II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1119 

To establish the National Criminal Justice Commission. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 28, 2015 

Mr. PETERS (for himself, Mr. GRAHAM, and Mr. CORNYN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Criminal Jus5 tice Commission Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) it is in the interest of the Nation to estab9 lish a commission to undertake a comprehensive re10 view of the criminal justice system; 


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1 (2) there has not been a comprehensive study 

2 since the President’s Commission on Law Enforce3 ment and Administration of Justice was established 

4 in 1965; 

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

6 produced a comprehensive report entitled ‘‘The 

7 Challenge of Crime in a Free Society,’’ which con8 tained 200 specific recommendations on all aspects 

9 of the criminal justice system involving Federal, 

10 State, tribal, and local governments, civic organiza11 tions, religious institutions, business groups, and in12 dividual citizens; and 

13 (4) developments over the intervening 50 years 

14 require once again that Federal, State, tribal, and 

15 local governments, civic organizations, religious in16 stitutions, business groups, and individual citizens 

17 come together to review evidence and consider how 

18 to improve the criminal justice system. 

19 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

20 There is established a commission to be known as the 

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

22 this Act as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

23 SEC. 4. PURPOSE OF THE COMMISSION. 

24 The Commission shall— 


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1 (1) undertake a comprehensive review of the 

2 criminal justice system; 

3 (2) make recommendations for Federal criminal 

4 justice reform to the President and Congress; and 

5 (3) disseminate findings and supplemental guid6 ance to the Federal Government, as well as to State, 

7 local, and tribal governments. 

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

9 (a) GENERAL REVIEW.—The Commission shall un10 dertake a comprehensive review of all areas of the criminal 

11 justice system, including Federal, State, local, and tribal 

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

13 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.— 

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

15 after the first meeting of the Commission, the Com16 mission shall submit to the President and Congress 

17 recommendations for changes in Federal oversight, 

18 policies, practices, and laws designed to prevent, 

19 deter, and reduce crime and violence, reduce recidi20 vism, improve cost-effectiveness, and ensure the in21 terests of justice at every step of the criminal justice 

22 system. 

23 (2) UNANIMOUS CONSENT REQUIRED.—A rec24 ommendation of the Commission may be adopted 

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1 ommendation is approved by a unanimous vote of 

2 the Commissioners at a meeting where a quorum is 

3 present pursuant to section 6(d). 

4 (3) REQUIREMENT.—The recommendations 

5 submitted under this subsection shall be made avail6 able to the public. 

7 (c) REPORT.— 

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

9 after the first meeting of the Commission, the Com10 mission shall also disseminate to the Federal govern11 ment, as well as to State, local, and tribal govern12 ments, a report that details the findings and supple13 mental guidance of the Commission regarding the 

14 criminal justice system at all levels of government. 

15 (2) MAJORITY VOTE REQUIRED.—Commission 

16 findings and supplemental guidance may be adopted 

17 and included in the report required under paragraph 

18 (1) if the findings or guidance is approved by a ma19 jority vote of the Commissioners at a meeting where 

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

21 that any Commissioners dissenting from particular 

22 finding or supplemental guidance shall have the 

23 right to state the reason for their dissent in writing 

24 and such dissent shall be included in the report of 

25 the Commission. 


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1 (3) REQUIREMENT.—The report submitted 

2 under this subsection shall be made available to the 

3 public. 

4 (d) PRIOR COMMISSIONS.—The Commission shall 

5 take into consideration the work of prior relevant commis6 sions in conducting its review. 

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

8 recommendations and report under this section, the Com9 mission shall not infringe on the legitimate rights of the 

10 States to determine their own criminal laws or the enforce11 ment of such laws. 

12 (f) PUBLIC HEARINGS.—The Commission shall con13 duct public hearings in various locations around the 

14 United States. 

15 (g) CONSULTATION WITH GOVERNMENT AND NON16 GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall— 

18 (A) closely consult with Federal, State, 

19 local, and tribal government and nongovern20 mental leaders, including State, local, and tribal 

21 law enforcement officials, legislators, public 

22 health officials, judges, court administrators, 

23 prosecutors, defense counsel, victims’ rights or24 ganizations, probation and parole officials, 

25 criminal justice planners, criminologists, civil 


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1 rights and liberties organizations, formerly in2 carcerated individuals, professional organiza3 tions, and corrections officials; and 

4 (B) include in the final report required 

5 under subsection (c) summaries of the input 

6 and recommendations of these leaders. 

