 

6 may include human resource management, budget, leas7 ing, accounting, and payroll services. 

8 (l) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FACA AND PUBLIC AC9 CESS TO MEETINGS AND MINUTES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Advisory Com11 mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the 

12 Commission. 

13 (2) MEETINGS AND MINUTES.— 

14 (A) MEETINGS.— 

15 (i) ADMINISTRATION.—All meetings of 

16 the Commission shall be open to the pub17 lic, except that a meeting or any portion of 

18 it may be closed to the public if it concerns 

19 matters or information described in section 

20 552b(c) of title 5, United States Code. In21 terested persons shall be permitted to ap22 pear at open meetings and present oral or 

23 written statements on the subject matter 

24 of the meeting. The Commission may ad-
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1 minister oaths or affirmations to any per2 son appearing before it. 

3 (ii) NOTICE.—All open meetings of 

4 the Commission shall be preceded by time5 ly public notice in the Federal Register of 

6 the time, place, and subject of the meeting. 

7 (B) MINUTES AND PUBLIC AVAIL8 ABILITY.—Minutes of each open meeting shall 

9 be kept and shall contain a record of the people 

10 present, a description of the discussion that oc11 curred, and copies of all statements filed. The 

12 minutes and records of all open meetings and 

13 other documents that were made available to or 

14 prepared for the Commission shall be available 

15 for public inspection and copying at a single lo16 cation in the offices of the Commission. 

17 (m) ARCHIVING.—Not later than the date of termi18 nation of the Commission, all records and papers of the 

19 Commission shall be delivered to the Archivist of the 

20 United States for deposit in the National Archives. 

21 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF FUNDS. 

22 For each of fiscal years 2019 and 2020, the Attorney 

23 General may use, from any unobligated balances made 

24 available under the heading ‘‘General Administration’’ to 

25 the Department of Justice in an appropriations Act, such 
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1 amounts as are necessary, not to exceed $7,000,000 per 

2 fiscal year and not to exceed $14,000,000 total for both 

3 fiscal years, to carry out this Act, except that none of the 

4 funds authorized to be used to carry out this Act may be 

5 used for international travel. 

6 SEC. 9. SUNSET. 

7 The Commission shall terminate 60 days after the 

8 Commission submits the report required under section 

9 5(c) to Congress. 

Passed the Senate December 22, 2018. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 573 

AN ACT 

To establish the National Criminal Justice 

Commission.