II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1342 

To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 

provide incentives for States to implement policy changes to reduce 

prison populations, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 27, 2023 

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

to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets 

Act of 1968 to provide incentives for States to implement 

policy changes to reduce prison populations, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Smart Sentencing Ad5 justments Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title I of the Omnibus Crime 

3 Control and Safe Street Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10101 

4 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘PART PP—STATE PRISON POPULATION 

6 REDUCTION GRANT PROGRAM. 

7 ‘‘SECTION 3061. DEFINITIONS. 

8 ‘‘In this part: 

9 ‘‘(1) IMPLEMENTATION GRANT.—The term ‘im10 plementation grant’ means a grant awarded to a 

11 State for the purpose of reducing the prison popu12 lation of the State by not less than 20 percent, 

13 based on the average total prison population of the 

14 State for the 3-year period preceding the date on 

15 which the State applies for the implementation grant 

16 under section 3062(d). 

17 ‘‘(2) PLANNING GRANT.—The term ‘planning 

18 grant’ means a grant awarded to a State for the 

19 purpose of— 

20 ‘‘(A) analyzing criminal justice trends and 

21 factors to better understand excessive and un22 necessary prison incarceration; and 

23 ‘‘(B) exploring the feasibility of developing, 

24 adopting, and implementing policy changes to 

25 ameliorate criminal justice trends and factors 


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1 causing excessive and unnecessary prison incar2 ceration. 

3 ‘‘(3) PRISON.—The term ‘prison’ means a pub4 licly or privately operated institution of a State for 

5 the confinement of an individual convicted of a 

6 criminal offense with a sentence of not less than 1 

7 year. 

8 ‘‘(4) STATE.—The term ‘State’ has the mean9 ing given the term in section 901. 

10 ‘‘SEC. 3062. GRANT PROGRAM. 

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 

12 date of enactment of the Smart Sentencing Adjustments 

13 Act, the Attorney General shall award planning grants 

14 and implementation grants to States, on a competitive 

15 basis, in accordance with this section. 

16 ‘‘(b) PLANNING GRANTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) APPLICATIONS.—A State seeking a plan18 ning grant under this section shall submit to the At19 torney General an application at such time and in 

20 such manner as the Attorney General may require, 

21 which shall include— 

22 ‘‘(A) a description of the State’s need for 

23 a planning grant; and 

24 ‘‘(B) a description of the activities the 

25 State will carry out with the planning grant. 


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1 ‘‘(2) USE OF FUNDS.—A State that receives a 

2 planning grant under this section shall use the grant 

3 solely for the purpose of developing plans for the 

4 policy changes that would be required to carry out 

5 subsection (c)(3). 

6 ‘‘(3) PLANNING GRANT REPORT.—Not later 

7 than 60 days after the end of the period of the plan8 ning grant of a State, the State shall submit to the 

9 Attorney General a report that describes— 

10 ‘‘(A) the projects to be undertaken by the 

11 State using amounts made available under the 

12 planning grant; and 

13 ‘‘(B) any additional information deter14 mined appropriate by the Attorney General. 

15 ‘‘(c) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.— 

16 ‘‘(1) ELIGIBILITY.—In order to be eligible to 

17 apply for an implementation grant under paragraph 

18 (2), a State shall apply for, receive, and fully execute 

19 a planning grant under subsection (b). 

20 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS.—A State seeking an im21 plementation grant under this section shall submit 

22 to the Attorney General an application at such time 

23 and in such manner as the Attorney General may re24 quire, which shall include— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the total prison population of the 

2 State, including racial, ethnic, gender, and so3 cioeconomic information of the population and 

4 information relating to the income, education, 

5 and housing status of the population; 

6 ‘‘(B) the rate of prison population growth 

7 of the State in relative and absolute estimates 

8 during the 25 year-period preceding the date of 

9 the application; and 

10 ‘‘(C) a comprehensive and coherent plan 

11 detailing the proposals of the State to use 

12 amounts from the implementation grant that— 

13 ‘‘(i) is based upon the activities the 

14 State performed with a planning grant re15 ceived under this section; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) describes the policy changes 

17 planned to carry out paragraph (3) to 

18 achieve the purpose of the implementation 

19 grant. 