7 (2) UNITED STATES SENTENCING COMMIS8 SION.—To the extent the review and recommenda9 tions required by this section relate to sentencing 

10 policies and practices for the Federal criminal jus11 tice system, the Commission shall conduct such re12 view and make such recommendations in consulta13 tion with the United States Sentencing Commission. 

14 (h) SENSE OF CONGRESS, GOAL OF UNANIMITY.— 

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

16 importance of the matters before the Commission, the 

17 Commission should work toward unanimously supported 

18 findings and supplemental guidance, and that unani19 mously supported findings and supplemental guidance 

20 should take precedence over those findings and supple21 mental guidance that are not unanimously supported. 

22 SEC. 6. MEMBERSHIP. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be com24 posed of 14 members, as follows: 


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1 (1) One member shall be appointed by the 

2 President, who shall serve as co-chairman of the 

3 Commission. 

4 (2) One member shall be appointed by the lead5 er of the Senate, in consultation with the leader of 

6 the House of Representatives, that is a member of 

7 the opposite party of the President, who shall serve 

8 as co-chairman of the Commission. 

9 (3) Two members shall be appointed by the sen10 ior member of the Senate leadership of the Demo11 cratic Party, in consultation with the Democratic 

12 leadership of the Committee on the Judiciary. 

13 (4) Two members shall be appointed by the sen14 ior member of the Senate leadership of the Repub15 lican Party, in consultation with the Republican 

16 leadership of the Committee on the Judiciary. 

17 (5) Two members shall be appointed by the sen18 ior member of the leadership of the House of Rep19 resentatives of the Republican Party, in consultation 

20 with the Republican leadership of the Committee on 

21 the Judiciary. 

22 (6) Two members shall be appointed by the sen23 ior member of the leadership of the House of Rep24 resentatives of the Democratic Party, in consultation 


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1 with the Democratic leadership of the Committee on 

2 the Judiciary. 

3 (7) Two members, who shall be State and local 

4 representatives, shall be appointed by the President 

5 in agreement with leader of the Senate (majority or 

6 minority leader, as the case may be) of the Repub7 lican Party and the leader of the House of Rep8 resentatives (majority or minority leader, as the case 

9 may be) of the Republican Party. 

10 (8) Two members, who shall be State and local 

11 representatives, shall be appointed by the President 

12 in agreement with leader of the Senate (majority or 

13 minority leader, as the case may be) of the Demo14 cratic Party and the leader of the House of Rep15 resentatives (majority or minority leader, as the case 

16 may be) of the Democratic Party. 

17 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

18 (1) QUALIFICATIONS.—The individuals ap19 pointed from private life as members of the Commis20 sion shall be individuals with distinguished reputa21 tions for integrity and nonpartisanship who are na22 tionally recognized for expertise, knowledge, or expe23 rience in such relevant areas as— 

24 (A) law enforcement; 

25 (B) criminal justice; 


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1 (C) national security; 

2 (D) prison and jail administration; 

3 (E) prisoner reentry; 

4 (F) public health, including physical and 

5 sexual victimization, drug addiction and mental 

6 health; 

7 (G) victims’ rights; 

8 (H) civil liberties; 

9 (I) court administration; 

10 (J) social services; and 

11 (K) State, local, and tribal government. 

12 (2) DISQUALIFICATION.—An individual shall 

13 not be appointed as a member of the Commission if 

14 such individual possesses any personal financial in15 terest in the discharge of any of the duties of the 

16 Commission. 

17 (3) TERMS.—Members shall be appointed for 

18 the life of the Commission. 

19 (c) APPOINTMENT; FIRST MEETING.— 

20 (1) APPOINTMENT.—Members of the Commis21 sion shall be appointed not later than 45 days after 

22 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

23 (2) FIRST MEETING.—The Commission shall 

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

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


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1 than 30 days after the date on which funds are 

2 made available for the Commission, whichever is 

3 later. 

