I 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7281 

To require States and units of local government to certify a commitment 

to release certain individuals from jails and prisons, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 18, 2020 

Ms. TLAIB (for herself, Ms. PRESSLEY, Ms. LEE of California, Mrs. CAROLYN

B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ, Ms. OMAR, Ms. 

VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. RUSH, Ms. 

NORTON, and Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To require States and units of local government to certify 

a commitment to release certain individuals from jails 

and prisons, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Dismantle Mass Incar5 ceration For Public Health Act of 2020’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. REQUIREMENT FOR RELEASE OF CERTAIN INDIVID2 UALS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—In submitting an application for 

4 Federal funds under section 502 of the Omnibus Crime 

5 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10153), 

6 the chief executive of a State or unit of local government 

7 shall submit to the Attorney General a certification that 

8 not later than 10 days after the enactment of this Act, 

9 such State or unit of local government has released any 

10 person described from the custody of a correctional facil11 ity. 

12 (b) PLACEMENT.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—A person described released 

14 under subsection (a), may be placed on pretrial su15 pervision, home confinement, or other supervision 

16 determined by the State or unit of local government 

17 to be appropriate. 

18 (2) PAYMENT OF FEES.—A person described 

19 placed on pretrial supervision, home confinement, or 

20 other supervision determined by the State or unit of 

21 local government to be appropriate shall not be in22 carcerated for a violation of the conditions of such 

23 supervision or confinement pursuant to paragraph 

24 (1), unless such violation is the commission of a 

25 crime that causes bodily injury or uses violent force 

26 against another individual. 


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1 (c) APPLICABILITY.—Subsection (a) shall apply to an 

2 application for Federal funds under section 502 of the 

3 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34 

4 U.S.C. 10153) beginning fiscal year 2021 and shall apply 

5 to such an application for each fiscal year until the fiscal 

6 year that is after the date— 

7 (1) on which the President declares the end of 

8 the COVID-19 national emergency; and 

9 (2) on which a Governor of a State declares the 

10 end of a state of emergency with respect to the 

11 coronavirus, if such state of emergency was declared 

12 by such Governor. 

13 (d) REPORT.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—On the date that is one 

15 month after the date that is 10 days after the date 

16 of the enactment of this Act, the chief executive of 

17 a State or unit of local government shall submit to 

18 the Attorney General a report including— 

19 (A) a certification that each correctional 

20 facility in such State or unit of local govern21 ment has released persons described; 

22 (B) how many persons described have been 

23 released from each correctional facility, includ24 ing the criteria met to qualify for release pursu25 ant to section 4(5); and 


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1 (C) an estimate of the amount of sums not 

2 expended by a State or unit of local government 

3 to keep a person described in a correctional fa4 cility in such State or unit of local government. 

5 (2) PUBLICATION BY STATE AND LOCAL GOV6 ERNMENT.—Not later than seven days after the date 

7 on which a report under paragraph (1) is submitted 

8 to the Attorney General, the chief executive of a 

9 State or unit of local government shall publish on 

10 the internet website of such State or unit of local 

11 government the report under paragraph (1) and 

12 shall provide meaningful access to such report for 

13 individuals with limited English proficiency. 

14 (3) PUBLICATION BY ATTORNEY GENERAL.— 

15 Not later than seven days after the date on which 

16 a report under paragraph (1) is submitted to the At17 torney General, the Attorney General shall publish 

18 on the internet website of the Department of Justice 

19 each report under paragraph (1) and shall provide 

20 meaningful access to such reports to an individual 

21 with limited English proficiency. 

22 SEC. 3. CLEANING OF CORRECTIONAL FACILITIES. 

23 In submitting an application for Federal funds under 

24 section 502 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

25 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10153), the chief executive 


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1 of a State or unit of local government shall submit to the 

2 Attorney General a certification that not later than 10 

3 days after the enactment of this Act, such State or unit 

4 of local government has implemented recommendations re5 leased by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

6 with respect to preventing the spread of the coronavirus, 

7 including— 

8 (1) maintaining six feet distance between any 

9 individuals at any time; 

10 (2) providing hand sanitizer and other cleaning 

11 disinfectants to each arrestee, detainee, or inmate 

12 who is in the custody of a correctional facility; and 

13 (3) providing other protective equipment to 

14 each arrestee, detainee, or inmate who is in the cus15 tody of a correctional facility. 

