II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1610 

To eliminate racial profiling by law enforcement officers, promote accountability for State and local law enforcement agencies, reenfranchise citizens, eliminate sentencing disparities, and promote re-entry and employment programs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 18, 2015 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself and Ms. MIKULSKI) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To eliminate racial profiling by law enforcement officers, 

promote accountability for State and local law enforcement agencies, reenfranchise citizens, eliminate sentencing disparities, and promote re-entry and employment programs, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Building and Lifting Trust In order to Multiply Opportu6 nities and Racial Equality Act of 2015’’ or the ‘‘BALTI7 MORE Act’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—LAW ENFORCEMENT REFORM 

Subtitle A—End Racial Profiling Act 

Sec. 101. Short title. 

Sec. 102. Definitions. 

PART I—PROHIBITION OF RACIAL PROFILING

Sec. 111. Prohibition. 

Sec. 112. Enforcement. 

PART II—PROGRAMS TO ELIMINATE RACIAL PROFILING BY FEDERAL LAW

ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES

Sec. 121. Policies to eliminate racial profiling. 

PART III—PROGRAMS TO ELIMINATE RACIAL PROFILING BY STATE, LOCAL, 

AND INDIAN TRIBAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES

Sec. 131. Policies required for grants. 

Sec. 132. Involvement of Attorney General. 

Sec. 133. Data collection demonstration project. 

Sec. 134. Best practices development grants. 

Sec. 135. Authorization of appropriations. 

PART IV—DATA COLLECTION

Sec. 141. Attorney General to issue regulations. 

Sec. 142. Publication of data. 

Sec. 143. Limitations on publication of data. 

PART V—DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REGULATIONS AND REPORTS ON RACIAL

PROFILING IN THE UNITED STATES

Sec. 151. Attorney General to issue regulations and reports. 

PART VI—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

Sec. 161. Severability. 

Sec. 162. Savings clause. 

Subtitle B—Police CAMERA Act 

Sec. 181. Short title. 

Sec. 182. Matching grant program for law enforcement body-worn cameras. 

Subtitle C—Department of Justice Grant Programs and Law Enforcement 

Reform 

Sec. 191. Improving law enforcement officer training. 

Sec. 192. Requirement for DOJ grant programs. 

Sec. 193. Improving crime statistic reporting. 


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Sec. 194. Sense of Congress on reporting of crime statistics. 

TITLE II—VOTING RIGHTS REFORM AND CIVIL RIGHTS 

RESTORATION 

Subtitle A—Democracy Restoration 

Sec. 201. Short title. 

Sec. 202. Findings. 

Sec. 203. Rights of citizens. 

Sec. 204. Enforcement. 

Sec. 205. Notification of restoration of voting rights. 

Sec. 206. Definitions. 

Sec. 207. Relation to other laws. 

Sec. 208. Federal prison funds. 

Sec. 209. Effective date. 

Subtitle B—Restoration of Federal Jury Service 

Sec. 221. Qualifications for jury service. 

TITLE III—SENTENCING LAW REFORM 

Sec. 301. Short title. 

Sec. 302. Reclassification of low-level felonies. 

Sec. 303. Weighing of controlled substances mixed with food products. 

Sec. 304. Applicability to pending and past cases. 

Sec. 305. Emergency authority for united states sentencing commission. 

Sec. 306. Establishment of the safe neighborhoods and schools fund. 

TITLE IV—RE-ENTRY AND EMPLOYMENT LAW REFORM 

Subtitle A—Improvements to the Second Chance Act 

Sec. 401. Improvements to existing programs. 

Subtitle B—Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act Reentry Employment 

Opportunities 

Sec. 411. Authorization of appropriations for the Reentry Employment Opportunities program. 

Subtitle C—Sense of Congress 

Sec. 421. Sense of Congress. 


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1 TITLE I—LAW ENFORCEMENT 

2 REFORM 

3 Subtitle A—End Racial Profiling 

4 Act 

5 SEC. 101. SHORT TITLE. 

6 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘End Racial 

7 Profiling Act of 2015’’. 

8 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this subtitle: 

10 (1) COVERED PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘covered 

11 program’’ means any program or activity funded in 

12 whole or in part with funds made available under— 

13 (A) the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice 

14 Assistance Grant Program under part E of title 

15 I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

16 Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.); 

17 and 

18 (B) the ‘‘Cops on the Beat’’ program 

19 under part Q of title I of the Omnibus Crime 

20 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 

21 U.S.C. 3796dd et seq.), except that no pro22 gram, project, or other activity specified in sec23 tion 1701(b)(13) of such part shall be a covered 

24 program under this paragraph. 


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1 (2) GOVERNMENTAL BODY.—The term ‘‘govern2 mental body’’ means any department, agency, special 

3 purpose district, or other instrumentality of Federal, 

4 State, local, or Indian tribal government. 

5 (3) HIT RATE.—The term ‘‘hit rate’’ means the 

6 percentage of stops and searches in which a law en7 forcement officer finds drugs, a gun, or something 

8 else that leads to an arrest. The hit rate is cal9 culated by dividing the total number of searches by 

10 the number of searches that yield contraband. The 

11 hit rate is complementary to the rate of false stops. 

12 (4) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

13 has the meaning given the term in section 102 of the 

14 Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 

15 (25 U.S.C. 479a). 

16 (5) LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.—The term 

17 ‘‘law enforcement agency’’ means any Federal, 

18 State, local, or Indian tribal public agency engaged 

19 in the prevention, detection, or investigation of viola20 tions of criminal, immigration, or customs laws. 

21 (6) LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENT.—The term 

22 ‘‘law enforcement agent’’ means any Federal, State, 

23 local, or Indian tribal official responsible for enforc24 ing criminal, immigration, or customs laws, includVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Jun 22, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1610.IS S1610

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1 ing police officers and other agents of a law enforce2 ment agency. 

3 (7) RACIAL PROFILING.—The term ‘‘racial 

4 profiling’’ means the practice of a law enforcement 

5 agent or agency relying, to any degree, on actual or 

6 perceived race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, 

7 gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation in se8 lecting which individual to subject to routine or 

9 spontaneous investigatory activities or in deciding 

10 upon the scope and substance of law enforcement ac11 tivity following the initial investigatory procedure, 

12 except when there is trustworthy information, rel13 evant to the locality and timeframe, that links a per14 son with a particular characteristic described in this 

15 paragraph to an identified criminal incident or 

16 scheme. 

17 (8) ROUTINE OR SPONTANEOUS INVESTIGATORY

18 ACTIVITIES.—The term ‘‘routine or spontaneous in19 vestigatory activities’’ means the following activities 

20 by a law enforcement agent: 

21 (A) Interviews. 

22 (B) Traffic stops. 

23 (C) Pedestrian stops. 

24 (D) Frisks and other types of body 

25 searches. 


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1 (E) Consensual or nonconsensual searches 

2 of the persons, property, or possessions (includ3 ing vehicles) of individuals using any form of 

4 public or private transportation, including mo5 torists and pedestrians. 

6 (F) Data collection and analysis, assess7 ments, and predicated investigations. 

8 (G) Inspections and interviews of entrants 

9 into the United States that are more extensive 

10 than those customarily carried out. 

11 (H) Immigration-related workplace inves12 tigations. 

13 (I) Such other types of law enforcement 

14 encounters compiled for or by the Federal Bu15 reau of Investigation or the Department of Jus16 tice Bureau of Justice Statistics. 

17 (9) REASONABLE REQUEST.—The term ‘‘rea18 sonable request’’ means all requests for information, 

19 except for those that— 

20 (A) are immaterial to the investigation; 

21 (B) would result in the unnecessary disclo22 sure of personal information; or 

23 (C) would place a severe burden on the re24 sources of the law enforcement agency given its 

25 size. 