20 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—A State that receives an 

21 implementation grant under this section shall use 

22 amounts from the grant to— 

23 ‘‘(A) reduce the prison population of the 

24 State by— 


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1 ‘‘(i) establishing or supporting pro2 grams that divert individuals from incar3 ceration; 

4 ‘‘(ii) eliminating policies, with a retro5 active effect, that drive excessive and un6 necessarily lengthy terms of imprisonment, 

7 including by— 

8 ‘‘(I) repealing mandatory min9 imum penalties for certain offenses; 

10 ‘‘(II) repealing sentencing en11 hancements for certain offenses; and 

12 ‘‘(III) downgrading certain crimi13 nal offenses, such as reducing felony 

14 offenses to misdemeanor offenses; 

15 ‘‘(iii) implementing policies, with a 

16 retroactive effect, that help promote pro17 portionality and fairness in sentencing, in18 cluding by— 

19 ‘‘(I) capping sentences; and 

20 ‘‘(II) reviewing and modifying 

21 sentences automatically after 15 

22 years; 

23 ‘‘(iv) implementing policies, with a 

24 retroactive effect, that increase opportuni25 ties for early release, including by— 


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1 ‘‘(I) expanding opportunities and 

2 incentives for incarcerated individuals 

3 to earn time off of their custodial sen4 tence; 

5 ‘‘(II) repealing policies that re6 strict or reduce parole eligibility, such 

7 as truth in sentencing laws; and 

8 ‘‘(III) eliminating policies that 

9 delay initial parole eligibility beyond 

10 10 years; 

11 ‘‘(v) reducing or eliminating the use 

12 of incarceration as a sanction for non13 criminal rule violations of community su14 pervision, such as technical parole and pro15 bation violations, including missing drug 

16 treatment classes; 

17 ‘‘(vi) improving the executive func18 tions of the State that can promote early 

19 release by— 

20 ‘‘(I) establishing or expanding 

21 the use of mechanisms providing for 

22 the early release of incarcerated indi23 viduals based on specific criteria, such 

24 as advanced age and terminal illness, 

25 by— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) convening or staffing 

2 boards of experts to advise offi3 cials of the State with the au4 thority to promulgate sentencing 

5 policy on the exercise of the 

6 State’s compassionate, medical, 

7 and geriatric release power; 

8 ‘‘(bb) broadening eligibility 

9 criteria for release; 

10 ‘‘(cc) streamlining and clari11 fying application for release re12 view protocols; and 

13 ‘‘(dd) increasing the number 

14 of compassionate, medical, and 

15 geriatric releases; and 

16 ‘‘(II) improving clemency proc17 esses, including by— 

18 ‘‘(aa) convening or staffing 

19 boards of experts to advise offi20 cials of the State with the au21 thority to promulgate sentencing 

22 policy on the exercise of the 

23 State’s clemency power; 

24 ‘‘(bb) broadening eligibility 

25 for clemency; 


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1 ‘‘(cc) streamlining and clari2 fying clemency application review 

3 protocols; and 

4 ‘‘(dd) increasing the number 

5 of clemency grants; 

6 ‘‘(vii) improving prosecutorial func7 tions to correct extreme, disproportionate, 

8 unjust, or wrongful criminal convictions 

9 and custodial sentences by— 

10 ‘‘(I) establishing or expanding 

11 conviction integrity units or conviction 

12 review units within prosecutorial of13 fices that work to prevent, identify, 

14 and remedy false convictions; or 

15 ‘‘(II) establishing or expanding 

16 sentencing review units within pros17 ecutorial offices to address over18 crowding, racial inequities, and 

19 lengthy prison sentences that are con20 sidered extreme or disproportionate; 

21 and 

22 ‘‘(viii) improving the quality of indi23 gent defense; or 

24 ‘‘(B) reduce the recurrence of recidivism 

25 after a term of incarceration and reduce the 


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1 collateral consequences experienced by individ2 uals with criminal records by— 

3 ‘‘(i) expanding programming for in4 carcerated populations within prisons that 

5 enables those populations to successfully 

6 transition back into society; 

7 ‘‘(ii) improving access for 

8 expungement and record sealing processes; 

