111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5143 

AN ACT 

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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Criminal Jus3 tice Commission Act of 2010’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds that— 

6 (1) it is in the interest of the Nation to estab7 lish a commission to undertake a comprehensive re8 view of the criminal justice system; 

9 (2) there has not been a comprehensive study 

10 since the President’s Commission on Law Enforce11 ment and Administration of Justice was established 

12 in 1965; 

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

14 produced a comprehensive report entitled ‘‘The 

15 Challenge of Crime in a Free Society,’’ which con16 tained 200 specific recommendations on all aspects 

17 of the criminal justice system involving Federal, 

18 State, tribal, and local governments, civic organiza19 tions, religious institutions, business groups, and in20 dividual citizens; and 

21 (4) developments over the intervening 45 years 

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

23 local governments, civic organizations, religious in24 stitutions, business groups, and individual citizens 

25 come together to review evidence and consider how 

26 to improve the criminal justice system. 
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1 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

2 There is established a commission to be known as the 

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

4 this Act as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

5 SEC. 4. PURPOSE OF THE COMMISSION. 

6 The Commission shall undertake a comprehensive re7 view of the criminal justice system, encompassing current 

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

9 and practices, and make reform recommendations for the 

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

11 SEC. 5. REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 

12 (a) GENERAL REVIEW.—The Commission shall un13 dertake a comprehensive review of all areas of the criminal 

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

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

16 (b) FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—After con17 ducting a review of the United States criminal justice sys18 tem as required by section 5(a), the Commission shall 

19 make findings regarding such review and recommenda20 tions for changes in oversight, policies, practices, and laws 

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

22 reduce recidivism, improve cost-effectiveness, and ensure 

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

24 system. 

25 (c) REPORT ADVISORY IN NATURE.—No finding or 

26 recommendation made by the Commission in its report 
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1 shall be binding on any Federal, State, Tribal, or local 

2 unit of government. The findings and recommendations of 

3 the Commission are advisory in nature. 

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

5 its recommendations, the Commission should consider the 

6 financial and human resources of State and local govern7 ments. Recommendations shall not infringe on the legiti8 mate rights of the States to determine their own criminal 

9 laws or the enforcement of such laws. 

10 (e) PUBLIC HEARINGS.—The Commission shall con11 duct public hearings in various locations around the 

12 United States. 

13 (f) CONSULTATION WITH GOVERNMENT AND NON14 GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES.— 

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

16 (A) closely consult with Federal, State, 

17 local, and tribal government and nongovern18 mental leaders, including State, local, and tribal 

19 law enforcement officials, legislators, public 

20 health officials, judges, court administrators, 

21 prosecutors, defense counsel, victims’ rights or22 ganizations, probation and parole officials, 

23 criminal justice planners, criminologists, civil 

24 rights and liberties organizations, formerly in-
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1 carcerated individuals, professional organiza2 tions, and corrections officials; and 

3 (B) include in the final report required by 

4 subsection (g) summaries of the input and rec5 ommendations of these leaders. 

6 (2) UNITED STATES SENTENCING COMMIS7 SION.—To the extent the review and recommenda8 tions required by this section relate to sentencing 

9 policies and practices for the Federal criminal jus10 tice system, the Commission shall conduct such re11 view and make such recommendations in consulta12 tion with the United States Sentencing Commission. 

13 (g) REPORT.— 

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

15 the first meeting of the Commission, the Commis16 sion shall prepare and submit a final report that 

17 contains a detailed statement of findings, conclu18 sions, and recommendations of the Commission to 

19 Congress, the President, State, local, and tribal gov20 ernments. 

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

22 the Congress that, given the national importance of 

23 the matters before the Commission, the Commission 

24 should work toward unanimously supported findings 

25 and recommendations. 
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1 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The report sub2 mitted under this subsection shall be made available 

3 to the public. 

4 (4) VOTES ON RECOMMENDATIONS IN RE5 PORT.—Consistent with paragraph (2), the Commis6 sion shall state the vote total for each recommenda7 tion contained in its report to Congress. 