16 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) BENCH WARRANT.—The term ‘‘bench war19 rant’’ means a written order issued by a judge au20 thorizing law enforcement to arrest an individual if 

21 such individual fails to appear in court or to pay 

22 fines and fees with respect to a charge against such 

23 individual. 

24 (2) CORRECTIONAL FACILITY.—The term ‘‘cor25 rectional facility’’ includes a juvenile facility. 


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1 (3) COVID-19 NATIONAL EMERGENCY.—The 

2 term ‘‘COVID-19 national emergency’’ means the 

3 national emergency declared by the President under 

4 the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et 

5 seq.) on March 13, 2020, with respect to the 

6 coronavirus. 

7 (4) MEDICALLY VULNERABLE.—The term 

8 ‘‘medically vulnerable’’ includes an individual— 

9 (A) diagnosed with a chronic lung disease; 

10 (B) diagnosed with moderate or severe 

11 asthma; 

12 (C) diagnosed with a serious heart condi13 tion; 

14 (D) diagnosed with diabetes; 

15 (E) diagnosed with a chronic kidney dis16 ease and undergoing dialysis; 

17 (F) diagnosed with liver disease; 

18 (G) diagnosed with cancer; 

19 (H) diagnosed with obesity; or 

20 (I) who is immunocompromised. 

21 (5) PERSONS DESCRIBED.—The term ‘‘persons 

22 described’’ means an arrestee, detainee, or inmate 

23 who is in the custody of a correctional facility— 

24 (A) solely because such individual is await25 ing trial; 


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1 (B) as a result of a technical violation; 

2 (C) as a result of a bench warrant; 

3 (D) following a conviction with respect to 

4 a controlled substance (as defined in section 

5 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 

6 U.S.C. 802)); 

7 (E) pursuant to an immigration detainer 

8 issued by the Secretary of Homeland Security; 

9 (F) following a conviction of a mis10 demeanor offense; 

11 (G) following a conviction for a status of12 fense; 

13 (H) who is terminally ill, mentally ill, or 

14 disabled, as determined by a medical profes15 sional; 

16 (I) who is medically vulnerable; 

17 (J) who is determined by a deciding body 

18 or review board of such correctional facility to 

19 be unlikely to pose a substantial risk of causing 

20 bodily injury or using violent force against an21 other individual; 

22 (K) who is over the age of 55 years old; 

23 (L) who is— 

24 (i) incarcerated in a prison and will 

25 complete their sentence within 18 months 


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1 of the date of the enactment of this Act; 

2 or 

3 (ii) incarcerated in a jail and will 

4 complete their sentence within 180 days of 

5 the date of the enactment of this Act; 

6 (M) who is a primary caregiver; or 

7 (N) who is pregnant. 

8 (6) PRIMARY CAREGIVER.—The term ‘‘primary 

9 caregiver’’ means an individual who has the respon10 sibility for the care of another individual, either vol11 untarily, by contract, by receipt of payment for care, 

12 or as a result of the operation of law and includes 

13 a family member or other individual who provides 

14 (on behalf of such individual or of a public or private 

15 agency, organization, or institution) compensated or 

16 uncompensated care to another individual. 

17 (7) STATUS OFFENSE.—The term ‘‘status of18 fense’’ means an offense that is criminal if com19 mitted by an individual who is under the age of 18 

20 years old, but such offense would not be criminal if 

21 committed by an individual who is 18 years or older. 

22 (8) TECHNICAL VIOLATION.—The term ‘‘tech23 nical violation’’ includes a violation of court-ordered 

24 supervision, release-ordered supervision, or parole, 

25 including— 


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1 (A) failing to report for a scheduled office 

2 visit; 

3 (B) violating a curfew; 

4 (C) lack of employment or attendance at 

5 school; or 

6 (D) testing positive for drug or alcohol use. 

Æ 


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