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1 (10) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

2 the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Com3 monwealth of Puerto Rico, and any other territory 

4 or possession of the United States. 

5 (11) UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The term 

6 ‘‘unit of local government’’ means— 

7 (A) any city, county, township, town, bor8 ough, parish, village, or other general purpose 

9 political subdivision of a State; 

10 (B) any law enforcement district or judicial 

11 enforcement district that— 

12 (i) is established under applicable 

13 State law; and 

14 (ii) has the authority to, in a manner 

15 independent of other State entities, estab16 lish a budget and impose taxes; or 

17 (C) any Indian tribe that performs law en18 forcement functions, as determined by the Sec19 retary of the Interior. 

20 PART I—PROHIBITION OF RACIAL PROFILING 

21 SEC. 111. PROHIBITION. 

22 No law enforcement agent or law enforcement agency 

23 shall engage in racial profiling. 


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1 SEC. 112. ENFORCEMENT. 

2 (a) REMEDY.—The United States, or an individual 

3 injured by racial profiling, may enforce this part in a civil 

4 action for declaratory or injunctive relief, filed either in 

5 a State court of general jurisdiction or in a district court 

6 of the United States. 

7 (b) PARTIES.—In any action brought under this part, 

8 relief may be obtained against— 

9 (1) any governmental body that employed any 

10 law enforcement agent who engaged in racial 

11 profiling; 

12 (2) any agent of such body who engaged in ra13 cial profiling; and 

14 (3) any person with supervisory authority over 

15 such agent. 

16 (c) NATURE OF PROOF.—Proof that the routine or 

17 spontaneous investigatory activities of law enforcement 

18 agents in a jurisdiction have had a disparate impact on 

19 individuals with a particular characteristic described in 

20 section 102(7) shall constitute prima facie evidence of a 

21 violation of this part. 

22 (d) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—In any action or proceeding 

23 to enforce this part against any governmental body, the 

24 court may allow a prevailing plaintiff, other than the 

25 United States, reasonable attorney’s fees as part of the 


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1 costs, and may include expert fees as part of the attorney’s 

2 fee. 

3 PART II—PROGRAMS TO ELIMINATE RACIAL 

4 PROFILING BY FEDERAL LAW ENFORCE5 MENT AGENCIES 

6 SEC. 121. POLICIES TO ELIMINATE RACIAL PROFILING. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Federal law enforcement agencies 

8 shall— 

9 (1) maintain adequate policies and procedures 

10 designed to eliminate racial profiling; and 

11 (2) cease existing practices that permit racial 

12 profiling. 

13 (b) POLICIES.—The policies and procedures de14 scribed in subsection (a)(1) shall include— 

15 (1) a prohibition on racial profiling; 

16 (2) training on racial profiling issues as part of 

17 Federal law enforcement training; 

18 (3) the collection of data in accordance with the 

19 regulations issued by the Attorney General under 

20 section 141; 

21 (4) procedures for receiving, investigating, and 

22 responding meaningfully to complaints alleging ra23 cial profiling by law enforcement agents; and 


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1 (5) any other policies and procedures the Attor2 ney General determines to be necessary to eliminate 

3 racial profiling by Federal law enforcement agencies. 

4 PART III—PROGRAMS TO ELIMINATE RACIAL 

5 PROFILING BY STATE, LOCAL, AND INDIAN 

6 TRIBAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES 

7 SEC. 131. POLICIES REQUIRED FOR GRANTS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—An application by a State, a unit 

9 of local government, or a State, local, or Indian tribal law 

10 enforcement agency for funding under a covered program 

11 shall include a certification that such State, unit of local 

12 government, or law enforcement agency, and any law en13 forcement agency to which it will distribute funds— 

14 (1) maintains adequate policies and procedures 

15 designed to eliminate racial profiling; and 

16 (2) has eliminated any existing practices that 

17 permit or encourage racial profiling. 

18 (b) POLICIES.—The policies and procedures de19 scribed in subsection (a)(1) shall include— 

20 (1) a prohibition on racial profiling; 

21 (2) training on racial profiling issues as part of 

22 law enforcement training; 

23 (3) the collection of data in accordance with the 

24 regulations issued by the Attorney General under 

25 section 141; and 


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1 (4) participation in an administrative complaint 

2 procedure or independent audit program that meets 

3 the requirements of section 132. 

4 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—This section shall take effect 

5 12 months after the date of enactment of this Act. 

6 SEC. 132. INVOLVEMENT OF ATTORNEY GENERAL. 

7 (a) REGULATIONS.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 6 months 

9 after the date of enactment of this Act and in con10 sultation with stakeholders, including Federal, State, 

11 tribal, and local law enforcement agencies and com12 munity, professional, research, and civil rights orga13 nizations, the Attorney General shall issue regula14 tions for the operation of administrative complaint 

15 procedures and independent audit programs to en16 sure that such programs and procedures provide an 

17 appropriate response to allegations of racial profiling 

18 by law enforcement agents or agencies. 

19 (2) GUIDELINES.—The regulations issued 

20 under paragraph (1) shall contain guidelines that 

21 ensure the fairness, effectiveness, and independence 

22 of the administrative complaint procedures and inde23 pendent auditor programs. 

24 (b) NONCOMPLIANCE.—If the Attorney General de25 termines that the recipient of a grant from any covered 


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1 program is not in compliance with the requirements of sec2 tion 131 or the regulations issued under subsection (a), 

3 the Attorney General shall withhold, in whole or in part 

4 (at the discretion of the Attorney General), funds for 1 

5 or more grants to the recipient under the covered pro6 gram, until the recipient establishes compliance. 

7 (c) PRIVATE PARTIES.—The Attorney General shall 

8 provide notice and an opportunity for private parties to 

9 present evidence to the Attorney General that a recipient 

10 of a grant from any covered program is not in compliance 

11 with the requirements of this part. 

12 SEC. 133. DATA COLLECTION DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. 

13 (a) COMPETITIVE AWARDS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General may, 

15 through competitive grants or contracts, carry out a 

16 2-year demonstration project for the purpose of de17 veloping and implementing data collection programs 

18 on the hit rates for stops and searches by law en19 forcement agencies. The data collected shall be 

20 disaggregated by race, ethnicity, national origin, 

21 gender, and religion. 

22 (2) NUMBER OF GRANTS.—The Attorney Gen23 eral shall provide not more than 5 grants or con24 tracts under this section. 


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1 (3) ELIGIBLE GRANTEES.—Grants or contracts 

2 under this section shall be awarded to law enforce3 ment agencies that serve communities where there is 

4 a significant concentration of racial or ethnic minori5 ties and that are not already collecting data volun6 tarily. 

7 (b) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—Activities carried out 

8 with a grant under this section shall include— 

9 (1) developing a data collection tool and report10 ing the compiled data to the Attorney General; and 

11 (2) training of law enforcement personnel on 

12 data collection, particularly for data collection on hit 

13 rates for stops and searches. 

14 (c) EVALUATION.—Not later than 3 years after the 

15 date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall 

16 enter into a contract with an institution of higher edu17 cation (as defined in section 101 of the Higher Education 

18 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001)) to analyze the data col19 lected by each of the grantees funded under this section. 

20 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

21 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out activities 

22 under this section— 

23 (1) $5,000,000, over a 2-year period, to carry 

24 out the demonstration program under subsection 

25 (a); and 


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1 (2) $500,000 to carry out the evaluation under 

2 subsection (c). 

3 SEC. 134. BEST PRACTICES DEVELOPMENT GRANTS. 

4 (a) GRANT AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney General, 

5 through the Bureau of Justice Assistance, may make 

6 grants to States, local law enforcement agencies, and units 

7 of local government to develop and implement best prac8 tice devices and systems to eliminate racial profiling. 

