I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5608

To establish alternative sentencing procedures for certain nonviolent drug

offenses.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

OCTOBER 31, 2000

Mr. CONYERS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To establish alternative sentencing procedures for certain

nonviolent drug offenses.

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 ‘‘Federal Drug Treat5 ment Alternative Sentencing Act of 2000’’.

6 SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT.

7 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the

8 court, upon the conviction of an individual for a mis9 demeanor under section 404(a) of the Controlled Sub10 stances Act (21 U.S.C. 844(a)), if the individual is a de-
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1 fendant described in section 3553(f)(2) of title 18, United

2 States Code, shall consider sentencing that individual to

3 a term of probation that includes a condition, or a term

4 of imprisonment that includes a recommendation, of par5 ticipation in substance abuse treatment, including a reha6 bilitation program as described under this Act.

7 SEC. 3. PROBATION PROGRAMS.

8 (a) GENERALLY.—If the court orders probation pur9 suant to section 2, the sentence of probation shall be sub10 ject to subtitle B of chapter 227 of title 18, United States

11 Code. In considering discretionary conditions of probation

12 under section 3563(b) of such title, the court shall con13 sider and use, where appropriate to assure participation

14 in substance abuse treatment, any of the following:

15 (1) Day fines.

16 (2) House arrest.

17 (3) Electronic monitoring.

18 (4) Intensive probation supervision.

19 (5) Day reporting centers.

20 (6) Victim-offender reconciliation.

21 (7) Intermittent confinement.

22 (8) Treatment in a therapeutic community.

23 (b) ALTERNATIVE SENTENCE.—In order to assure

24 participation in substance abuse treatment each offender

25 who participates in a substance abuse program pursuant
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1 to this section shall serve a sentence of imprisonment with

2 respect to the underlying offense if that offender does not

3 successfully complete such a substance abuse treatment

4 program.

5 (c) PREFERENCE FOR COMMUNITY-BASED PRO6 GRAMS.—The court shall order, to the greatest extent

7 practicable, that substance abuse treatment for an indi8 vidual sentenced under subsection (a) shall be provided in

9 the locality in which the individual resides.

10 SEC. 4. REHABILITATION PROGRAM.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Bureau of Prisons (herein12 after in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Bureau’’) shall main13 tain a rehabilitation program for offenders sentenced to

14 incarceration under this Act. The program shall consist

15 of—

16 (1) residential substance abuse treatment; and

17 (2) aftercare services.

18 (b) REPORT.—The Bureau of Prisons shall transmit

19 to the Congress on January 1, 2002, and on January 1

20 of each year thereafter, a report. Such report shall

21 contain—

22 (1) a detailed quantitative and qualitative de23 scription of each substance abuse treatment pro24 gram, residential or not, operated by the Bureau;

25 and
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1 (2) a complete statement of to what extent the

2 Bureau has achieved compliance with the require3 ments of this Act.

4 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

5 As used in this Act—

6 (1) the term ‘‘residential substance abuse treat7 ment’’ means a course of individual and group ac8 tivities, lasting between 9 and 12 months, in residen9 tial treatment programs—

10 (A) directed at the substance abuse prob11 lems of the convicted person;

12 (B) intended to develop a person’s cog13 nitive, behavioral, social, vocational, and other

14 skills so as to solve the convicted person’s sub15 stance abuse and related problems; and

16 (C) shall include—

17 (i) addiction education;

18 (ii) individual, group, and family

19 counseling pursuant to individualized treat20 ment plans;

21 (iii) opportunity for involvement in Al22 coholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anony23 mous, or Cocaine Anonymous;
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1 (iv) parenting skills training, domestic

2 violence counseling, and sexual abuse coun3 seling, where appropriate;

4 (v) HIV education counseling and

5 testing, when requested, and early inter6 vention services for seropositive individ7 uals;

8 (vi) services that facilitate access to

9 health and social services, where appro10 priate and to the extent available; and

11 (vii) planning for and counseling to

12 assist reentry into society, including refer13 rals to appropriate educational, vocational,

14 and other employment-related programs

15 (to the extent available), referrals, to ap16 propriate outpatient or other drug or alco17 hol treatment, counseling, transitional

18 housing, and assistance in obtaining suit19 able affordable housing and employment

20 upon completion of treatment (and release

21 from prison, if applicable);

22 (2) the term ‘‘aftercare services’’ means a

23 course of individual and group treatment for a min24 imum of one year or for the remainder of the term

25 of incarceration if less than one year, involving sus-
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1 tained and frequent interaction with individuals who

2 have successfully completed a program of residential

3 substance abuse treatment, and shall include con4 sistent personal interaction between the individual

5 and a primary counselor or case manager, participa6 tion in group and individual counseling sessions, so7 cial activities targeted toward a recovering substance

8 abuser, and, where appropriate, more intensive inter9 vention; and

10 (3) the term ‘‘substance abuse or dependency’’

11 means the abuse of drugs or alcohol.

12 SEC. 6. STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF MANDATORY MINIMUM

13 SENTENCES FOR NONVIOLENT CONTROLLED

14 SUBSTANCE OFFENSES.

15 The Attorney General shall within 1 year after the

16 enactment of this Act to the Committees on the Judiciary

17 of the House of Representatives and Senate issue a report

18 on the racial impact of mandatory minimum sentences for

19 controlled substance offenses, their effectiveness in reduc20 ing drug-related crime by nonviolent offenders in contrast

21 with other approaches such as drug treatment programs,

22 and the appropriateness of the use of such sentences on

23 nonviolent offenders.

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