I 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 446 

To establish the National Criminal Justice Commission. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2013 

Mr. DEUTCH introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To establish the National Criminal Justice Commission. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Criminal Jus5 tice Commission Act of 2013’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

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

11 (2) there has not been a comprehensive study 

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1 ment and Administration of Justice was established 

2 in 1965; 

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

4 produced a comprehensive report entitled ‘‘The 

5 Challenge of Crime in a Free Society,’’ which con6 tained 200 specific recommendations on all aspects 

7 of the criminal justice system involving Federal, 

8 State, tribal, and local governments, civic organiza9 tions, religious institutions, business groups, and in10 dividual citizens; and 

11 (4) developments over the intervening 45 years 

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

13 local governments, civic organizations, religious in14 stitutions, business groups, and individual citizens 

15 come together to review evidence and consider how 

16 to improve the criminal justice system. 

17 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

18 There is established a commission to be known as the 

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

20 this Act as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

21 SEC. 4. PURPOSE OF THE COMMISSION. 

22 The Commission shall undertake a comprehensive re23 view of the criminal justice system, encompassing current 

24 Federal, State, local, and tribal criminal justice policies 


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1 and practices, and make reform recommendations for the 

2 President, Congress, State, local, and tribal governments. 

3 SEC. 5. REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 

4 (a) GENERAL REVIEW.—The Commission shall un5 dertake a comprehensive review of all areas of the criminal 

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

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

8 (b) FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—After con9 ducting a review of the United States criminal justice sys10 tem as required by section 5(a), the Commission shall 

11 make findings regarding such review and recommenda12 tions for changes in oversight, policies, practices, and laws 

13 designed to prevent, deter, and reduce crime and violence, 

14 reduce recidivism, improve cost-effectiveness, and ensure 

15 the interests of justice at every step of the criminal justice 

16 system. 

17 (c) PRIOR COMMISSIONS.—The Commission shall 

18 take into consideration the work of prior relevant commis19 sions in conducting its review. 

20 (d) STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—In making 

21 its recommendations, the Commission should consider the 

22 financial and human resources of State and local govern23 ments. Recommendations shall not infringe on the legiti24 mate rights of the States to determine their own criminal 

25 laws or the enforcement of such laws. 


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1 (e) PUBLIC HEARINGS.—The Commission shall con2 duct public hearings in various locations around the 

3 United States. 

4 (f) CONSULTATION WITH GOVERNMENT AND NON5 GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES.— 

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

7 (A) closely consult with Federal, State, 

8 local, and tribal government and nongovern9 mental leaders, including State, local, and tribal 

10 law enforcement officials, legislators, public 

11 health officials, judges, court administrators, 

12 prosecutors, defense counsel, victims’ rights or13 ganizations, probation and parole officials, 

14 criminal justice planners, criminologists, civil 

15 rights and liberties organizations, formerly in16 carcerated individuals, professional organiza17 tions, and corrections officials; and 

18 (B) include in the final report required by 

19 subsection (g) summaries of the input and rec20 ommendations of these leaders. 

21 (2) UNITED STATES SENTENCING COMMIS22 SION.—To the extent the review and recommenda23 tions required by this section relate to sentencing 

24 policies and practices for the Federal criminal jus25 tice system, the Commission shall conduct such reVerDate Mar 15 2010 21:11 Feb 11, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H446.IH H446

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1 view and make such recommendations in consulta2 tion with the United States Sentencing Commission. 

3 (g) REPORT.— 

4 (1) REPORT.—Not later than 18 months after 

5 the first meeting of the Commission, the Commis6 sion shall prepare and submit a final report that 

7 contains a detailed statement of findings, conclu8 sions, and recommendations of the Commission to 

9 Congress, the President, State, local, and tribal gov10 ernments. 

11 (2) GOAL OF UNANIMITY.—It is the sense of 

12 the Congress that, given the national importance of 

13 the matters before the Commission, the Commission 

14 should work toward unanimously supported findings 

15 and recommendations. 

16 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The report sub17 mitted under this subsection shall be made available 

18 to the public. 

19 (4) VOTES ON RECOMMENDATIONS IN RE20 PORT.—Consistent with paragraph (2), the Commis21 sion shall state the vote total for each recommenda22 tion contained in its report to Congress. 