9 (b) USE OF FUNDS.—The funds provided under sub10 section (a) shall be used for programs that include the 

11 following purposes: 

12 (1) The development and implementation of 

13 training to prevent racial profiling and to encourage 

14 more respectful interaction with the public. 

15 (2) The acquisition and use of technology to fa16 cilitate the accurate collection and analysis of data. 

17 (3) The development and acquisition of feed18 back systems and technologies that identify officers 

19 or units of officers engaged in, or at risk of engag20 ing in, racial profiling or other misconduct. 

21 (4) The establishment and maintenance of an 

22 administrative complaint procedure or independent 

23 auditor program. 

24 (c) EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION.—The Attorney Gen25 eral shall ensure that grants under this section are awardVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Jun 22, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1610.IS S1610

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1 ed in a manner that reserves an equitable share of funding 

2 for small and rural law enforcement agencies. 

3 (d) APPLICATION.—Each State, local law enforce4 ment agency, or unit of local government desiring a grant 

5 under this section shall submit an application to the Attor6 ney General at such time, in such manner, and accom7 panied by such information as the Attorney General may 

8 reasonably require. 

9 SEC. 135. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

10 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

11 as are necessary to carry out this part. 

12 PART IV—DATA COLLECTION 

13 SEC. 141. ATTORNEY GENERAL TO ISSUE REGULATIONS. 

14 (a) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 6 months after 

15 the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, 

16 in consultation with stakeholders, including Federal, 

17 State, and local law enforcement agencies and community, 

18 professional, research, and civil rights organizations, shall 

19 issue regulations for the collection and compilation of data 

20 under sections 121 and 131. 

21 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The regulations issued under 

22 subsection (a) shall— 

23 (1) provide for the collection of data on all rou24 tine or spontaneous investigatory activities; 

25 (2) provide that the data collected shall— 


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1 (A) be collected by race, ethnicity, national 

2 origin, gender, and religion, as perceived by the 

3 law enforcement officer; 

4 (B) include the date, time, and location of 

5 such investigatory activities; 

6 (C) include detail sufficient to permit an 

7 analysis of whether a law enforcement agency is 

8 engaging in racial profiling; and 

9 (D) not include personally identifiable in10 formation; 

11 (3) provide that a standardized form shall be 

12 made available to law enforcement agencies for the 

13 submission of collected data to the Department of 

14 Justice; 

15 (4) provide that law enforcement agencies shall 

16 compile data on the standardized form made avail17 able under paragraph (3), and submit the form to 

18 the Civil Rights Division and the Department of 

19 Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics; 

20 (5) provide that law enforcement agencies shall 

21 maintain all data collected under this subtitle for not 

22 less than 4 years; 

23 (6) include guidelines for setting comparative 

24 benchmarks, consistent with best practices, against 

25 which collected data shall be measured; 


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1 (7) provide that the Department of Justice Bu2 reau of Justice Statistics shall— 

3 (A) analyze the data for any statistically 

4 significant disparities, including— 

5 (i) disparities in the percentage of 

6 drivers or pedestrians stopped relative to 

7 the proportion of the population passing 

8 through the neighborhood; 

9 (ii) disparities in the hit rate; and 

10 (iii) disparities in the frequency of 

11 searches performed on racial or ethnic mi12 nority drivers and the frequency of 

13 searches performed on non-minority driv14 ers; and 

15 (B) not later than 3 years after the date 

16 of enactment of this Act, and annually there17 after— 

18 (i) prepare a report regarding the 

19 findings of the analysis conducted under 

20 subparagraph (A); 

21 (ii) provide such report to Congress; 

22 and 

23 (iii) make such report available to the 

24 public, including on a website of the De25 partment of Justice; and 


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1 (8) protect the privacy of individuals whose 

2 data is collected by— 

3 (A) limiting the use of the data collected 

4 under this subtitle to the purposes set forth in 

5 this subtitle; 

6 (B) except as otherwise provided in this 

7 subtitle, limiting access to the data collected 

8 under this subtitle to those Federal, State, 

9 local, or tribal employees or agents who require 

10 such access in order to fulfill the purposes for 

11 the data set forth in this subtitle; 

12 (C) requiring contractors or other non-gov13 ernmental agents who are permitted access to 

14 the data collected under this subtitle to sign use 

15 agreements incorporating the use and disclosure 

16 restrictions set forth in subparagraph (A); and 

17 (D) requiring the maintenance of adequate 

18 security measures to prevent unauthorized ac19 cess to the data collected under this subtitle. 

20 SEC. 142. PUBLICATION OF DATA. 

21 The Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statis22 tics shall provide to Congress and make available to the 

23 public, together with each annual report described in sec24 tion 141, the data collected pursuant to this subtitle, exVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:46 Jun 22, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1610.IS S1610

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1 cluding any personally identifiable information described 

2 in section 143. 

3 SEC. 143. LIMITATIONS ON PUBLICATION OF DATA. 

4 The name or identifying information of a law enforce5 ment officer, complainant, or any other individual involved 

6 in any activity for which data is collected and compiled 

7 under this subtitle shall not be— 

8 (1) released to the public; 

9 (2) disclosed to any person, except for— 

10 (A) such disclosures as are necessary to 

11 comply with this subtitle; 

12 (B) disclosures of information regarding a 

13 particular person to that person; or 

14 (C) disclosures pursuant to litigation; or 

15 (3) subject to disclosure under section 552 of 

16 title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the 

17 Freedom of Information Act), except for disclosures 

18 of information regarding a particular person to that 

19 person. 


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1 PART V—DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REGULA2 TIONS AND REPORTS ON RACIAL PROFILING 

3 IN THE UNITED STATES 

4 SEC. 151. ATTORNEY GENERAL TO ISSUE REGULATIONS 

5 AND REPORTS. 

6 (a) REGULATIONS.—In addition to the regulations re7 quired under sections 133 and 141, the Attorney General 

8 shall issue such other regulations as the Attorney General 

9 determines are necessary to implement this subtitle. 

10 (b) REPORTS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

12 the date of enactment of this Act, and annually 

13 thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit to 

14 Congress a report on racial profiling by law enforce15 ment agencies. 

16 (2) SCOPE.—Each report submitted under 

17 paragraph (1) shall include— 

18 (A) a summary of data collected under sec19 tions 121(b)(3) and 131(b)(3) and from any 

20 other reliable source of information regarding 

21 racial profiling in the United States; 

22 (B) a discussion of the findings in the 

23 most recent report prepared by the Department 

24 of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics under 

25 section 141(b)(7); 


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1 (C) the status of the adoption and imple2 mentation of policies and procedures by Federal 

3 law enforcement agencies under section 121 

4 and by the State and local law enforcement 

5 agencies under sections 131 and 132; and 

6 (D) a description of any other policies and 

7 procedures that the Attorney General believes 

8 would facilitate the elimination of racial 

9 profiling. 

10 PART VI—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS 

11 SEC. 161. SEVERABILITY. 

12 If any provision of this subtitle, or the application 

13 of such a provision to any person or circumstance, is held 

14 to be unconstitutional, the remainder of this subtitle and 

15 the application of the remaining provisions of this subtitle 

16 to any person or circumstance shall not be affected there17 by. 

18 SEC. 162. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 

19 Nothing in this subtitle shall be construed— 

20 (1) to limit legal or administrative remedies 

21 under section 1979 of the Revised Statutes of the 

22 United States (42 U.S.C. 1983), section 210401 of 

23 the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement 

24 Act of 1994 (42 U.S.C. 14141), the Omnibus Crime 

25 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 


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1 3701 et seq.), or title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 

2 1964 (42 U.S.C. 2000d et seq.); 

3 (2) to affect any Federal, State, or tribal law 

4 that applies to an Indian tribe because of the polit5 ical status of the tribe; or 

6 (3) to waive the sovereign immunity of an In7 dian tribe without the consent of the tribe. 

