I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2817

To treat juvenile records in the same manner as adult records in certain

cases.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

DECEMBER 20, 1995

Mr. SCHUMER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Economic and Educational Opportunities, and in addition to

the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To treat juvenile records in the same manner as adult

records in certain cases.

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Juvenile Records Act

5 of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. FEDERAL JUVENILE RECORDS.

7 Section 5038 of title 18, United States Code, is

8 amended—

9 (1) so that subsection (a) reads as follows:
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1 ‘‘(a) Throughout and upon completion of the juvenile

2 delinquency proceeding, the records shall be treated in the

3 same manner as the records of adults. The records of juve4 niles charged with crimes which would be felonies if com5 mitted by adults shall be released in the same manner as

6 the records of adults charged with similar offenses.’’;

7 (2) by striking subsections (b) through (e) and

8 inserting the following:

9 ‘‘(b) Whenever a juvenile is found guilty of commit10 ting an act which if committed by an adult would require

11 the fingerprinting and photographing of the offender, such

12 juvenile shall be fingerprinted and photographed. Finger13 prints and photographs of juveniles shall be made avail14 able in the manner applicable to adult offenders.’’; and

15 (3) in subsection (f)—

16 (A) by striking ‘‘(f)’’ and inserting ‘‘(c)’’;

17 and

18 (B) by striking ‘‘on two separate occa19 sions’’.

20 SEC. 3. STATE JUVENILE RECORDS.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 223(a) of the Juvenile

22 Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42

23 U.S.C. 5633(a)) is amended—

24 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of paragraph

25 (24);
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1 (2) by striking the period at the end of para2 graph (25) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and

3 (3) by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(26) provide that the State will ensure that

5 whenever in a juvenile proceeding a juvenile is found

6 to have committed an act that would be criminal if

7 committed by an adult—

8 ‘‘(A) a record is kept relating to such pro9 ceeding that is—

10 ‘‘(i) equivalent to the records that

11 would be kept relating to convictions of an

12 adult for committing such act;

13 ‘‘(ii) retained for a period of time that

14 is equal to the period of time records are

15 retained for such convictions; and

16 ‘‘(iii) made available to law enforce17 ment and school officials to the same ex18 tent that records of such convictions would

19 be made available, except that such a

20 record regarding an act that would be

21 charged as a felony (as defined in section

22 3156(a) of title 18 of the United States

23 Code) if committed by an adult shall be

24 treated in the same manner as records of
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1 convictions of adults for committing such

2 felony;

3 ‘‘(B) the juvenile is fingerprinted and pho4 tographed, and the fingerprints and photo5 graphs are retained and distributed in the same

6 manner as are the fingerprints and photographs

7 of adults convicted of committing such act; and

8 ‘‘(C) the court in which such proceeding is

9 held transmits to the Federal Bureau of Inves10 tigation the information concerning such pro11 ceeding, including the name and birth date of

12 the juvenile, the date of the finding, and dis13 position of the matter.’’.

14 (b) FORMULA GRANT REDUCTION FOR NONCOMPLI15 ANCE.—Section 506 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Con16 trol and Safe Streets Act of 1968 is amended by adding

17 at the end the following:

18 ‘‘(g)(1) In order not to reduce the funds available

19 under this subpart by 20 percent (for redistribution to

20 other participating States), a State shall, not later than

21 the first day of the first fiscal year beginning after the

22 3-year period beginning after the date of the enactment

23 of the Juvenile Records Act of 1995, comply with the re24 quirements of section 223(a)(26) of the Juvenile Justice
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1 and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C.

2 5633(a)).

3 ‘‘(2) The Attorney General may extend the time pe4 riod referred to in paragraph (1) to a 5-year period if the

5 Attorney General determines that the State has made a

6 good faith effort to comply with the requirements referred

7 to in such paragraph.’’.

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