4 (3) ETHICS.—At the first meeting of the Com5 mission, the Commission shall draft appropriate eth6 ics guidelines for commissioners and staff, including 

7 guidelines relating to conflict of interest and finan8 cial disclosure. The Commission shall consult with 

9 the Senate and House Committees on the Judiciary 

10 as a part of drafting the guidelines and furnish the 

11 Committees with a copy of the completed guidelines. 

12 (d) MEETINGS; QUORUM; VACANCIES.— 

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

14 the call of the co-chairs or a majority of its mem15 bers. 

16 (2) QUORUM.—Eight members of the Commis17 sion shall constitute a quorum for purposes of con18 ducting business, except that 2 members of the 

19 Commission shall constitute a quorum for purposes 

20 of receiving testimony. 

21 (3) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commis22 sion shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in 

23 the same manner in which the original appointment 

24 was made. If vacancies in the Commission occur on 

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1 ment of this Act, a quorum shall consist of a major2 ity of the members of the Commission as of such 

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

4 chosen by a member of each party, Republican and 

5 Democratic, is present. 

6 (e) ACTIONS OF COMMISSION.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission— 

8 (A) shall, subject to the requirements of 

9 section 5, act by resolution agreed to by a ma10 jority of the members of the Commission voting 

11 and present; and 

12 (B) may establish panels composed of less 

13 than the full membership of the Commission for 

14 purposes of carrying out the duties of the Com15 mission under this title— 

16 (i) which shall be subject to the review 

17 and control of the Commission; and 

18 (ii) any findings and determinations 

19 made by such a panel shall not be consid20 ered the findings and determinations of the 

21 Commission unless approved by the Com22 mission. 

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

24 of the Commission may, if authorized by the co25 chairs of the Commission, take any action which the 


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1 Commission is authorized to take pursuant to this 

2 Act. 

3 SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION. 

4 (a) STAFF.— 

5 (1) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Commission 

6 shall have a staff headed by an Executive Director. 

7 The Executive Director shall be paid at a rate estab8 lished for the Certified Plan pay level for the Senior 

9 Executive Service under section 5382 of title 5, 

10 United States Code. 

11 (2) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION.—The 

12 co-chairs of the Commission shall designate and fix 

13 the compensation of the Executive Director and, in 

14 accordance with rules agreed upon by the Commis15 sion, may appoint and fix the compensation of such 

16 other personnel as may be necessary to enable the 

17 Commission to carry out its functions, without re18 gard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, 

19 governing appointments in the competitive service, 

20 and without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 

21 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relat22 ing to classification and General Schedule pay rates, 

23 except that no rate of pay fixed under this sub24 section may exceed the equivalent of that payable for 


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1 a position at level V of the Executive Schedule under 

2 section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. 

3 (3) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The executive director 

5 and any personnel of the Commission who are 

6 employees shall be employees under section 

7 2105 of title 5, United States Code, for pur8 poses of chapters 63, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87, 89, 

9 and 90 of that title. 

10 (B) MEMBERS OF COMMISSION.—Subpara11 graph (A) shall not be construed to apply to 

12 members of the Commission. 

13 (4) THE COMPENSATION OF COMMISSIONERS.— 

14 Each member of the Commission may be com15 pensated at not to exceed the daily equivalent of the 

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

17 level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 

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

19 which that member is engaged in the actual per20 formance of the duties of the Commission. All mem21 bers of the Commission who are officers or employ22 ees of the United States, State, or local government 

23 shall serve without compensation in addition to that 

24 received for their services as officers or employees. 


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1 (5) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—While away from 

2 their homes or regular places of business in the per3 formance of services for the Commission, members 

4 of the Commission shall be allowed travel expenses, 

5 including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the 

6 same manner as persons employed intermittently in 

7 the Government service are allowed expenses under 

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

9 (b) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—With the ap10 proval of the Commission, the Executive Director may 

11 procure temporary and intermittent services under section 

12 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code. 

13 (c) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Upon 

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

15 agency may detail, without reimbursement, any of the per16 sonnel of such agency to the Commission to assist in car17 rying out the duties of the Commission. Any such detail 

18 shall not interrupt or otherwise affect the civil service sta19 tus or privileges of the Federal employee. 