8 Subtitle B—Police CAMERA Act 

9 SEC. 181. SHORT TITLE. 

10 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Police Creating 

11 Accountability by Making Effective Recording Available 

12 Act of 2015’’ or the ‘‘Police CAMERA Act’’. 

13 SEC. 182. MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM FOR LAW ENFORCE14 MENT BODY-WORN CAMERAS. 

15 Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

16 Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3711 et seq.) is amended 

17 by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘PART LL—MATCHING GRANT PROGRAM FOR 

19 LAW ENFORCEMENT BODY-WORN CAMERAS 

20 ‘‘SEC. 3021. GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED. 

21 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Attorney General 

22 for the Office of Justice Programs (in this section referred 

23 to as the ‘Assistant Attorney General’) may make grants 

24 to States, units of local government, and Indian tribes to 

25 purchase or lease body-worn cameras for use by State, 


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1 local, and tribal law enforcement officers (as defined in 

2 section 2503) and expenses related to the implementation 

3 of a body-worn camera program in order to deter excessive 

4 force, improve accountability and transparency of use of 

5 force by law enforcement officers, assist in responding to 

6 complaints against law enforcement officers, and improve 

7 evidence collection. 

8 ‘‘(b) DURATION OF GRANTS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Grants awarded under this 

10 part shall be 2 years in duration. 

11 ‘‘(2) DISBURSEMENT OF GRANT AMOUNT.—In 

12 disbursing a grant awarded to an entity under this 

13 section— 

14 ‘‘(A) upon awarding the grant to the enti15 ty, the Assistant Attorney General shall dis16 burse 50 percent of the total grant amount to 

17 the entity; and 

18 ‘‘(B) upon demonstration by the entity of 

19 completion of the requirements in subsection 

20 (d)(1), the Assistant Attorney General shall dis21 burse the remaining 50 percent of the total 

22 grant amount to the entity. 

23 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—Grants awarded under this 

24 section shall be— 


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1 ‘‘(1) distributed directly to the State, unit of 

2 local government, or Indian tribe; and 

3 ‘‘(2) used for— 

4 ‘‘(A) the purchase or lease of body-worn 

5 cameras for law enforcement officers on patrol 

6 in the jurisdiction of the grantee; 

7 ‘‘(B) any costs relating to the implementa8 tion of a body-worn camera program, including 

9 law enforcement officer training or the storage 

10 or maintenance of data collected under a body11 worn camera program; or 

12 ‘‘(C) implementing policies or procedures 

13 to comply with the requirements described in 

14 subsection (d). 

15 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENTS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Assistant Attorney 

17 General shall award a grant under this section to a 

18 State, unit of local government, or Indian tribe re19 questing the grant that commits to— 

20 ‘‘(A) establishing policies and procedures 

21 in accordance with the requirements described 

22 in paragraph (2) before law enforcement offi23 cers use of body-worn cameras; 

24 ‘‘(B) adopting data collection and retention 

25 protocols as described in paragraph (3) before 


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1 law enforcement officers use of body-worn cam2 eras; 

3 ‘‘(C) making the policies and protocols de4 scribed in subparagraphs (A) and (B) available 

5 to the public; and 

6 ‘‘(D) complying with the requirements for 

7 use of data under paragraph (4). 

8 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED POLICIES AND PROCEDURES.— 

9 An entity receiving a grant under this section 

10 shall— 

11 ‘‘(A) develop with community input and 

12 publish for public view policies and protocols 

13 for— 

14 ‘‘(i) the safe and effective use of body15 worn cameras; 

16 ‘‘(ii) the secure storage, handling, and 

17 destruction of data collected by body-worn 

18 cameras; 

19 ‘‘(iii) protecting the privacy rights of 

20 any individual who may be recorded by a 

21 body-worn camera; and 

22 ‘‘(iv) the release of any data collected 

23 by a body-worn camera in accordance with 

24 the open records laws, if any, of the State; 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(B) conduct periodic evaluations of the 

2 security of the storage and handling of the 

3 body-worn camera data. 

4 ‘‘(3) DATA COLLECTION AND RETENTION PRO5 TOCOL.—The data collection and retention protocol 

6 described in this paragraph is a protocol that— 

7 ‘‘(A) requires— 

8 ‘‘(i) a law enforcement officer who is 

9 wearing a body-mounted camera to provide 

10 an explanation if an activity that is re11 quired to be recorded by the body-mounted 

12 camera is not recorded; 

13 ‘‘(ii) a law enforcement officer who is 

14 wearing a body-mounted camera to obtain 

15 consent to be recorded from a crime victim 

16 or witness before interviewing the victim or 

17 witness; 

18 ‘‘(iii) the collection of data unrelated 

19 to a legitimate law enforcement purpose be 

20 minimized to the greatest extent prac21 ticable; 

22 ‘‘(iv) the system used to store data 

23 collected by body-worn cameras shall log 

24 all viewing, modification, or deletion of 

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1 est extent practicable, the unauthorized ac2 cess or disclosure of stored data; 

3 ‘‘(v) any law enforcement officer be 

4 prohibited from accessing the stored data 

5 without an authorized purpose; and 

6 ‘‘(vi) the law enforcement agency to 

7 collect and report data on— 

8 ‘‘(I) incidences of use of force, 

9 disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gen10 der, and age of the victim; 

11 ‘‘(II) the number of complaints 

12 filed against law enforcement officers; 

13 ‘‘(III) the disposition of com14 plaints filed against law enforcement 

15 officers; and 

16 ‘‘(IV) the number of times cam17 era footage is used for evidence collec18 tion in investigations of crimes; 

19 ‘‘(B) allows an individual to file a com20 plaint with a law enforcement agency relating 

21 to the improper use of body-worn cameras; and 

22 ‘‘(C) complies with any other requirements 

23 established by the Assistant Attorney General. 

24 ‘‘(4) USE OR TRANSFER OF DATA.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Data collected by an 

2 entity receiving a grant under this section from 

3 a body-mounted camera shall be used only in 

4 internal and external investigations of mis5 conduct by a law enforcement agency or officer, 

6 if there is reasonable suspicion that a recording 

7 contains evidence of a crime, or for limited 

8 training purposes. The Assistant Attorney Gen9 eral shall establish rules to ensure that the data 

10 is used only for the purposes described in this 

11 subparagraph. 

12 ‘‘(B) PROHIBITION ON TRANSFER.—Ex13 cept as provided in subparagraph (B), an entity 

14 receiving a grant under this section may not 

15 transfer any data collected by the entity from 

16 a body-mounted camera to another law enforce17 ment or intelligence agency. 

18 ‘‘(C) EXCEPTIONS.— 

19 ‘‘(i) CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION.—An 

20 entity receiving a grant under this section 

21 may transfer data collected by the entity 

22 from a body-mounted camera to another 

23 law enforcement agency or intelligence 

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1 ligence agency has reasonable suspicion 

2 that the requested data contains evidence 

3 relating to the crime being investigated. 

4 ‘‘(ii) CIVIL RIGHTS CLAIMS.—An enti5 ty receiving a grant under this section may 

6 transfer data collected by the law enforce7 ment agency from a body-mounted camera 

8 to another law enforcement agency for use 

9 in an investigation of any right, privilege, 

10 or immunity secured or protected by the 

11 Constitution or laws of the United States. 

12 ‘‘(e) MATCHING FUNDS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para14 graph (3), the Federal share of the cost of a pro15 gram carried out using a grant under this part may 

16 not exceed 75 percent of the total cost of the pro17 gram. 