8 SEC. 6. MEMBERSHIP. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be com10 posed of 14 members, as follows: 

11 (1) 1 member shall be appointed by the Presi12 dent, who shall serve as co-chairman of the Commis13 sion. 

14 (2) 1 member shall be appointed by the minor15 ity leader of the Senate, in consultation with the mi16 nority leader of the House of Representatives, who 

17 shall serve as co-chairman of the Commission. 

18 (3) 2 members appointed by the majority leader 

19 of the Senate, in consultation with the Chairman of 

20 the Committee on the Judiciary. 

21 (4) 2 members appointed by the minority leader 

22 of the Senate, in consultation with the ranking mem23 ber of the Committee on Judiciary. 
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1 (5) 2 members appointed by the Speaker of the 

2 House of Representatives, in consultation with the 

3 Chairman of the Committee on Judiciary. 

4 (6) 2 members appointed by the minority leader 

5 of the House of Representatives, in consultation with 

6 the ranking member of the Committee on Judiciary. 

7 (7) 2 members, who shall be State and local 

8 representatives, shall be appointed by the President 

9 in agreement with the minority leader of the Senate 

10 and the minority leader of the House of Representa11 tives. 

12 (8) 2 members, who shall be State and local 

13 representatives, shall be appointed by the President 

14 in agreement with the majority leader of the Senate 

15 and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

16 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

17 (1) QUALIFICATIONS.—The individuals ap18 pointed from private life as members of the Commis19 sion shall be individuals with distinguished reputa20 tions for integrity and nonpartisanship who are na21 tionally recognized for expertise, knowledge, or expe22 rience in such relevant areas as— 

23 (A) law enforcement; 

24 (B) criminal justice; 

25 (C) national security; 
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1 (D) prison and jail administration; 

2 (E) prisoner reentry; 

3 (F) public health, including physical and 

4 sexual victimization, drug addiction and mental 

5 health; 

6 (G) victims’ rights; 

7 (H) civil liberties; 

8 (I) court administration; 

9 (J) social services; and 

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

11 (2) DISQUALIFICATION.—An individual shall 

12 not be appointed as a member of the Commission if 

13 such individual possesses any personal financial in14 terest in the discharge of any of the duties of the 

15 Commission. 

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

17 the life of the Commission. 

18 (c) APPOINTMENT; FIRST MEETING.— 

19 (1) APPOINTMENT.—Members of the Commis20 sion shall be appointed not later than 45 days after 

21 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

22 (2) FIRST MEETING.—The Commission shall 

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

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

25 than 30 days after the date on which funds are 
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1 made available for the Commission, whichever is 

2 later. 

3 (3) ETHICS.—At the first meeting of the Com4 mission, the Commission shall draft appropriate eth5 ics guidelines for commissioners and staff, including 

6 guidelines relating to conflict of interest and finan7 cial disclosure. The Commission shall consult with 

8 the Senate and House Committees on the Judiciary 

9 as a part of drafting the guidelines and furnish the 

10 Committees with a copy of the completed guidelines. 

11 (d) MEETINGS; QUORUM; VACANCIES.— 

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

13 the call of the co-chairs or a majority of its mem14 bers. 

15 (2) QUORUM.—Seven members of the Commis16 sion, including at least 2 members chosen by either 

17 the Senate Majority Leader, Speaker of the House, 

18 or Senate Majority Leader and Speaker of the 

19 House in agreement with the President and 2 mem20 bers chosen by either the Senate Minority Leader, 

21 House Minority Leader, or Senate Minority Leader 

22 and House Minority Leader in agreement with the 

23 President, shall constitute a quorum for purposes of 

24 conducting business, except that 2 members of the 
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1 Commission shall constitute a quorum for purposes 

2 of receiving testimony. 