9 ‘‘(iii) adopting laws prohibiting em10 ployers from asking applicants about their 

11 criminal history on applications for em12 ployment or prior to tendering an employ13 ment offer; 

14 ‘‘(iv) eliminating fees imposed on a 

15 defendant by— 

16 ‘‘(I) discharging any fine or fee 

17 debt for individuals who are incarcer18 ated or exiting prison; or 

19 ‘‘(II) developing policies and pro20 grams to assess fines and fees based 

21 on an individual’s ability to pay; 

22 ‘‘(v) establishing or supporting wrap23 around or community-based services for in24 dividuals reentering their communities 

25 after incarceration, including services relatVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:12 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1342.IS S1342

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1 ing to housing, disability, employment, 

2 education, healthcare, behavior and mental 

3 health, substance abuse, and childcare; or 

4 ‘‘(vi) supporting community-based 

5 crime prevention programs that work di6 rectly with formerly incarcerated individ7 uals or in communities that have a higher 

8 prevalence of individuals with criminal 

9 records, such as— 

10 ‘‘(I) programs involving violence 

11 prevention; 

12 ‘‘(II) housing and supportive 

13 housing; 

14 ‘‘(III) jobs and job placement; 

15 ‘‘(IV) substance abuse or mental 

16 health treatment; and 

17 ‘‘(V) other wrap-around support 

18 services aiming to build pathways to 

19 life stabilizing opportunities. 

20 ‘‘(4) IMPLEMENTATION GRANT REPORT.—Not 

21 later than 1 year after the date on which a State re22 ceives an implementation grant under this section, 

23 and annually thereafter, the State shall submit to 

24 the Attorney General a report, at such time, in such 


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1 manner, and containing such information as the At2 torney General may require, that— 

3 ‘‘(A) identifies the programs and policies 

4 funded with the grant; 

5 ‘‘(B) assesses racial, ethnic, gender, age, 

6 and socioeconomic impacts of the programs and 

7 policies funded with the grant with independent 

8 researchers or a consortium of independent re9 searchers, such as research or academic institu10 tions; and 

11 ‘‘(C) includes an evaluation of increases or 

12 decreases in a State’s prison population by as13 sessing changes in— 

14 ‘‘(i) pretrial detention; 

15 ‘‘(ii) sentencing; 

16 ‘‘(iii) incarceration; 

17 ‘‘(iv) probation; 

18 ‘‘(v) parole; 

19 ‘‘(vi) clemency; and 

20 ‘‘(vii) compassionate, medical, or geri21 atric release. 

22 ‘‘(5) SUBGRANTS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State receiving an 

24 implementation grant under this section shall 

25 use not less than 20 percent of the amount of 


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1 the grant to award subgrants to nonprofit orga2 nizations that meet the criteria described in 

3 subparagraph (B), which shall assist in the im4 plementation of the policy changes described in 

5 subsection (c)(2). 

6 ‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—In selecting nonprofit or7 ganizations to receive subgrants under para8 graph (1), a State shall give priority to non9 profit organizations that— 

10 ‘‘(i) have a demonstrated track record 

11 of providing services to reintegrate individ12 uals released from prison into society with 

13 a goal of reducing the recurrence of recidi14 vism; 

15 ‘‘(ii) are based in geographic areas 

16 with a higher prevalence of individuals 

17 with criminal records; 

18 ‘‘(iii) are led by or employ individuals 

19 who have been incarcerated or have family 

20 members who are or have been incarcer21 ated; or 

22 ‘‘(iv) primarily serve individuals 

23 who— 

24 ‘‘(I) have been arrested or con25 victed of a criminal offense; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) have spent time in jail, 

2 prison, or on probation or parole. 

3 ‘‘(6) RENEWAL.—A State that receives an im4 plementation grant under this section may apply for 

5 an additional implementation grant at the end of the 

6 term of the implementation grant if the State has 

7 reduced the prison population of the State by not 

8 less than 20 percent, based on the average total 

9 prison population of the State during the 3-year pe10 riod preceding the date of the application for the im11 plementation grant under paragraph (2). 

12 ‘‘(d) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) DURATION.— 

14 ‘‘(A) PLANNING GRANT.—A planning 

15 grant under this section shall be awarded for a 

16 period of 2 fiscal years. 