18 ‘‘(2) INDIAN ASSISTANCE.—Any funds appro19 priated by Congress for the activities of any agency 

20 of an Indian tribal government or the Bureau of In21 dian Affairs performing law enforcement functions 

22 on any Indian lands may be used to provide the non23 Federal share of the matching requirement described 

24 in paragraph (1). 


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1 ‘‘(3) WAIVER.—The Assistant Attorney General 

2 may waive, in whole or in part, the matching re3 quirement described in paragraph (1) in the case of 

4 fiscal hardship, as determined by the Assistant At5 torney General. 

6 ‘‘(f) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—For fiscal years 2015 

7 and 2016, of the amounts appropriated to the Office of 

8 Justice Programs, $10,000,000 shall be used to carry out 

9 this part. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 3022. APPLICATIONS. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—To request a grant under this 

12 part, the chief executive of a State, unit of local govern13 ment, or Indian tribe shall submit an application to the 

14 Assistant Attorney General in such form and containing 

15 such information as the Assistant Attorney General may 

16 reasonably require. 

17 ‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days after 

18 the date of the enactment of this part, the Assistant Attor19 ney General shall promulgate regulations to implement 

20 this part, including the information that shall be included 

21 and the requirements that the States, units of local gov22 ernment, and Indian tribes must meet in submitting the 

23 applications required under this section. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 3023. STUDY. 

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

3 date on which all grants are awarded under this part, the 

4 Assistant Attorney General shall conduct a study on— 

5 ‘‘(1) the efficacy of body-worn cameras in deter6 ring excessive force by law enforcement officers; 

7 ‘‘(2) the impact of body-worn cameras on the 

8 accountability and transparency of the use of force 

9 by law enforcement officers; 

10 ‘‘(3) the impact of body-worn cameras on re11 sponses to and adjudications of complaints of exces12 sive force; 

13 ‘‘(4) the effect of the use of body-worn cameras 

14 on the safety of law enforcement officers on patrol; 

15 ‘‘(5) the effect of the use of body-worn cameras 

16 on public safety; 

17 ‘‘(6) the impact of body-worn cameras on evi18 dence collection for criminal investigations; 

19 ‘‘(7) issues relating to the secure storage and 

20 handling of data from the body-worn cameras; 

21 ‘‘(8) issues relating to the privacy of citizens 

22 and officers recorded on body-worn cameras; 

23 ‘‘(9) issues relating to the public’s access to 

24 body-worn camera footage; 

25 ‘‘(10) the need for proper training of law en26 forcement officers that use body-worn cameras; 


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1 ‘‘(11) best practices in the development of pro2 tocols for the safe and effective use of body-worn 

3 cameras; and 

4 ‘‘(12) any other factors that the Assistant At5 torney General determines are relevant in evaluating 

6 the efficacy of body-worn cameras. 

7 ‘‘(b) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the 

8 date on which the study required under subsection (a) is 

9 completed, the Assistant Attorney General shall submit to 

10 Congress a report on the study.’’. 

11 Subtitle C—Department of Justice 

12 Grant Programs and Law En13 forcement Reform 

14 SEC. 191. IMPROVING LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER TRAIN15 ING. 

16 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the date 

17 of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall sub18 mit a report to Congress on a plan to assist State and 

19 local law enforcement agencies to improve training in use 

20 of force, identifying racial and ethnic bias, and conflict 

21 resolution, through the course of officers’ careers, which 

22 shall include the development of Field Training Program 

23 policies and the examination of ways to partner with na24 tional law enforcement organizations to promote con25 sistent standards for high quality training and assessment. 


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1 (b) CONTENTS.—The report required under sub2 section (a) shall contain best practices, model policies, and 

3 a training toolkit for local law enforcement, as well as free 

4 or reduced-cost courses for law enforcement agencies. 

5 SEC. 192. REQUIREMENT FOR DOJ GRANT PROGRAMS. 

6 A State or local law enforcement agency applying for 

7 a law enforcement related grant administered by the De8 partment of Justice, including any grant awarded under 

9 the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant 

10 Program established under subpart I of of part E of title 

11 I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 

12 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.) or awarded under the 

13 COPS grant program under section 1701 of title I of the 

14 Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 

15 U.S.C. 3796dd), shall include in the application for the 

16 grant a report on how the officers of the law enforcement 

17 agency are trained in the use of force, racial and ethnic 

18 bias, de-escalating conflicts, and constructive engagement 

19 with the public. 

20 SEC. 193. IMPROVING CRIME STATISTIC REPORTING. 

21 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 6 months after the date 

22 of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall sub23 mit to Congress a report on a plan of action for helping 

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1 Based Reporting System data, including detailed crime in2 cident data, such as arrests and officer-involved shootings, 

3 in a timely manner. 

4 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The plan required under sub5 section (a) shall include— 

6 (1) reasonable cost estimates for setting up in7 formation technology systems to connect into the 

8 Criminal Justice Information Services Division of 

9 the Department of Justice; and 

10 (2) a timetable for getting law enforcement 

11 agencies to submit the data described in subsection 

12 (a). 

13 SEC. 194. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON REPORTING OF CRIME 

14 STATISTICS. 

15 It is the sense of Congress that all State and local 

16 law enforcement agencies receiving grant awards under 

17 the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant 

18 Program established under subpart I of of part E of title 

19 I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 

20 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3750 et seq.) or the COPS grant pro21 gram under section 1701 of title I of the Omnibus Crime 

22 Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd) 

23 should submit, in a timely manner, their National Inci24 dent-Based Reporting System data to the Criminal Justice 


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1 Information Services Division of the Department of Jus2 tice. 

3 TITLE II—VOTING RIGHTS RE4 FORM AND CIVIL RIGHTS 

5 RESTORATION 

6 Subtitle A—Democracy Restoration 

7 SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 

8 This subtitle may be cited as the ‘‘Democracy Res9 toration Act of 2015’’. 

10 SEC. 202. FINDINGS. 

11 Congress makes the following findings: 

12 (1) The right to vote is the most basic constitu13 tive act of citizenship. Regaining the right to vote 

14 reintegrates individuals with criminal convictions 

15 into free society, helping to enhance public safety. 

16 (2) Article I, section 4, of the Constitution 

17 grants Congress ultimate supervisory power over 

18 Federal elections, an authority which has repeatedly 

19 been upheld by the United States Supreme Court. 

20 (3) Basic constitutional principles of fairness 

21 and equal protection require an equal opportunity 

22 for citizens of the United States to vote in Federal 

23 elections. The right to vote may not be abridged or 

24 denied by the United States or by any State on ac25 count of race, color, gender, or previous condition of 


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1 servitude. The 13th, 14th, 15th, 19th, 24th, and 

2 26th Amendments to the Constitution empower Con3 gress to enact measures to protect the right to vote 

4 in Federal elections. The 8th Amendment to the 

5 Constitution provides for no excessive bail to be re6 quired, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and 

7 unusual punishments inflicted. 

8 (4) There are 3 areas where discrepancies in 

9 State laws regarding criminal convictions lead to un10 fairness in Federal elections— 

11 (A) the lack of a uniform standard for vot12 ing in Federal elections leads to an unfair dis13 parity and unequal participation in Federal 

14 elections based solely on where a person lives; 

15 (B) laws governing the restoration of vot16 ing rights after a criminal conviction vary 

17 throughout the country and persons in some 

18 States can easily regain their voting rights 

19 while in other States persons effectively lose 

20 their right to vote permanently; and 

21 (C) State disenfranchisement laws dis22 proportionately impact racial and ethnic minori23 ties. 

24 (5) Two States do not disenfranchise individ25 uals with criminal convictions at all (Maine and 


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1 Vermont), but 48 States and the District of Colum2 bia have laws that deny convicted individuals the 

3 right to vote while they are in prison. 

