I 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5143 

To establish the National Criminal Justice Commission. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 27, 2010 

Mr. DELAHUNT (for himself, Mr. ISSA, Ms. FUDGE, Mr. ROONEY, Mr. SCOTT

of Virginia, and Ms. RICHARDSON) 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 2010’’. 

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; 


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1 (2) there has not been a comprehensive study 

2 since the President’s Commission on Law Enforce3 ment and Administration and Justice was estab4 lished in 1965; 

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

6 produced a comprehensive report entitled ‘‘The 

7 Challenge of Crime in a Free Society’’, which con8 tained 200 specific recommendations on all aspects 

9 of the criminal justice system involving Federal, 

10 State, tribal, and local governments, civic organiza11 tions, religious institutions, business groups, and in12 dividual citizens; and 

13 (4) developments over the intervening 45 years 

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

15 local governments, civic organizations, religious in16 stitutions, business groups, and individual citizens 

17 come together to review evidence and consider how 

18 to improve the criminal justice system. 

19 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMISSION. 

20 There is established a commission to be known as the 

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

22 this Act as the ‘‘Commission’’). 

23 SEC. 4. PURPOSE OF THE COMMISSION. 

24 The Commission shall undertake a comprehensive re25 view of the criminal justice system, encompassing current 


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

2 and practices, and make reform recommendations for the 

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

4 SEC. 5. REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS. 

5 (a) GENERAL REVIEW.—The Commission shall un6 dertake a comprehensive review of all areas of the criminal 

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

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

9 (b) FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.—After con10 ducting a review of the United States criminal justice sys11 tem as required by section 5(a), the Commission shall 

12 make findings regarding such review and recommenda13 tions for changes in oversight, policies, practices, and laws 

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

15 reduce recidivism, improve cost-effectiveness, and ensure 

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

17 system. 

18 (c) PRIOR COMMISSIONS.—The Commission shall 

19 take into consideration the work of prior relevant commis20 sions in conducting its review. 

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

22 its recommendations, the Commission should consider the 

23 financial and human resources of State and local govern24 ments. Recommendations shall not infringe on the legitiVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:10 Apr 28, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5143.IH H5143

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1 mate rights of the States to determine their own criminal 

2 laws or the enforcement of such laws. 

3 (e) PUBLIC HEARINGS.—The Commission shall con4 duct public hearings in various locations around the 

5 United States. 

6 (f) CONSULTATION WITH GOVERNMENT AND NON7 GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES.— 

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

9 (A) closely consult with Federal, State, 

10 local, and tribal government and nongovern11 mental leaders, including State, local, and tribal 

12 law enforcement officials, legislators, public 

13 health officials, judges, court administrators, 

14 prosecutors, defense counsel, victims’ rights or15 ganizations, probation and parole officials, 

16 criminal justice planners, criminologists, civil 

17 rights and liberties organizations, formerly in18 carcerated individuals, professional organiza19 tions, and corrections officials; and 

20 (B) include in the final report required by 

21 subsection (g) summaries of the input and rec22 ommendations of these leaders. 

23 (2) UNITED STATES SENTENCING COMMIS24 SION.—To the extent the review and recommenda25 tions required by this section relate to sentencing 


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1 policies and practices for the Federal criminal jus2 tice system, the Commission shall conduct such re3 view and make such recommendations in consulta4 tion with the United States Sentencing Commission. 

5 (g) REPORT.— 

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

7 the formation of the Commission, the Commission 

8 shall prepare and submit a final report that contains 

9 a detailed statement of findings, conclusions, and 

10 recommendations of the Commission to Congress, 

11 the President, State, local, and tribal governments. 

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

13 the Congress that, given the national importance of 

14 the matters before the Commission, the Commission 

15 should work toward unanimously supported findings 

16 and recommendations. 

17 (3) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The report sub18 mitted under this subsection shall be made available 

19 to the public. 

20 (4) VOTES ON RECOMMENDATIONS IN RE21 PORT.—Consistent with paragraph (2), the Commis22 sion shall state the vote total for each recommenda23 tion contained in its report to Congress. 