17 ‘‘(B) IMPLEMENTATION GRANT.—An im18 plementation grant under this section shall be 

19 awarded for a period of 3 fiscal years. 

20 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT.— 

21 ‘‘(A) PLANNING GRANT.—The amount of 

22 each planning grant awarded under this section 

23 shall not exceed $700,000 for the duration of 

24 the grant. 


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1 ‘‘(B) IMPLEMENTATION GRANT.—The 

2 amount of each implementation grant awarded 

3 under this section shall not exceed $70,000,000 

4 for the duration of the grant. 

5 ‘‘(3) NUMBER OF GRANT AWARDS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) PLANNING GRANTS.—The Attorney 

7 General may award planning grants under this 

8 section to not more than 25 States during each 

9 fiscal year. 

10 ‘‘(B) IMPLEMENTATION GRANTS.—The At11 torney General may award implementation 

12 grants under this section to no more than 25 

13 States during each fiscal year. 

14 ‘‘(4) PROHIBITIONS.— 

15 ‘‘(A) INMATE TRANSFERS.—During any 

16 grant term under this Act, a State may not 

17 transfer an individual convicted of a criminal 

18 offense with a sentence of not less than 1 year 

19 from a prison of the State to any penitentiary, 

20 jail, or other institution or facility for the con21 finement of individuals convicted of criminal of22 fenses with sentences of less than 1 year for the 

23 purpose of carrying out subsection (c)(3). 

24 ‘‘(B) POLICIES.—During the term of any 

25 grant awarded under this section, a State that 


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1 receives the grant may not establish or amend 

2 any— 

3 ‘‘(i) sentence enhancement or law that 

4 would increase the punishment of an indi5 vidual previously convicted of a criminal 

6 offense; 

7 ‘‘(ii) habitual offender law or law that 

8 imposes longer sentences on individuals 

9 who have been convicted of a certain num10 ber of criminal offenses; 

11 ‘‘(iii) truth in sentencing law or law 

12 that aims to reduce the difference between 

13 sentences imposed and the actual time that 

14 individuals serve in prison; 

15 ‘‘(iv) mandatory minimum sentencing 

16 law or law that requires judges to sentence 

17 offenders to a specified minimum prison 

18 term for specific offenses to increase the 

19 minimum prison sentence; or 

20 ‘‘(v) policies that would result in in21 creased incarceration. 

22 ‘‘(C) PROHIBITIONS.—A State receiving 

23 any grant under this part may not use amounts 

24 from the grant to— 


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1 ‘‘(i) build or maintain any prison, jail, 

2 or other facility designed for the confine3 ment of individuals convicted of criminal 

4 offenses; 

5 ‘‘(ii) enter into a contract with a for6 profit company to build or manage prisons, 

7 jails, or other correctional facilities; 

8 ‘‘(iii) hire, train, or maintain sworn 

9 law enforcement officers; 

10 ‘‘(iv) purchase law enforcement equip11 ment; or 

12 ‘‘(v) create or fund programs that 

13 would increase incarceration. 

14 ‘‘(5) PENALTY.—If the Attorney General deter15 mines that a State receiving a grant under this sec16 tion violates a provision of this part, the Attorney 

17 General shall— 

18 ‘‘(A) require the State to repay 10 percent 

19 of the amount of the grant; and 

20 ‘‘(B) prohibit the State from receiving any 

21 other grant under this part for not less than 3 

22 years. 

23 ‘‘(6) MAXIMUMS.—The Attorney General may 

24 award a State under this section— 

25 ‘‘(A) not more than 1 planning grant; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) not more than 2 consecutive imple2 mentation grants. 

3 ‘‘(e) RESERVATION.—The Attorney General shall re4 serve not more than 5 percent of the amount appropriated 

5 to carry out this part for administration, oversight, and 

6 technical assistance activities through the Office of Justice 

7 Programs.’’. 

8 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Section 

9 1001(a) of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 

10 Streets Act of 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10261(a)) is amended by 

11 adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(29) There are authorized to be appropriated to 

13 carry out part PP $2,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

14 2024 through 2034.’’. 

Æ 


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