I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 667

To control crime by incarcerating violent criminals.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 25, 1995

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

Committee on the Judiciary

A BILL

To control crime by incarcerating violent criminals.

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 ‘‘Violent Criminal Incar5 ceration Act of 1995’’.

6 TITLE I—TRUTH IN SENTENCING

7 SEC. 101. TRUTH IN SENTENCING GRANT PROGRAM.

8 Title V of the Violent Crime Control and Law En9 forcement Act of 1994 is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘TITLE V—TRUTH IN

2 SENTENCING GRANTS

3 ‘‘SEC. 501. AUTHORIZATION OF GRANTS.

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General is author5 ized to provide grants to eligible States and to eligible

6 States organized as a regional compact to build, expand,

7 and operate space in correctional facilities in order to in8 crease the prison bed capacity in such facilities for the

9 confinement of persons convicted of a serious violent fel10 ony and to build, expand, and operate temporary or per11 manent correctional facilities, including facilities on mili12 tary bases, for the confinement of convicted nonviolent of13 fenders and criminal aliens for the purpose of freeing suit14 able existing prison space for the confinement of persons

15 convicted of a serious violent felony.

16 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—An eligible State or eligible

17 States organized as a regional compact may receive either

18 a general grant under section 502 or a truth-in-sentencing

19 incentive grant under section 503.

20 ‘‘SEC. 502. GENERAL GRANTS.

21 ‘‘(a) DISTRIBUTION OF GENERAL GRANTS.—50 per22 cent of the total amount of funds made available under

23 this title for each of the fiscal years 1995 through 2000

24 shall be made available for general eligibility grants for
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1 each State or States organized as a regional compact that

2 meets the requirements of subsection (b).

3 ‘‘(b) GENERAL GRANTS.—In order to be eligible to

4 receive funds under subsection (a), a State or States orga5 nized as a regional compact shall submit an application

6 to the Attorney General that provides assurances that

7 such State since 1993 has—

8 ‘‘(1) increased the percentage of convicted vio9 lent offenders sentenced to prison;

10 ‘‘(2) increased the average prison time actually

11 to be served in prison by convicted violent offenders

12 sentenced to prison; and

13 ‘‘(3) increased the percentage of sentence to be

14 actually served in prison by violent offenders sen15 tenced to prison.

16 ‘‘SEC. 503. TRUTH-IN-SENTENCING GRANTS.

17 ‘‘(a) TRUTH-IN-SENTENCING INCENTIVE GRANTS.—

18 50 percent of the total amount of funds made available

19 under this title for each of the fiscal years 1995 through

20 2000 shall be made available for truth-in-sentencing incen21 tive grants to each State or States organized as a regional

22 compact that meet the requirements of subsection (c).

23 ‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY FOR TRUTH-IN-SENTENCING IN24 CENTIVE GRANTS.—In order to be eligible to receive funds

25 under subsection (a), a State or States organized as a re-
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1 gional compact shall submit an application to the Attorney

2 General that provides assurances that each State applying

3 has enacted laws and regulations which include—

4 ‘‘(1)(A) truth-in-sentencing laws which require

5 persons convicted of a serious violent felony serve

6 not less than 85 percent of the sentence imposed or

7 85 percent of the court-ordered maximum sentence

8 for States that practice indeterminate sentencing; or

9 ‘‘(B) truth-in-sentencing laws which have been

10 enacted, but not yet implemented, that require such

11 State, not later than three years after such State

12 submits an application to the Attorney General, to

13 provide that persons convicted of a serious violent

14 felony serve not less than 85 percent of the sentence

15 imposed or 85 percent of the court-ordered maxi16 mum sentence for States that practice indeterminate

17 sentencing, and

18 ‘‘(2) laws requiring that the sentencing or re19 leasing authorities notify and allow the victims of

20 the defendant or the family of such victims the op21 portunity to be heard regarding the issue of sentenc22 ing and any postconviction release.

23 ‘‘SEC. 504. SPECIAL RULES.

24 ‘‘(a) INDETERMINANT SENTENCING EXCEPTION.—

25 Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (1) through
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1 (3) of section 502(b), a State shall be eligible for grants

2 under this title, if the State, not later than the date of

3 the enactment of this title—

4 ‘‘(1) practices indeterminant sentencing; and

5 ‘‘(2) the average times served in such State for

6 the offenses of murder, rape, robbery, and assault

7 exceed, by 10 percent or greater, the national aver8 age of times served for such offenses.