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1 SEC. 6. MEMBERSHIP. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Commission shall be com3 posed of 14 members, as follows: 

4 (1) One member shall be appointed by the 

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

6 Commission. 

7 (2) One member shall be appointed by the mi8 nority leader of the Senate, in consultation with the 

9 minority leader of the House of Representatives, 

10 who shall serve as co-chairman of the Commission. 

11 (3) Two members appointed by the majority 

12 leader of the Senate, in consultation with the Chair13 man of the Committee on the Judiciary. 

14 (4) Two members appointed by the minority 

15 leader of the Senate, in consultation with the rank16 ing member of the Committee on Judiciary. 

17 (5) Two members appointed by the Speaker of 

18 the House of Representatives, in consultation with 

19 the Chairman of the Committee on Judiciary. 

20 (6) Two members appointed by the minority 

21 leader of the House of Representatives, in consulta22 tion with the ranking member of the Committee on 

23 Judiciary. 

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

25 representatives, shall be appointed by the President 

26 in agreement with the minority leader of the Senate 


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1 and the minority leader of the House of Representa2 tives. 

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

4 representatives, shall be appointed by the President 

5 in agreement with the majority leader of the Senate 

6 and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 

7 (b) MEMBERSHIP.— 

8 (1) QUALIFICATIONS.—The individuals ap9 pointed from private life as members of the Commis10 sion shall be individuals with distinguished reputa11 tions for integrity and nonpartisanship who are na12 tionally recognized for expertise, knowledge, or expe13 rience in such relevant areas as— 

14 (A) law enforcement; 

15 (B) criminal justice; 

16 (C) national security; 

17 (D) prison and jail administration; 

18 (E) prisoner reentry; 

19 (F) public health, including physical and 

20 sexual victimization, drug addiction and mental 

21 health; 

22 (G) victims’ rights; 

23 (H) civil liberties; 

24 (I) court administration; 

25 (J) social services; and 


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

2 (2) DISQUALIFICATION.—An individual shall 

3 not be appointed as a member of the Commission if 

4 such individual possesses any personal financial in5 terest in the discharge of any of the duties of the 

6 Commission. 

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

8 the life of the Commission. 

9 (c) APPOINTMENT; INITIAL MEETING.— 

10 (1) APPOINTMENT.—Members of the Commis11 sion shall be appointed not later than 45 days after 

12 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

13 (2) INITIAL MEETING.—The Commission shall 

14 hold its initial meeting on the date that is 60 days 

15 after the date of the enactment of this Act. If not 

16 all Commission members are selected by that date, 

17 the Commission shall hold its initial meeting within 

18 15 days of the appointment of all Commission mem19 bers. 

20 (3) ETHICS.—At the initial meeting of the 

21 Commission, the Commission shall draft appropriate 

22 ethics guidelines for commissioners and staff, includ23 ing guidelines relating to conflict of interest and fi24 nancial disclosure. The Commission shall consult 

25 with the Senate and House Committees on the JudiVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:10 Apr 28, 2010 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5143.IH H5143

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1 ciary while drafting the guidelines and furnish the 

2 Committees with a copy of the completed guidelines. 

3 (d) MEETINGS; QUORUM; VACANCIES.— 

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

5 the call of the co-chairs or a majority of its mem6 bers. 

7 (2) QUORUM.—Seven members of the Commis8 sion, including at least 2 members chosen by either 

9 the Senate majority leader, Speaker of the House, or 

10 Senate majority leader and Speaker of the House in 

11 agreement with the President and 2 members chosen 

12 by either the Senate minority leader, House minority 

13 leader, or Senate minority leader and House minor14 ity leader in agreement with the President, shall 

15 constitute a quorum for purposes of conducting busi16 ness, except that 2 members of the Commission shall 

17 constitute a quorum for purposes of receiving testi18 mony. 