23 SEC. 6. MEMBERSHIP. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be com25 posed of 14 members, as follows: 


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1 (1) One member shall be appointed by the 

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

3 Commission. 

4 (2) One member shall be appointed by the lead5 er of the Senate (majority or minority leader, as the 

6 case may be) of the Republican Party, in consulta7 tion with the leader of the House of Representatives 

8 (majority or minority leader, as the case may be) of 

9 the Republican Party, who shall serve as co-chair10 man of the Commission. 

11 (3) Two members shall be appointed by the sen12 ior member of the Senate leadership of the Demo13 cratic Party, in consultation with the Democratic 

14 leadership of the Committee on the Judiciary. 

15 (4) Two members shall be appointed by the sen16 ior member of the Senate leadership of the Repub17 lican Party, in consultation with the Republican 

18 leadership of the Committee on the Judiciary. 

19 (5) Two members shall be appointed by the sen20 ior member of the leadership of the House of Rep21 resentatives of the Republican Party, in consultation 

22 with the Republican leadership of the Committee on 

23 the Judiciary. 

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1 resentatives of the Democratic Party, in consultation 

2 with the Democratic leadership of the Committee on 

3 the Judiciary. 

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

5 representatives, shall be appointed by the President 

6 in agreement with leader of the Senate (majority or 

7 minority leader, as the case may be) of the Repub8 lican Party and the leader of the House of Rep9 resentatives (majority or minority leader, as the case 

10 may be) of the Republican Party. 

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

12 representatives, shall be appointed by the President 

13 in agreement with leader of the Senate (majority or 

14 minority leader, as the case may be) of the Demo15 cratic Party and the leader of the House of Rep16 resentatives (majority or minority leader, as the case 

17 may be) of the Democratic Party. 

18 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

19 (1) QUALIFICATIONS.—The individuals ap20 pointed from private life as members of the Commis21 sion shall be individuals with distinguished reputa22 tions for integrity and nonpartisanship who are na23 tionally recognized for expertise, knowledge, or expe24 rience in such relevant areas as— 

25 (A) law enforcement; 


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1 (B) criminal justice; 

2 (C) national security; 

3 (D) prison and jail administration; 

4 (E) prisoner reentry; 

5 (F) public health, including physical and 

6 sexual victimization, drug addiction and mental 

7 health; 

8 (G) victims’ rights; 

9 (H) civil liberties; 

10 (I) court administration; 

11 (J) social services; and 

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

13 (2) DISQUALIFICATION.—An individual shall 

14 not be appointed as a member of the Commission if 

15 such individual possesses any personal financial in16 terest in the discharge of any of the duties of the 

17 Commission. 

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

19 the life of the Commission. 

20 (c) APPOINTMENT; FIRST MEETING.— 

21 (1) APPOINTMENT.—Members of the Commis22 sion shall be appointed not later than 45 days after 

23 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

24 (2) FIRST MEETING.—The Commission shall 

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


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

2 than 30 days after the date on which funds are 

3 made available for the Commission, whichever is 

4 later. 

5 (3) ETHICS.—At the first meeting of the Com6 mission, the Commission shall draft appropriate eth7 ics guidelines for commissioners and staff, including 

8 guidelines relating to conflict of interest and finan9 cial disclosure. The Commission shall consult with 

10 the Senate and House Committees on the Judiciary 

11 as a part of drafting the guidelines and furnish the 

12 Committees with a copy of the completed guidelines. 

13 (d) MEETINGS; QUORUM; VACANCIES.— 

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

15 the call of the co-chairs or a majority of its mem16 bers. 

17 (2) QUORUM.—Eight members of the Commis18 sion shall constitute a quorum for purposes of con19 ducting business, except that 2 members of the 

20 Commission shall constitute a quorum for purposes 

21 of receiving testimony. 

