II

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1628

To encourage each State to adopt Truth in Sentencing laws and to help

fund additional spaces in the State correctional programs as needed.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 4 (legislative day, NOVEMBER 2), 1993

Mr. CONRAD introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To encourage each State to adopt Truth in Sentencing laws

and to help fund additional spaces in the State correctional programs as needed.

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 ‘‘Truth in Sentencing

5 Act of 1993’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds that—

8 (1) it is the responsibility of the Federal Gov9 ernment to provide States with assistance in reduc10 ing violent crime;
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1 (2) the responsibility for protecting citizens

2 against most violent crime and for punishing most

3 violent criminal offenders is primarily a matter of

4 State and local governance;

5 (3) the incidence of violent crime nationwide

6 has risen dramatically and constitutes a national pri7 ority of the highest order; and

8 (4) the United States Sentencing Guidelines

9 have proven to be an effective means of achieving,

10 at the Federal level, a more uniform, proportionate,

11 predictable and appropriately punitive criminal sen12 tencing system by incorporating Truth in Sentencing

13 provisions which restrict release of a convicted crimi14 nal until at least 85 percent of the sentence which

15 has been imposed by a judge or jury has been

16 served.

17 SEC. 3. DEFINITION.

18 CRIME OF VIOLENCE.—

19 (1) an offense that is a felony and has an ele20 ment the use, attempted use, or threatened use of

21 physical force against the person or property of an22 other, or

23 (2) any other offense that is a felony and that,

24 by its nature, involves a substantial risk that phys-
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1 ical force against the person or property of another

2 may be used in the course of committing the offense.

3 Such crimes shall include, but not be limited to, murder,

4 arson, burglary, assault, rape, kidnapping, extortion, and

5 robbery.

6 SEC. 4. GRANTS FOR TRUTH IN SENTENCING.

7 (a) GRANT AUTHORIZATION.—The Director of the

8 Bureau of Justice Assistance is authorized to provide

9 grants to States to build and/or operate space in correc10 tional facilities in order to implement Truth in Sentencing

11 requirements.

12 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—In order to be eligible for funding

13 under this Act, a State must have enacted and imple14 mented Truth in Sentencing requirements which include—

15 (1) a provision in its criminal code which re16 stricts parole, good-time credit release, or other

17 forms of early release to require that criminals con18 victed of crimes of violence serve at least 85 percent

19 of the sentence imposed by a judge or jury;

20 (2) a provision which requires the sentencing

21 authority to allow the defendant’s victims or the

22 family of victims the opportunity to be heard regard23 ing the issue of sentencing;

24 (3) a provision which requires that a ‘‘life sen25 tence’’ means life without possibility of parole; and
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1 (4) a provision which provides that the victim

2 and victim’s family shall be notified whenever that

3 defendant is to be released.

4 (c) EXCEPTION.—The sentencing requirements under

5 paragraphs (b)(1) and (b)(4) of subsection (b) shall apply

6 except that the State may provide that the Governor of

7 the State may allow for the release of a prisoner after a

8 public hearing in which representatives of the public and

9 the prisoner’s victims shall have an opportunity to be

10 heard regarding a proposed release.

11 (d) A State shall also be eligible for funding under

12 this Act when that State has enacted legislation that pro13 vides for the State to be in compliance with this section

14 within three years of the enactment of such state legisla15 tion.

16 SEC. 5. FEDERAL FUNDS.

17 (a) DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.—Of the total amount

18 of funds appropriated under this Act in any fiscal year,

19 there shall be allocated to each participating State an

20 amount which bears the same ratio to the amount of funds

21 appropriated pursuant to this Act as the number of pris22 oners convicted of violent crimes serving sentences during

23 the previous fiscal year in that State bears to the number

24 of prisoners convicted of violent crimes serving sentences

25 during the previous fiscal year in all the participating
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1 States. (Such numbers of prisoners to be determined by

2 the Bureau of Justice Statistics.)

3 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—In order

4 to build and/or operate the spaces in correctional facilities

5 necessary to implement the required Truth in Sentencing

6 provisions, there is authorized to be appropriated—

7 (1) $500 million in fiscal year 1994;

8 (2) $1 billion in fiscal year 1995;

9 (3) $2 billion in fiscal year 1996;

10 (4) $3 billion in fiscal year 1997; and

11 (5) $4 billion in fiscal year 1998.

12 (c) LIMITATIONS ON FUNDS.—

13 (1) NONSUPPLANTING REQUIREMENT.—Funds

14 made available under this section shall not be used

15 to supplant State funds, but shall be used to in16 crease the amount of funds that would, in the ab17 sence of Federal funds, be made available from

18 State sources.

19 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—No more than 5

20 percent of the funds available under this section may

21 be used for administrative costs.

22 (3) MATCHING FUNDS.—The portion of the

23 costs of a program provided by a grant under this

24 section may not exceed 75 percent of the total cost

25 of the program as described in the application.
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1 (4) DURATION OF GRANTS.—IN GENERAL.—A

2 grant under this section may be renewed for up to

3 3 years beyond the initial year of funding if the ap4 plicant demonstrates satisfactory progress toward

5 achievement of the objectives set out in an approved

6 application.

7 (d) SOURCE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.—Appropriations

8 pursuant to this Act shall be paid with funds saved as

9 a result of reducing Federal full-time equivalent positions

10 pursuant to Section 6.

11 SEC. 6. REDUCTION OF FEDERAL FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT

12 POSITIONS

13 (a) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the

14 term ‘‘agency’’ means an Executive agency as defined

15 under section 105 of title 5, United States Code, but does

16 not include the General Accounting Office.

17 (b) LIMITATIONS ON FULL-TIME EQUIVALENT POSI18 TIONS.—The President, through the Office of Manage19 ment and Budget (in consultation with the Office of Per20 sonnel Management), shall ensure that the total number

21 of full-time equivalent positions in all agencies shall not

22 exceed

23 (1) 2,095,182 during fiscal year 1994;

24 (2) 2,044,100 during fiscal year 1995;

25 (3) 2,003,845 during fiscal year 1996;
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1 (4) 1,963,593 during fiscal year 1997;

2 (5) 1,923,339 during fiscal year 1998; and

3 (6) 1,883,086 during fiscal year 1999.

4 (c) MONITORING AND NOTIFICATION.—The Office of

5 Management and Budget, after consultation with the Of6 fice of Personnel Management, shall—

7 (1) continuously monitor all agencies and make

8 a determination on the first date of each quarter of

9 each applicable fiscal year of whether the require10 ments under subsection (b) are met, and

11 (2) notify the President and the Congress on

12 the first date of each quarter of each applicable fis13 cal year of any determination that any requirement

14 of subsection (b) is not met.

15 (d) COMPLIANCE.—If at any time during a fiscal

16 year, the Office of Management and Budget notifies the

17 President and the Congress that any requirement under

18 subsection (b) is not met, no agency may hire any em19 ployee for any position in such agency until the Office of

20 Management and Budget notifies the President and the

21 Congress that the total number of full-time equivalent po22 sitions for all agencies equals or is less than the applicable

23 number required under subsection (b).

24 (e) WAIVER.—Any provision of this section may be

25 waived upon—
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1 (1) a determination by the President of the ex2 istence of war or a national security requirement; or

3 (2) the enactment of a joint resolution upon an

4 affirmative vote of three-fifths of the Members of

5 each House of the Congress duly chosen and sworn.

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