4 (6) In some States disenfranchisement results 

5 from varying State laws that restrict voting while in6 dividuals are under the supervision of the criminal 

7 justice system or after they have completed a crimi8 nal sentence. In 35 States, convicted individuals may 

9 not vote while they are on parole and 31 of those 

10 States disenfranchise individuals on felony probation 

11 as well. In 11 States, a conviction can result in life12 time disenfranchisement. 

13 (7) Several States deny the right to vote to in14 dividuals convicted of certain misdemeanors. 

15 (8) An estimated 5,850,000 citizens of the 

16 United States, or about 1 in 40 adults in the United 

17 States, currently cannot vote as a result of a felony 

18 conviction. Of the 5,850,000 citizens barred from 

19 voting, only 25 percent are in prison. By contrast, 

20 75 percent of the disenfranchised reside in their 

21 communities while on probation or parole or after 

22 having completed their sentences. Approximately 

23 2,600,000 citizens who have completed their sen24 tences remain disenfranchised due to restrictive 

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1 tucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Virginia—more 

2 than 7 percent of the total population is 

3 disenfranchised. 

4 (9) In those States that disenfranchise individ5 uals post-sentence, the right to vote can be regained 

6 in theory, but in practice this possibility is often 

7 granted in a non-uniform and potentially discrimina8 tory manner. Disenfranchised individuals must ei9 ther obtain a pardon or an order from the Governor 

10 or an action by the parole or pardon board, depend11 ing on the offense and State. Individuals convicted 

12 of a Federal offense often have additional barriers to 

13 regaining voting rights. 

14 (10) State disenfranchisement laws dispropor15 tionately impact racial and ethnic minorities. Eight 

16 percent of the African-American population, or 

17 2,000,000 African-Americans, are disenfranchised. 

18 Given current rates of incarceration, approximately 

19 1 in 3 of the next generation of African-American 

20 men will be disenfranchised at some point during 

21 their lifetime. Currently, 1 of every 13 African22 Americans are rendered unable to vote because of 

23 felony disenfranchisement, which is a rate 4 times 

24 greater than non African-Americans. 7.7 percent of 

25 African-Americans are disenfranchised whereas only 


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1 1.8 percent of non African-Americans are. In 3 

2 States—Florida (23 percent), Kentucky (22 per3 cent), and Virginia (20 percent)—more than 1 in 5 

4 African-Americans are unable to vote because of 

5 prior convictions. 

6 (11) Latino citizens are disproportionately 

7 disenfranchised based upon their disproportionate 

8 representation in the criminal justice system. If cur9 rent incarceration trends hold, 17 percent of Latino 

10 men will be incarcerated during their lifetimes, in 

11 contrast to less than 6 percent of non-Latino White 

12 men. When analyzing the data across 10 States, 

13 Latinos generally have disproportionately higher 

14 rates of disenfranchisement compared to their pres15 ence in the voting age population. In 6 out of 10 

16 States studied in 2003, Latinos constitute more 

17 than 10 percent of the total number of persons 

18 disenfranchised by State felony laws. In 4 States 

19 (California, 37 percent; New York, 34 percent; 

20 Texas, 30 percent; and Arizona, 27 percent), 

21 Latinos were disenfranchised by a rate of more than 

22 25 percent. 

23 (12) Disenfranchising citizens who have been 

24 convicted of a criminal offense and who are living 

25 and working in the community serves no compelling 


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1 State interest and hinders their rehabilitation and 

2 reintegration into society. 

3 (13) State disenfranchisement laws can sup4 press electoral participation among eligible voters by 

5 discouraging voting among family and community 

6 members of disenfranchised persons. Future elec7 toral participation by the children of disenfranchised 

8 parents may be impacted as well. 

9 (14) The United States is the only Western de10 mocracy that permits the permanent denial of voting 

11 rights for individuals with felony convictions. 

12 SEC. 203. RIGHTS OF CITIZENS. 

13 The right of an individual who is a citizen of the 

14 United States to vote in any election for Federal office 

15 shall not be denied or abridged because that individual has 

16 been convicted of a criminal offense unless such individual 

17 is serving a felony sentence in a correctional institution 

18 or facility at the time of the election. 

19 SEC. 204. ENFORCEMENT. 

20 (a) ATTORNEY GENERAL.—The Attorney General 

21 may, in a civil action, obtain such declaratory or injunctive 

22 relief as is necessary to remedy a violation of this subtitle. 

23 (b) PRIVATE RIGHT OF ACTION.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—A person who is aggrieved 

25 by a violation of this subtitle may provide written 


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1 notice of the violation to the chief election official of 

2 the State involved. 

3 (2) RELIEF.—Except as provided in paragraph 

4 (3), if the violation is not corrected within 90 days 

5 after receipt of a notice under paragraph (1), or 

6 within 20 days after receipt of the notice if the viola7 tion occurred within 120 days before the date of an 

8 election for Federal office, the aggrieved person 

9 may, in a civil action, obtain declaratory or injunc10 tive relief with respect to the violation. 

11 (3) EXCEPTION.—If the violation occurred 

12 within 30 days before the date of an election for 

13 Federal office, the aggrieved person need not provide 

14 notice to the chief election official of the State under 

15 paragraph (1) before bringing a civil action to obtain 

16 declaratory or injunctive relief with respect to the 

17 violation. 

18 SEC. 205. NOTIFICATION OF RESTORATION OF VOTING 

19 RIGHTS. 

20 (a) STATE NOTIFICATION.— 

21 (1) NOTIFICATION.—On the date determined 

22 under paragraph (2), each State shall notify in writ23 ing any individual who has been convicted of a 

24 criminal offense under the law of that State that 

25 such individual has the right to vote in an election 


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1 for Federal office pursuant to the Democracy Res2 toration Act of 2015 and may register to vote in any 

3 such election. 

4 (2) DATE OF NOTIFICATION.— 

5 (A) FELONY CONVICTION.—In the case of 

6 such an individual who has been convicted of a 

7 felony, the notification required under para8 graph (1) shall be given on the date on which 

9 the individual— 

10 (i) is sentenced to serve only a term 

11 of probation; or 

12 (ii) is released from the custody of 

13 that State (other than to the custody of 

14 another State or the Federal Government 

15 to serve a term of imprisonment for a fel16 ony conviction). 

17 (B) MISDEMEANOR CONVICTION.—In the 

18 case of such an individual who has been con19 victed of a misdemeanor, the notification re20 quired under paragraph (1) shall be given on 

21 the date on which such individual is sentenced 

22 by a State court. 

23 (b) FEDERAL NOTIFICATION.— 

24 (1) NOTIFICATION.—Any individual who has 

25 been convicted of a criminal offense under Federal 


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1 law shall be notified in accordance with paragraph 

2 (2) that such individual has the right to vote in an 

3 election for Federal office pursuant to the Democ4 racy Restoration Act of 2015 and may register to 

5 vote in any such election. 

6 (2) DATE OF NOTIFICATION.— 

7 (A) FELONY CONVICTION.—In the case of 

8 such an individual who has been convicted of a 

9 felony, the notification required under para10 graph (1) shall be given— 

11 (i) in the case of an individual who is 

12 sentenced to serve only a term of proba13 tion, by the Assistant Director for the Of14 fice of Probation and Pretrial Services of 

15 the Administrative Office of the United 

16 States Courts on the date on which the in17 dividual is sentenced; or 

18 (ii) in the case of any individual com19 mitted to the custody of the Bureau of 

20 Prisons, by the Director of the Bureau of 

21 Prisons, during the period beginning on 

22 the date that is 6 months before such indi23 vidual is released and ending on the date 

24 such individual is released from the cus25 tody of the Bureau of Prisons. 