22 (3) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commis23 sion shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in 

24 the same manner in which the original appointment 

25 was made. If vacancies in the Commission occur on 


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1 any day after 45 days after the date of the enact2 ment of this Act, a quorum shall consist of a major3 ity of the members of the Commission as of such 

4 day, so long as at least 1 Commission member cho5 sen by a member of each party, Republican and 

6 Democratic, is present. 

7 (e) ACTIONS OF COMMISSION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission— 

9 (A) shall act by resolution agreed to by a 

10 majority of the members of the Commission 

11 voting and present; and 

12 (B) may establish panels composed of less 

13 than the full membership of the Commission for 

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

16 (i) which shall be subject to the review 

17 and control of the Commission; and 

18 (ii) any findings and determinations 

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

21 Commission unless approved by the Com22 mission. 

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

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


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1 Commission is authorized to take pursuant to this 

2 Act. 

3 SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION. 

4 (a) STAFF.— 

5 (1) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Commission 

6 shall have a staff headed by an Executive Director. 

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

9 Executive Service under section 5382 of title 5, 

10 United States Code. 

11 (2) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION.—The 

12 co-chairs of the Commission shall designate and fix 

13 the compensation of the Executive Director and, in 

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

16 other personnel as may be necessary to enable the 

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

19 governing appointments in the competitive service, 

20 and without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 

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

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


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1 a position at level V of the Executive Schedule under 

2 section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. 

3 (3) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Executive Director 

5 and any personnel of the Commission who are 

6 employees shall be employees under section 

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

9 and 90 of that title. 

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

12 members of the Commission. 

13 (4) THE COMPENSATION OF COMMISSIONERS.— 

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

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

17 level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 

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

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

23 shall serve without compensation in addition to that 

24 received for their services as officers or employees. 


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1 (5) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—While away from 

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

4 of the Commission shall be allowed travel expenses, 

5 including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the 

6 same manner as persons employed intermittently in 

7 the Government service are allowed expenses under 

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

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

11 procure temporary and intermittent services under section 

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

13 (c) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Upon 

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

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

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

20 (d) OTHER RESOURCES.—The Commission shall 

21 have reasonable access to materials, resources, statistical 

22 data, and other information such Commission determines 

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

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


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1 other agencies of the executive and legislative branches of 

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

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

5 (e) VOLUNTEER SERVICES.—Notwithstanding the 

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

7 the Commission is authorized to accept and utilize the 

8 services of volunteers serving without compensation. The 

9 Commission may reimburse such volunteers for local travel 

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

16 of title 5 of the United States Code, relating to compensa17 tion for work-related injuries, chapter 171 of title 28 of 

18 the United States Code, relating to tort claims, and chap19 ter 11 of title 18 of the United States Code, relating to 

20 conflicts of interest. 

21 (f) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commission 

22 may secure directly from any agency of the United States 

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

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

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1 mation to the Commission. The Commission shall not have 

2 access to sensitive information regarding ongoing inves3 tigations. 

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

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

7 States. 

8 (h) ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTING.—The Commission 

9 shall issue biannual status reports to Congress regarding 

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

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

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

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

17 entered into by the Commission may not extend beyond 

18 the date of the termination of the Commission. 

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

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

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

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1 sponsibilities under this Act. These administrative services 

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

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

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

8 Commission. 

9 (2) MEETINGS AND MINUTES.— 

10 (A) MEETINGS.— 

11 (i) ADMINISTRATION.—All meetings of 

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

14 it may be closed to the public if it concerns 

15 matters or information described in section 

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

19 written statements on the subject matter 

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

23 (ii) NOTICE.—All open meetings of 

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1 ly public notice in the Federal Register of 

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

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

5 be kept and shall contain a record of the people 

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

8 minutes and records of all open meetings and 

9 other documents that were made available to or 

10 prepared for the Commission shall be available 

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

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

15 Commission shall be delivered to the Archivist of the 

16 United States for deposit in the National Archives. 

17 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro19 priated for fiscal years 2014 and 2015 such sums as are 

20 necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act, not to 

21 exceed $7,000,000 per year for each fiscal year, and not 

22 more than $14,000,000 total. None of the funds appro23 priated under this Act may be utilized for international 

24 travel. 


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1 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Any sums appropriated under 

2 the subsection (a) shall remain available, without fiscal 

3 year limitation, until expended. 

4 SEC. 9. SUNSET. 

5 The Commission shall terminate 60 days after it sub6 mits its report to Congress. 

Æ 


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