3 (3) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commis4 sion shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in 

5 the same manner in which the original appointment 

6 was made. If vacancies in the Commission occur on 

7 any day after 45 days after the date of the enact8 ment of this Act, a quorum shall consist of a major9 ity of the members of the Commission as of such 

10 day, so long as at least 1 Commission member cho11 sen by a member of each party, Republican and 

12 Democratic, is present. 

13 (e) ACTIONS OF COMMISSION.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission— 

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

16 majority of the members of the Commission 

17 voting and present; and 

18 (B) may establish panels composed of less 

19 than the full membership of the Commission for 

20 purposes of carrying out the duties of the Com21 mission under this title— 

22 (i) which shall be subject to the review 

23 and control of the Commission; and 

24 (ii) any findings and determinations 

25 made by such a panel shall not be consid-
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1 ered the findings and determinations of the 

2 Commission unless approved by the Com3 mission. 

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

5 of the Commission may, if authorized by the co6 chairs of the Commission, take any action which the 

7 Commission is authorized to take pursuant to this 

8 Act. 

9 SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION. 

10 (a) STAFF.— 

11 (1) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Commission 

12 shall have a staff headed by an Executive Director. 

13 The Executive Director shall be paid at a rate estab14 lished for the Certified Plan pay level for the Senior 

15 Executive Service under section 5382 of title 5, 

16 United States Code. 

17 (2) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION.—The 

18 co-chairs of the Commission shall designate and fix 

19 the compensation of the Executive Director and, in 

20 accordance with rules agreed upon by the Commis21 sion, may appoint and fix the compensation of such 

22 other personnel as may be necessary to enable the 

23 Commission to carry out its functions, without re24 gard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, 

25 governing appointments in the competitive service, 
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1 and without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 

2 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relat3 ing to classification and General Schedule pay rates, 

4 except that no rate of pay fixed under this sub5 section may exceed the equivalent of that payable for 

6 a position at level V of the Executive Schedule under 

7 section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. 

8 (3) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The executive director 

10 and any personnel of the Commission who are 

11 employees shall be employees under section 

12 2105 of title 5, United States Code, for pur13 poses of chapters 63, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87, 89, 

14 and 90 of that title. 

15 (B) MEMBERS OF COMMISSION.—Subpara16 graph (A) shall not be construed to apply to 

17 members of the Commission. 

18 (4) THE COMPENSATION OF COMMISSIONERS.— 

19 Each member of the Commission may be com20 pensated at not to exceed the daily equivalent of the 

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

22 level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 

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

24 which that member is engaged in the actual per25 formance of the duties of the Commission. All mem-
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1 bers of the Commission who are officers or employ2 ees of the United States , State, or local government 

3 shall serve without compensation in addition to that 

4 received for their services as officers or employees. 

5 (5) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—While away from 

6 their homes or regular places of business in the per7 formance of services for the Commission, members 

8 of the Commission shall be allowed travel expenses, 

9 including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the 

10 same manner as persons employed intermittently in 

11 the Government service are allowed expenses under 

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

13 (b) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—With the ap14 proval of the Commission, the Executive Director may 

15 procure temporary and intermittent services under section 

16 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code. 

17 (c) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Upon 

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

19 agency may detail, without reimbursement, any of the per20 sonnel of such agency to the Commission to assist in car21 rying out the duties of the Commission. Any such detail 

22 shall not interrupt or otherwise affect the civil service sta23 tus or privileges of the Federal employee. 

24 (d) OTHER RESOURCES.—The Commission shall 

25 have reasonable access to materials, resources, statistical 
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1 data, and other information such Commission determines 

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

3 of Congress, the Department of Justice, the Office of Na4 tional Drug Control Policy, the Department of State, and 

5 other agencies of the executive and legislative branches of 

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

7 shall make requests for such access in writing when nec8 essary. 