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1 (B) MISDEMEANOR CONVICTION.—In the 

2 case of such an individual who has been con3 victed of a misdemeanor, the notification re4 quired under paragraph (1) shall be given on 

5 the date on which such individual is sentenced 

6 by a court established by an Act of Congress. 

7 SEC. 206. DEFINITIONS. 

8 For purposes of this subtitle: 

9 (1) CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTION OR FACIL10 ITY.—The term ‘‘correctional institution or facility’’ 

11 means any prison, penitentiary, jail, or other institu12 tion or facility for the confinement of individuals 

13 convicted of criminal offenses, whether publicly or 

14 privately operated, except that such term does not 

15 include any residential community treatment center 

16 (or similar public or private facility). 

17 (2) ELECTION.—The term ‘‘election’’ means— 

18 (A) a general, special, primary, or runoff 

19 election; 

20 (B) a convention or caucus of a political 

21 party held to nominate a candidate; 

22 (C) a primary election held for the selec23 tion of delegates to a national nominating con24 vention of a political party; or 


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1 (D) a primary election held for the expres2 sion of a preference for the nomination of per3 sons for election to the office of President. 

4 (3) FEDERAL OFFICE.—The term ‘‘Federal of5 fice’’ means the office of President or Vice President 

6 of the United States, or of Senator or Representa7 tive in, or Delegate or Resident Commissioner to, 

8 the Congress of the United States. 

9 (4) PROBATION.—The term ‘‘probation’’ means 

10 probation, imposed by a Federal, State, or local 

11 court, with or without a condition on the individual 

12 involved concerning— 

13 (A) the individual’s freedom of movement; 

14 (B) the payment of damages by the indi15 vidual; 

16 (C) periodic reporting by the individual to 

17 an officer of the court; or 

18 (D) supervision of the individual by an of19 ficer of the court. 

20 SEC. 207. RELATION TO OTHER LAWS. 

21 (a) STATE LAWS RELATING TO VOTING RIGHTS.— 

22 Nothing in this subtitle shall be construed to prohibit the 

23 States from enacting any State law which affords the right 

24 to vote in any election for Federal office on terms less 

25 restrictive than those established by this subtitle. 


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1 (b) CERTAIN FEDERAL ACTS.—The rights and rem2 edies established by this subtitle are in addition to all 

3 other rights and remedies provided by law, and neither 

4 rights and remedies established by this subtitle shall su5 persede, restrict, or limit the application of the Voting 

6 Rights Act of 1965 (52 U.S.C. 10301 et seq.) or the Na7 tional Voter Registration Act (52 U.S.C. 20501 et seq.). 

8 SEC. 208. FEDERAL PRISON FUNDS. 

9 No State, unit of local government, or other person 

10 may receive or use, to construct or otherwise improve a 

11 prison, jail, or other place of incarceration, any Federal 

12 funds unless that person has in effect a program under 

13 which each individual incarcerated in that person’s juris14 diction who is a citizen of the United States is notified, 

15 upon release from such incarceration, of that individual’s 

16 rights under section 203. 

17 SEC. 209. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

18 This subtitle shall apply to citizens of the United 

19 States voting in any election for Federal office held after 

20 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

21 Subtitle B—Restoration of Federal 

22 Jury Service 

23 SEC. 221. QUALIFICATIONS FOR JURY SERVICE. 

24 Section 1865(b) of title 28, United States Code, is 

25 amended— 


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1 (1) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by 

2 striking ‘‘he’’ and inserting ‘‘the person’’; and 

3 (2) by striking paragraph (5) and inserting the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(5) has a charge pending for the commission 

6 of a crime punishable by imprisonment for more 

7 than 1 year.’’. 

8 TITLE III—SENTENCING LAW 

9 REFORM 

10 SEC. 301. SHORT TITLE. 

11 This title may be cited as the ‘‘Reclassification to En12 sure Smarter and Equal Treatment Act of 2015’’ or the 

13 ‘‘RESET Act’’. 

14 SEC. 302. RECLASSIFICATION OF LOW-LEVEL FELONIES. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part D of the Controlled Sub16 stances Act (21 U.S.C. 841 et seq.) is amended— 

17 (1) in section 404(a) (21 U.S.C. 844(a))— 

18 (A) in the fourth sentence— 

19 (i) by striking ‘‘2 years’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘1 year’’; 

21 (ii) by striking ‘‘$2,500’’ and insert22 ing ‘‘$1,000’’; 

23 (iii) by striking ‘‘3 years’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘1 year’’; and 


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1 (iv) by striking ‘‘$5,000’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘$1,000’’; and 

3 (B) by striking the fifth sentence and in4 serting the following: ‘‘Notwithstanding any 

5 penalty provided in this subsection, any person 

6 who commits an offense under this subsection 

7 for the possession of a date rape drug (as de8 fined in section 401(g)(2)) after a prior convic9 tion under this title or title III, or a prior con10 viction for any drug, narcotic, or chemical of11 fense chargeable under the law of any State, 

12 has become final, shall be sentenced to a term 

13 of imprisonment for not less than 15 days but 

14 not more than 2 years, and shall be fined a 

15 minimum of $2,500 and if any person commits 

16 such offense after 2 or more prior convictions 

17 under this title or title III, or 2 or more prior 

18 convictions for any drug, narcotic, or chemical 

19 offense chargeable under the law of any State, 

20 or a combination of 2 or more such offenses 

21 have become final, such person shall be sen22 tenced to a term of imprisonment for not less 

23 than 90 days but not more than 3 years, and 

24 shall be fined a minimum of $5,000.’’; and 


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1 (2) in section 422(b) (21 U.S.C. 863(b)), by 

2 striking ‘‘three years’’ and inserting ‘‘1 year’’. 

3 (b) ELIMINATION OF INCREASED PENALTIES FOR

4 COCAINE OFFENSES WHERE THE COCAINE INVOLVED IS

5 COCAINE BASE.— 

6 (1) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES ACT.—The fol7 lowing provisions of the Controlled Substances Act 

8 (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) are repealed: 

9 (A) Clause (iii) of section 401(b)(1)(A). 

10 (B) Clause (iii) of section 401(b)(1)(B). 

11 (2) CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES IMPORT AND

12 EXPORT ACT.—The following provisions of the Con13 trolled Substances Import and Export Act (21 

14 U.S.C. 951 et seq.) are repealed: 

15 (A) Subparagraph (C) of section 

16 1010(b)(1). 

17 (B) Subparagraph (C) of section 

18 1010(b)(2). 

19 SEC. 303. WEIGHING OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES MIXED 

20 WITH FOOD PRODUCTS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part D of the Controlled Sub22 stances Act (21 U.S.C. 841 et seq.) is amended by adding 

23 at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 424. WEIGHING OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES MIXED 

2 WITH FOOD PRODUCTS. 

3 ‘‘In determining the weight of a controlled substance 

4 or mixture of controlled substances that is in compound 

5 with a food product for purposes of this title or title III, 

6 the weight of the food product shall not be included.’’. 

7 (b) TECHNICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENT.— 

8 The table of contents for the Controlled Substances Act 

9 (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) is amended by inserting after the 

10 item relating to section 423 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 424. Weighing of controlled substances mixed with food products.’’. 

11 SEC. 304. APPLICABILITY TO PENDING AND PAST CASES. 

12 (a) PENDING CASES.—This title, and the amend13 ments made by this title, shall apply to any offense that 

14 was committed before the date of enactment of this Act, 

15 if a sentence for the offense has not been imposed as of 

16 such date of enactment. 