19 (3) VACANCIES.—Any vacancy in the Commis20 sion shall not affect its powers, but shall be filled in 

21 the same manner in which the original appointment 

22 was made. If vacancies in the Commission occur on 

23 any day after 45 days after the date of the enact24 ment of this Act, a quorum shall consist of a major25 ity of the members of the Commission as of such 


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1 day, so long as at least 1 Commission member cho2 sen by a member of each party, Republican and 

3 Democratic, is present. 

4 (e) ACTIONS OF COMMISSION.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Commission— 

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

7 majority of the members of the Commission 

8 voting and present; and 

9 (B) may establish panels composed of less 

10 than the full membership of the Commission for 

11 purposes of carrying out the duties of the Com12 mission under this title— 

13 (i) which shall be subject to the review 

14 and control of the Commission; and 

15 (ii) any findings and determinations 

16 made by such a panel shall not be consid17 ered the findings and determinations of the 

18 Commission unless approved by the Com19 mission. 

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

21 of the Commission may, if authorized by the co22 chairs of the Commission, take any action which the 

23 Commission is authorized to take pursuant to this 

24 Act. 


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1 SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION. 

2 (a) STAFF.— 

3 (1) EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR.—The Commission 

4 shall have a staff headed by an Executive Director. 

5 The Executive Director shall be paid at a rate estab6 lished for the Certified Plan pay level for the Senior 

7 Executive Service under section 5382 of title 5, 

8 United States Code. 

9 (2) APPOINTMENT AND COMPENSATION.—The 

10 co-chairs of the Commission shall designate and fix 

11 the compensation of the Executive Director and, in 

12 accordance with rules agreed upon by the Commis13 sion, may appoint and fix the compensation of such 

14 other personnel as may be necessary to enable the 

15 Commission to carry out its functions, without re16 gard to the provisions of title 5, United States Code, 

17 governing appointments in the competitive service, 

18 and without regard to the provisions of chapter 51 

19 and subchapter III of chapter 53 of such title relat20 ing to classification and General Schedule pay rates, 

21 except that no rate of pay fixed under this sub22 section may exceed the equivalent of that payable for 

23 a position at level V of the Executive Schedule under 

24 section 5316 of title 5, United States Code. 

25 (3) PERSONNEL AS FEDERAL EMPLOYEES.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The executive director 

2 and any personnel of the Commission who are 

3 employees shall be employees under section 

4 2105 of title 5, United States Code, for pur5 poses of chapters 63, 81, 83, 84, 85, 87, 89, 

6 and 90 of that title. 

7 (B) MEMBERS OF COMMISSION.—Subpara8 graph (A) shall not be construed to apply to 

9 members of the Commission. 

10 (4) THE COMPENSATION OF COMMISSIONERS.— 

11 Each member of the Commission may be com12 pensated at not to exceed the daily equivalent of the 

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

14 level V of the Executive Schedule under section 5315 

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

16 which that member is engaged in the actual per17 formance of the duties of the Commission. All mem18 bers of the Commission who are officers or employ19 ees of the United States, State, or local government 

20 shall serve without compensation in addition to that 

21 received for their services as officers or employees. 

22 (5) TRAVEL EXPENSES.—While away from 

23 their homes or regular places of business in the per24 formance of services for the Commission, members 

25 of the Commission shall be allowed travel expenses, 


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1 including per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the 

2 same manner as persons employed intermittently in 

3 the Government service are allowed expenses under 

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

5 (b) EXPERTS AND CONSULTANTS.—With the ap6 proval of the Commission, the Executive Director may 

7 procure temporary and intermittent services under section 

8 3109(b) of title 5, United States Code. 

9 (c) DETAIL OF GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES.—Upon 

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

11 agency may detail, without reimbursement, any of the per12 sonnel of such agency to the Commission to assist in car13 rying out the duties of the Commission. Any such detail 

14 shall not interrupt or otherwise affect the civil service sta15 tus or privileges of the Federal employee. 

16 (d) OTHER RESOURCES.—The Commission shall 

17 have reasonable access to materials, resources, statistical 

18 data, and other information such Commission determines 

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

20 of Congress, the Department of Justice, the Office of Na21 tional Drug Control Policy, the Department of State, and 

22 other agencies of the executive and legislative branches of 

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

24 shall make requests for such access in writing when nec25 essary. 