20 (d) OTHER RESOURCES.—The Commission shall 

21 have reasonable access to materials, resources, statistical 

22 data, and other information such Commission determines 

23 to be necessary to carry out its duties from the Library 

24 of Congress, the Department of Justice, the Office of Na25 tional Drug Control Policy, the Department of State, and 


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1 other agencies of the executive and legislative branches of 

2 the Federal Government. The co-chairs of the Commission 

3 shall make requests for such access in writing when nec4 essary. 

5 (e) VOLUNTEER SERVICES.—Notwithstanding the 

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

7 the Commission is authorized to accept and utilize the 

8 services of volunteers serving without compensation. The 

9 Commission may reimburse such volunteers for local travel 

10 and office supplies, and for other travel expenses, includ11 ing per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by sec12 tion 5703 of title 5, United States Code. A person pro13 viding volunteer services to the Commission shall be con14 sidered an employee of the Federal Government in per15 formance of those services for the purposes of chapter 81 

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

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

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

19 title 18, United States Code, relating to conflicts of inter20 est. 

21 (f) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commission 

22 may secure directly from any agency of the United States 

23 information necessary to enable it to carry out this Act. 

24 Upon the request of the co-chairs of the Commission, the 

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1 mation to the Commission. The Commission shall not have 

2 access to sensitive information regarding ongoing inves3 tigations. 

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

5 States mails in the same manner and under the same con6 ditions as other departments and agencies of the United 

7 States. 

8 (h) ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTING.—The Commission 

9 shall issue biannual status reports to Congress regarding 

10 the use of resources, salaries, and all expenditures of ap11 propriated funds. 

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

13 enter into contracts with Federal and State agencies, pri14 vate firms, institutions, and individuals for the conduct of 

15 activities necessary to the discharge of its duties and re16 sponsibilities. A contract, lease or other legal agreement 

17 entered into by the Commission may not extend beyond 

18 the date of the termination of the Commission. 

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

20 may accept, use, and dispose of gifts or donations of serv21 ices or property. 

22 (k) ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE.—The Adminis23 trator of General Services shall provide to the Commis24 sion, on a reimbursable basis, the administrative support 

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1 sponsibilities under this Act. These administrative services 

2 may include human resource management, budget, leas3 ing, accounting, and payroll services. 

4 (l) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FACA AND PUBLIC AC5 CESS TO MEETINGS AND MINUTES.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Advisory Com7 mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the 

8 Commission. 

9 (2) MEETINGS AND MINUTES.— 

10 (A) MEETINGS.— 

11 (i) ADMINISTRATION.—All meetings of 

12 the Commission shall be open to the pub13 lic, except that a meeting or any portion of 

14 it may be closed to the public if it concerns 

15 matters or information described in section 

16 552b(c) of title 5, United States Code. In17 terested persons shall be permitted to ap18 pear at open meetings and present oral or 

19 written statements on the subject matter 

20 of the meeting. The Commission may ad21 minister oaths or affirmations to any per22 son appearing before it. 

23 (ii) NOTICE.—All open meetings of 

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1 ly public notice in the Federal Register of 

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

3 (B) MINUTES AND PUBLIC AVAIL4 ABILITY.—Minutes of each open meeting shall 

5 be kept and shall contain a record of the people 

6 present, a description of the discussion that oc7 curred, and copies of all statements filed. The 

8 minutes and records of all open meetings and 

9 other documents that were made available to or 

10 prepared for the Commission shall be available 

11 for public inspection and copying at a single lo12 cation in the offices of the Commission. 

13 (m) ARCHIVING.—Not later than the date of termi14 nation of the Commission, all records and papers of the 

15 Commission shall be delivered to the Archivist of the 

16 United States for deposit in the National Archives. 

17 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF FUNDS. 

18 For each of fiscal years 2016 and 2017, the Attorney 

19 General may use, from any unobligated balances made 

20 available under the heading ‘‘GENERAL ADMINISTRA21 TION’’ to the Department of Justice in an appropriations 

22 Act, such amounts as are necessary, not to exceed 

23 $7,000,000 per fiscal year and not to exceed $14,000,000 

24 total for both fiscal years, to carry out this Act, except 


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1 that none of the funds authorized to be used to carry out 

2 this Act may be used for international travel. 

3 SEC. 9. SUNSET. 

4 The Commission shall terminate 60 days after it sub5 mits its report to Congress. 

Æ 


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