II

Calendar No. 859

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1898

To provide protection against the risks to the public that are inherent in

the interstate transportation of violent prisoners.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 9, 1999

Mr. DORGAN (for himself, Mr. ASHCROFT, Mr. LEAHY, Mr. DODD, Mr.

GRAMS, Mr. KERRY, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. JEFFORDS, Mr. FEINGOLD, and

Mr. DASCHLE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and

referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

SEPTEMBER 28 (legislative day SEPTEMBER 22), 2000

Reported by Mr. HATCH with an amendment

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To provide protection against the risks to the public that

are inherent in the interstate transportation of violent

prisoners.

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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S 1898 RS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Interstate Transpor3 tation of Dangerous Criminals Act of 1999’’ or ‘‘Jeanna’s

4 Act’’.

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

6 Congress finds that—

7 (1) increasingly, States are turning to private

8 prisoner transport companies as an alternative to

9 their own personnel or the United States Marshals

10 Service when transporting violent prisoners;

11 (2) often times, these trips can last for days if

12 not weeks, as violent prisoners are dropped off and

13 picked up at a network of hubs across the country;

14 (3) escapes by violent prisoners during trans15 port by private prisoner transport companies have

16 not been uncommon; and

17 (4) oversight by the Attorney General is re18 quired to address these problems.

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

20 In this Act:

21 (1) CRIME OF VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘crime of

22 violence’’ has the same meaning as provided in sec23 tion 924(c)(3) of title 18, United States Code.

24 (2) DRUG TRAFFICKING CRIME.—The term

25 ‘‘drug trafficking crime’’ has the same meaning as
3

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1 provided in section 924(c)(2) of title 18, United

2 States Code.

3 (3) PRIVATE PRISONER TRANSPORT COM4 PANY.—The term ‘‘private prisoner transport com5 pany’’ means any entity other than the United

6 States, a State or the inferior political subdivisions

7 of a State which engages in the business of the

8 transporting for compensation, individuals com9 mitted to the custody of any State or of the inferior

10 political subdivisions of a State, or any attempt

11 thereof.

12 (4) VIOLENT PRISONER.—The term ‘‘violent

13 prisoner’’ means any individual in the custody of a

14 State or the inferior political subdivisions of a State

15 who has previously been convicted of or is currently

16 charged with a crime of violence, a drug trafficking

17 crime, or a violation of the Gun Control Act of 1968,

18 or any similar statute of a State or the inferior polit19 ical subdivisions of a State, or any attempt thereof.

20 SEC. 4. FEDERAL REGULATION OF PRISONER TRANSPORT

21 COMPANIES.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the

23 date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall

24 promulgate regulations relating to the transportation of

25 violent prisoners in or affecting interstate commerce.
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1 (b) STANDARDS AND REQUIREMENTS.—The regula2 tions shall include, at a minimum—

3 (1) minimum standards for background checks

4 and preemployment drug testing for potential em5 ployees;

6 (2) minimum standards for factors that dis7 qualify employees or potential employees similar to

8 standards required of Federal correction officers;

9 (3) minimum standards for the length and type

10 of training that employees must undergo before they

11 can perform this service;

12 (4) restrictions on the number of hours that

13 employees can be on duty during a given time pe14 riod;

15 (5) minimum standards for the number of per16 sonnel that must supervise violent prisoners;

17 (6) minimum standards for employee uniforms

18 and identification, when appropriate;

19 (7) standards requiring that violent prisoners

20 wear brightly colored clothing clearly identifying

21 them as prisoners, when appropriate;

22 (8) minimum requirements for the restraints

23 that must be used when transporting violent pris24 oners, to include leg shackles and double-locked

25 handcuffs, when appropriate;
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1 (9) a requirement that when transporting vio2 lent prisoners, private prisoner transport companies

3 notify local law enforcement officials 24 hours in ad4 vance of any scheduled stops in their jurisdiction

5 and that if unscheduled stops are made, local law

6 enforcement should be notified in a timely manner,

7 when appropriate;

8 (10) minimum standards for the markings on

9 conveyance vehicles, when appropriate;

10 (11) a requirement that in the event of an es11 cape by a violent prisoner, private prisoner transport

12 company officials shall immediately notify appro13 priate law enforcement officials in the jurisdiction

14 where the escape occurs, and the governmental enti15 ty that contracted with the private prisoner trans16 port company for the transport of the escaped vio17 lent prisoner;

18 (12) minimum standards for the safety of vio19 lent prisoners; and

20 (13) any other requirement the Attorney Gen21 eral deems to be necessary to prevent escape of vio22 lent prisoners and ensure public safety.

23 (c) FEDERAL STANDARDS.—Except for the require24 ments of subsection (b)(7), the regulations promulgated

25 under this Act shall not provide stricter standards with
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1 respect to private prisoner transport companies than are

2 applicable to Federal prisoner transport entities.

3 SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT.

4 Any person who is found in violation of the regula5 tions established by this Act shall be liable to the United

6 States for a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed

7 $10,000 for each violation and, in addition, to the United

8 States for the costs of prosecution. In addition, such per9 son shall make restitution to any entity of the United

10 States, of a State, or of an inferior political subdivision

11 of a State, which expends funds for the purpose of appre12 hending any violent prisoner who escapes from a prisoner

13 transport company as the result, in whole or in part, of

14 a violation of regulations promulgated pursuant to section

15 4(a).

16 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

17 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Interstate Transpor18 tation of Dangerous Criminals Act of 2000’’ or ‘‘Jeanna’s

19 Act’’.

20 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

21 Congress finds the following:

22 (1) Increasingly, States are turning to private

23 prisoner transport companies as an alternative to

24 their own personnel or the United States Marshals

25 Service when transporting violent prisoners.
7

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1 (2) The transport process can last for days if not

2 weeks, as violent prisoners are dropped off and picked

3 up at a network of hubs across the country.