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1 (e) VOLUNTEER SERVICES.—Notwithstanding the 

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

3 the Commission is authorized to accept and utilize the 

4 services of volunteers serving without compensation. The 

5 Commission may reimburse such volunteers for local travel 

6 and office supplies, and for other travel expenses, includ7 ing per diem in lieu of subsistence, as authorized by sec8 tion 5703 of title 5, United States Code. A person pro9 viding volunteer services to the Commission shall be con10 sidered an employee of the Federal Government in per11 formance of those services for the purposes of chapter 81 

12 of title 5 of the United States Code, relating to compensa13 tion for work-related injuries, chapter 171 of title 28 of 

14 the United States Code, relating to tort claims, and chap15 ter 11 of title 18 of the United States Code, relating to 

16 conflicts of interest. 

17 (f) OBTAINING OFFICIAL DATA.—The Commission 

18 may secure directly from any agency of the United States 

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

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

21 head of that department or agency shall furnish that infor22 mation to the Commission. The Commission shall not have 

23 access to sensitive information regarding ongoing inves24 tigations. 


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

2 States mails in the same manner and under the same con3 ditions as other departments and agencies of the United 

4 States. 

5 (h) ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTING.—The Commission 

6 shall issue bi-annual status reports to Congress regarding 

7 the use of resources, salaries, and all expenditures of ap8 propriated funds. 

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

10 enter into contracts with Federal and State agencies, pri11 vate firms, institutions, and individuals for the conduct of 

12 activities necessary to the discharge of its duties and re13 sponsibilities. A contract, lease or other legal agreement 

14 entered into by the Commission may not extend beyond 

15 the date of the termination of the Commission. 

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

17 may accept, use, and dispose of gifts or donations of serv18 ices or property. 

19 (k) ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE.—The Adminis20 trator of General Services shall provide to the Commis21 sion, on a reimbursable basis, the administrative support 

22 services necessary for the Commission to carry out its re23 sponsibilities under this Act. These administrative services 

24 may include human resource management, budget, leas25 ing, accounting, and payroll services. 


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1 (l) NONAPPLICABILITY OF FACA AND PUBLIC AC2 CESS TO MEETINGS AND MINUTES.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal Advisory Com4 mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to the 

5 Commission. 

6 (2) MEETINGS AND MINUTES.— 

7 (A) MEETINGS.— 

8 (i) ADMINISTRATION.—All meetings of 

9 the Commission shall be open to the pub10 lic, except that a meeting or any portion of 

11 it may be closed to the public if it concerns 

12 matters or information described in section 

13 552b(c) of title 5, United States Code. In14 terested persons shall be permitted to ap15 pear at open meetings and present oral or 

16 written statements on the subject matter 

17 of the meeting. The Commission may ad18 minister oaths or affirmations to any per19 son appearing before it. 

20 (ii) NOTICE.—All open meetings of 

21 the Commission shall be preceded by time22 ly public notice in the Federal Register of 

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

24 (B) MINUTES AND PUBLIC AVAIL25 ABILITY.—Minutes of each open meeting shall 


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1 be kept and shall contain a record of the people 

2 present, a description of the discussion that oc3 curred, and copies of all statements filed. The 

4 minutes and records of all open meetings and 

5 other documents that were made available to or 

6 prepared for the Commission shall be available 

7 for public inspection and copying at a single lo8 cation in the offices of the Commission. 

9 (m) ARCHIVING.—Not later than the date of termi10 nation of the Commission, all records and papers of the 

11 Commission shall be delivered to the Archivist of the 

12 United States for deposit in the National Archives. 

13 SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be appro15 priated for fiscal years 2011 and 2012 such sums are as 

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

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

18 more than $14,000,000 total. None of the funds appro19 priated under this Act may be utilized for international 

20 travel. 

21 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Any sums appropriated under 

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

23 year limitation, until expended. 


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1 SEC. 9. SUNSET. 

2 The Commission shall terminate 60 days after it sub3 mits its report to Congress. 

Æ 


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