9 (e) VOLUNTEER SERVICES.—Notwithstanding the 

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

11 the Commission is authorized to accept and utilize the 

12 services of volunteers serving without compensation. The 

13 Commission may reimburse such volunteers for local travel 

14 and office supplies, and for other travel expenses, includ15 ing per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by sec16 tion 5703 of Title 5, United States Code. A person pro17 viding volunteer services to the Commission shall be con18 sidered an employee of the Federal Government in per19 formance of those services for the purposes of chapter 81 

20 of title 5 of the United States Code, relating to compensa21 tion for work-related injuries, chapter 171 of title 28 of 

22 the United States Code, relating to tort claims, and chap23 ter 11 of title 18 of the United States Code, relating to 

24 conflicts of interest. 
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1 (f) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commission 

2 may secure directly from any agency of the United States 

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

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

5 head of that department or agency shall furnish that infor6 mation to the Commission. The Commission shall not have 

7 access to sensitive information regarding ongoing inves8 tigations. 

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

10 States mails in the same manner and under the same con11 ditions as other departments and agencies of the United 

12 States. 

13 (h) ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTING.—The Commission 

14 shall issue bi-annual status reports to Congress regarding 

15 the use of resources, salaries, and all expenditures of ap16 propriated funds. 

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

18 enter into contracts with Federal and State agencies, pri19 vate firms, institutions, and individuals for the conduct of 

20 activities necessary to the discharge of its duties and re21 sponsibilities. A contract, lease or other legal agreement 

22 entered into by the Commission may not extend beyond 

23 the date of the termination of the Commission. 
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1 (j) GIFTS.—Subject to existing law, the Commission 

2 may accept, use, and dispose of gifts or donations of serv3 ices or property. 

4 (k) ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE.—The Adminis5 trator of General Services shall provide to the Commis6 sion, on a reimbursable basis, the administrative support 

7 services necessary for the Commission to carry out its re8 sponsibilities under this Act. These administrative services 

9 may include human resource management, budget, leas10 ing, accounting, and payroll services. 

11 (l) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FACA AND PUBLIC AC12 CESS TO MEETINGS AND MINUTES.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Advisory Com14 mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the 

15 Commission. 

16 (2) MEETINGS AND MINUTES.— 

17 (A) MEETINGS.— 

18 (i) ADMINISTRATION.—All meetings of 

19 the Commission shall be open to the pub20 lic, except that a meeting or any portion of 

21 it may be closed to the public if it concerns 

22 matters or information described in section 

23 552b(c) of title 5, United States Code. In24 terested persons shall be permitted to ap25 pear at open meetings and present oral or 
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1 written statements on the subject matter 

2 of the meeting. The Commission may ad3 minister oaths or affirmations to any per4 son appearing before it. 

5 (ii) NOTICE.—All open meetings of 

6 the Commission shall be preceded by time7 ly public notice in the Federal Register of 

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

9 (B) MINUTES AND PUBLIC AVAIL10 ABILITY.—Minutes of each open meeting shall 

11 be kept and shall contain a record of the people 

12 present, a description of the discussion that oc13 curred, and copies of all statements filed. The 

14 minutes and records of all open meetings and 

15 other documents that were made available to or 

16 prepared for the Commission shall be available 

17 for public inspection and copying at a single lo18 cation in the offices of the Commission. 

19 (m) ARCHIVING.—Not later than the date of termi20 nation of the Commission, all records and papers of the 

21 Commission shall be delivered to the Archivist of the 

22 United States for deposit in the National Archives. 

23 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro25 priated for fiscal years 2011 and 2012 such sums are as 
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1 necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act, not to 

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

3 more than $14,000,000 total. None of the funds appro4 priated under this Act may be utilized for international 

5 travel. 

6 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Any sums appropriated under 

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

8 year limitation, until expended. 

9 SEC. 9. SUNSET. 

10 The Commission shall terminate 60 days after it sub11 mits its report to Congress. 

12 SEC. 10. COMPLIANCE WITH PAYGO. 

13 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

14 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 

15 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 

16 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 

17 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 

18 by the Chairman of the Committee on the Budget of the 

19 House of Representatives, provided that such statement 

20 has been submitted prior to the vote on passage. 

Passed the House of Representatives July 27, 2010. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5143 

AN ACT 

To establish the National Criminal Justice 

Commission.