17 (b) PAST CASES.—In the case of a defendant who, 

18 before the date of enactment of this Act, was convicted 

19 of an offense for which the penalty is amended by this 

20 title and was sentenced to a term of imprisonment for the 

21 offense, the sentencing court may, on motion of the de22 fendant or the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, or on 

23 its own motion, reduce the term of imprisonment for the 

24 offense, after considering the factors set forth in section 

25 3553(a) of title 18, United States Code, to the extent the 


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1 factors are applicable, if such a reduction is consistent 

2 with— 

3 (1) this title and the amendments made by this 

4 title; and 

5 (2) applicable policy statements issued by the 

6 United States Sentencing Commission. 

7 SEC. 305. EMERGENCY AUTHORITY FOR UNITED STATES 

8 SENTENCING COMMISSION. 

9 (a) REVIEW AND AMENDMENT.—As soon as prac10 ticable after the date of enactment of this Act, the United 

11 States Sentencing Commission, pursuant to its authority 

12 under section 994 of title 28, United States Code, shall 

13 review and, if appropriate, amend the Federal sentencing 

14 guidelines and policy statements applicable to any person 

15 convicted of an offense affected by section 302, 303, or 

16 304. 

17 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—In carrying out subsection (a), 

18 the Commission may amend the Federal sentencing guide19 lines in accordance with the procedures set forth in section 

20 21(a) of the Sentencing Act of 1987 (28 U.S.C. 994 note) 

21 as though the authority under that section had not ex22 pired. 

23 SEC. 306. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SAFE NEIGHBORHOODS 

24 AND SCHOOLS FUND. 

25 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

2 Treasury of the United States a fund to be known 

3 as the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund (re4 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘Fund’’). 

5 (2) CONTINUAL APPROPRIATION.—Amounts in 

6 the Fund shall be continuously appropriated without 

7 regard to fiscal year carrying out this section and 

8 shall be considered general fund revenues which may 

9 be appropriated pursuant to Article I of the Con10 stitution of the United States. 

11 (b) FUNDING APPROPRIATION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.— 

13 (A) CALCULATION OF SAVINGS.—On or be14 fore July 31, 2016, and on or before July 31 

15 of each fiscal year thereafter, the Attorney Gen16 eral shall calculate the savings that accrued 

17 from the implementation of this title during the 

18 fiscal year ending June 30, as compared to the 

19 fiscal year preceding the date of enactment of 

20 this Act. The calculation shall be final and shall 

21 not be adjusted for any subsequent changes in 

22 the underlying data. 

23 (B) REQUIREMENT.—In making the cal24 culation required under subparagraph (A), the 

25 Attorney General shall use actual data or best 


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1 available estimates where actual data is not 

2 available. 

3 (C) CERTIFICATION.—Not later than Au4 gust 1 of each fiscal year, the Attorney General 

5 shall submit to Congress a certification of the 

6 results of the calculation required under sub7 paragraph (A). 

8 (2) TRANSFER OF FUNDS.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Before August 15, 

10 2016, and before August 15 of each fiscal year 

11 thereafter, the Secretary of the Treasury shall 

12 transfer, out of any amounts in the general 

13 fund of the Treasury not otherwise appro14 priated, to the Fund an amount equal to 50 

15 percent of the amount calculated for that fiscal 

16 year under paragraph (1). 

17 (B) TREATMENT OF TRANSFERRED

18 FUNDS.—Amounts transferred to the Fund 

19 under subparagraph (A)— 

20 (i) shall be used exclusively for the 

21 purposes of this section; and 

22 (ii) shall not be subject to appropria23 tion or transfer by Congress for any other 

24 purpose. 


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1 (C) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Amounts 

2 transferred to the Fund under subparagraph 

3 (A) shall remain available until expended with4 out regard to fiscal year. 

5 (c) DISTRIBUTION OF AMOUNTS IN THE SAFE

6 NEIGHBORHOODS AND SCHOOLS FUND.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than August 15 of 

8 each fiscal year beginning in 2016, of the total 

9 amount transferred to the Fund for the fiscal year— 

10 (A) 30 percent shall be made available to 

11 the Secretary of Education, to administer a 

12 grant program to public agencies aimed at im13 proving outcomes for public school pupils in 

14 kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, by 

15 reducing truancy and supporting students who 

16 are at risk of dropping out of school or are vic17 tims of crime; 

18 (B) 20 percent shall be transferred to the 

19 Crime Victims Fund, for grants to trauma re20 covery centers to provide services to victims of 

21 crime; and 

22 (C) 50 percent shall be made available to 

23 the Director of the Administrative Office of the 

24 United States Courts, acting through the Fed25 eral Reentry/Drug Court program, for grants to 


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1 public agencies aimed at supporting mental 

2 health treatment, substance abuse treatment, 

3 and diversion programs for people in the crimi4 nal justice system, with an emphasis on pro5 grams that reduce recidivism of people con6 victed of less serious crimes, such as those cov7 ered by this measure, and those who have sub8 stance abuse and mental health problems. 

9 (2) LIMITATION.—For each program described 

10 in paragraph (1), the agency responsible for admin11 istering the program may not spend more than 5 

12 percent of the amounts made available to the agency 

13 from the Fund on an annual basis for administrative 

14 costs. 

15 (3) AUDIT.—Not later than 2 years after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act and once every 2 years 

17 thereafter, the Attorney General shall— 

18 (A) conduct an audit of the grant pro19 grams described in paragraph (1) to ensure the 

20 amounts are disbursed and expended solely ac21 cording to this section; and 

22 (B) report the findings of the audit con23 ducted under subparagraph (A) to the relevant 

24 committees of Congress. 


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1 (4) COSTS OF PROGRAM.—Any costs incurred 

2 by the Attorney General in connection with the ad3 ministration of the Fund, including the costs of the 

4 calculation and the audit required, shall be deducted 

5 from the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Fund be6 fore the funds are allocated under paragraph (1). 

7 (5) SUPPLEMENTAL FUNDS.—Any amounts 

8 made available under grant programs described in 

9 paragraph (1) shall be used to supplement State or 

10 local funds for the same purpose and shall not sup11 plant such State or local funds. 

12 (6) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

13 section shall be construed to obligate an agency to 

14 provide programs or levels of service described in 

15 this section above the level for which funding has 

16 been provided under this section. 

17 TITLE IV—RE-ENTRY AND 

18 EMPLOYMENT LAW REFORM 

19 Subtitle A—Improvements to the 

20 Second Chance Act 

21 SEC. 401. IMPROVEMENTS TO EXISTING PROGRAMS. 

22 Section 2976 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control 

23 and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3797w) is 

24 amended by striking subsection (a) and inserting the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(a) GRANT AUTHORIZATION.—The Attorney Gen2 eral shall make grants to States, local governments, terri3 tories, or Indian tribes, or any combination thereof (in this 

4 section referred to as an ‘eligible entity’), in partnership 

5 with interested persons (including Federal corrections and 

6 supervision agencies), service providers, and nonprofit or7 ganizations for the purpose of strategic planning and im8 plementation of adult and juvenile offender reentry 

9 projects.’’. 

10 Subtitle B—Workforce Innovation 

11 and Opportunity Act Reentry 

12 Employment Opportunities 

13 SEC. 411. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE 

14 REENTRY EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES 

15 PROGRAM. 

16 Section 169 of the Workforce Innovation and Oppor17 tunity Act (29 U.S.C. 3224) is amended by adding at the 

18 end the following: 

19 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR THE

20 REENTRY EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES PROGRAM.—In 

21 addition to the funds authorized to be appropriated under 

22 section 172(d), there is authorized to be appropriated to 

23 carry out the Reentry Employment Opportunities program 

24 under this section $200,000,000 for each fiscal year.’’. 


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1 Subtitle C—Sense of Congress 

2 SEC. 421. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

3 It is the sense of Congress that the President should 

4 require that Federal contractors incorporate ‘‘fair chance’’ 

5 hiring practices, including requiring Federal contractors 

6 and agencies to refrain from asking job applicants about 

7 prior convictions until later in the hiring process. 

Æ 


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