4 (3) Escapes by violent prisoners during trans5 port by private prisoner transport companies have oc6 curred.

7 (4) Oversight by the Attorney General is required

8 to address these problems.

9 (5) While most governmental entities may prefer

10 to use, and will continue to use, fully trained and

11 sworn law enforcement officers when transporting vio12 lent prisoners, fiscal or logistical concerns may make

13 the use of highly specialized private prisoner trans14 port companies an option. Nothing in this Act should

15 be construed to mean that governmental entities

16 should contract with private prisoner transport com17 panies to move violent prisoners; however when a gov18 ernment entity opts to use a private prisoner trans19 port company to move violent prisoners, then the

20 company should be subject to regulation in order to

21 enhance public safety.

22 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

23 In this Act:
8

S 1898 RS

1 (1) CRIME OF VIOLENCE.—The term ‘‘crime of

2 violence’’ has the same meaning as in section

3 924(c)(3) of title 18, United States Code.

4 (2) PRIVATE PRISONER TRANSPORT COMPANY.—

5 The term ‘‘private prisoner transport company’’

6 means any entity, other than the United States, a

7 State, or an inferior political subdivision of a State,

8 which engages in the business of the transporting for

9 compensation, individuals committed to the custody

10 of any State or of an inferior political subdivision of

11 a State, or any attempt thereof.

12 (3) VIOLENT PRISONER.—The term ‘‘violent pris13 oner’’ means any individual in the custody of a State

14 or an inferior political subdivision of a State who has

15 previously been convicted of or is currently charged

16 with a crime of violence or any similar statute of a

17 State or the inferior political subdivisions of a State,

18 or any attempt thereof.

19 SEC. 4. FEDERAL REGULATION OF PRISONER TRANSPORT

20 COMPANIES.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General, in con23 sultation with the American Correctional Association and

24 the private prisoner transport industry, shall promulgate
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1 regulations relating to the transportation of violent pris2 oners in or affecting interstate commerce.

3 (b) STANDARDS AND REQUIREMENTS.—The regula4 tions shall include the following:

5 (1) Minimum standards for background checks

6 and preemployment drug testing for potential em7 ployees, including requiring criminal background

8 checks, to disqualify persons with a felony conviction

9 or domestic violence conviction as defined by section

10 921 of title 18, United States Code, for eligibility for

11 employment. Preemployment drug testing will be in

12 accordance with applicable State laws.

13 (2) Minimum standards for the length and type

14 of training that employees must undergo before they

15 can transport prisoners not to exceed 100 hours of

16 preservice training focusing on the transportation of

17 prisoners. Training shall be in the areas of use of re18 straints, searches, use of force, including use of appro19 priate weapons and firearms, CPR, map reading,

20 and defensive driving.

21 (3) Restrictions on the number of hours that em22 ployees can be on duty during a given time period.

23 Such restriction shall not be more stringent than cur24 rent applicable rules and regulations concerning
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1 hours of service promulgated under the Federal Motor

2 Vehicle Safety Act.

3 (4) Minimum standards for the number of per4 sonnel that must supervise violent prisoners. Such

5 standards shall provide the transport entity with ap6 propriate discretion, and, absent more restrictive re7 quirements contracted for by the procuring govern8 ment entity, shall not exceed a requirement of 1 agent

9 for every 6 violent prisoners.

10 (5) Minimum standards for employee uniforms

11 and identification that require wearing of a uniform

12 with a badge or insignia identifying the employee as

13 a transportation officer.

14 (6) Standards establishing categories of violent

15 prisoners required to wear brightly colored clothing

16 clearly identifying them as prisoners, when appro17 priate.

18 (7) Minimum requirements for the restraints

19 that must be used when transporting violent pris20 oners, to include leg shackles and double-locked hand21 cuffs, when appropriate.

22 (8) A requirement that when transporting vio23 lent prisoners, private prisoner transport companies

24 notify local law enforcement officials 24 hours in ad25 vance of any scheduled stops in their jurisdiction.
11

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1 (9) A requirement that in the event of an escape

2 by a violent prisoner, private prisoner transport com3 pany officials shall immediately notify appropriate

4 law enforcement officials in the jurisdiction where the

5 escape occurs, and the governmental entity that con6 tracted with the private prisoner transport company

7 for the transport of the escaped violent prisoner.

8 (10) Minimum standards for the safety of violent

9 prisoners in accordance with applicable Federal and

10 State law.

11 (c) FEDERAL STANDARDS.—Except for the require12 ments of subsection (b)(6), the regulations promulgated

13 under this Act shall not provide stricter standards with re14 spect to private prisoner transport companies than are ap15 plicable, without exception, to the United States Marshals

16 Service, Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the Immigration

17 and Naturalization Service when transporting violent pris18 oners under comparable circumstances.

19 SEC. 5. ENFORCEMENT.

20 (a) PENALTY.—Any person who is found in violation

21 of the regulations established by this Act shall—

22 (1) be liable to the United States for a civil pen23 alty in an amount not to exceed $10,000 for each vio24 lation and, in addition, to the United States for the

25 costs of prosecution; and
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1 (2) make restitution to any entity of the United

2 States, of a State, or of an inferior political subdivi3 sion of a State, which expends funds for the purpose

4 of apprehending any violent prisoner who escapes

5 from a prisoner transport company as the result, in

6 whole or in part, of a violation of regulations promul7 gated pursuant to section 4(a).

Calendar No. 859

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1898

A BILL

To provide protection against the risks to the public

that are inherent in the interstate transportationof violent prisoners.

SEPTEMBER 28 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2000

Reported with an amendment