9 ‘‘(b) EXCEPTION.—The requirements under section

10 502(b) shall apply, except that a State may provide that

11 the Governor of the State may allow for the release of

12 a prisoner over the age of 70 after a public hearing in

13 which representatives of the public and the prisoner’s vic14 tims have an opportunity to be heard regarding a proposed

15 release.

16 ‘‘SEC. 505. FORMULA FOR GRANTS.

17 ‘‘To determine the amount of funds that each eligible

18 State or eligible States organized as a regional compact

19 may receive to carry out programs under section 502 or

20 503, the Attorney General shall apply the following

21 formula:

22 ‘‘(1) $500,000 or 0.40 percent, whichever is

23 greater shall be allocated to each participating State

24 or compact, as the case may be; and
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1 ‘‘(2) of the total amount of funds remaining

2 after the allocation under paragraph (1), there shall

3 be allocated to each State or compact, as the case

4 may be, an amount which bears the same ratio to

5 the amount of remaining funds described in this

6 paragraph as the population of such State or com7 pact, as the case may be, bears to the population of

8 all the States.

9 ‘‘SEC. 506. ACCOUNTABILITY.

10 ‘‘(a) FISCAL REQUIREMENTS.—A State or States or11 ganized as a regional compact that receives funds under

12 this title shall use accounting, audit, and fiscal procedures

13 that conform to guidelines which shall be prescribed by

14 the Attorney General.

15 ‘‘(b) REPORTING.—Each State that receives funds

16 under this title shall submit an annual report, beginning

17 on January 1, 1996, and each January 1 thereafter, to

18 the Congress regarding compliance with the requirements

19 of this title.

20 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.—The adminis21 trative provisions of sections 801 and 802 of the Omnibus

22 Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 shall apply

23 to the Attorney General in the same manner as such provi24 sions apply to the officials listed in such sections.
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1 ‘‘SEC. 507. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap3 propriated to carry out this title—

4 ‘‘(1) $232,000,000 for fiscal year 1995;

5 ‘‘(2) $997,500,000 for fiscal year 1996;

6 ‘‘(3) $1,330,000,000 for fiscal year 1997;

7 ‘‘(4) $2,527,000,000 for fiscal year 1998;

8 ‘‘(5) $2,660,000,000 for fiscal year 1999; and

9 ‘‘(6) $2,753,100,000 for fiscal year 2000.

10 ‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS ON FUNDS.—

11 ‘‘(1) USES OF FUNDS.—Funds made available

12 under this title may be used to carry out the pur13 poses described in section 501(a).

14 ‘‘(2) NONSUPPLANTING REQUIREMENT.—Funds

15 made available under this section shall not be used

16 to supplant State funds, but shall be used to in17 crease the amount of funds that would, in the ab18 sence of Federal funds, be made available from

19 State sources.

20 ‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more than

21 three percent of the funds available under this sec22 tion may be used for administrative costs.

23 ‘‘(4) MATCHING FUNDS.—The Federal share of

24 a grant received under this title may not exceed 75

25 percent of the costs of a proposal as described in an

26 application approved under this title.
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1 ‘‘(5) CARRY OVER OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Any

2 funds appropriated but not expended as provided by

3 this section during any fiscal year shall remain avail4 able until expended.

5 ‘‘SEC. 508. DEFINITIONS.

6 ‘‘As used in this title—

7 ‘‘(1) the term ‘indeterminate sentencing’ means

8 a system by which—

9 ‘‘(A) the court has discretion on imposing

10 the actual length of the sentence imposed, up to

11 the statutory maximum; and

12 ‘‘(B) an administrative agency, generally

13 the parole board, controls release between

14 court-ordered minimum and maximum sen15 tence;

16 ‘‘(2) the term ‘serious violent felony’ means—

17 ‘‘(A) an offense that is a felony and has as

18 an element the use, attempted use, or threat19 ened use of physical force against the person or

20 property of another and has a maximum term

21 of imprisonment of 10 years or more,

22 ‘‘(B) any other offense that is a felony and

23 that, by its nature, involves a substantial risk

24 that physical force against the person or prop25 erty of another may be used in the course of
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1 committing the offense and has a maximum

2 term of imprisonment of 10 years or more, or

3 ‘‘(C) such crimes include murder, assault

4 with intent to commit murder, arson, armed

5 burglary, rape, assault with intent to commit

6 rape, kidnapping, and armed robbery; and

7 ‘‘(3) the term ‘State’ means a State of the

8 United States, the District of Columbia, or any com9 monwealth, territory, or possession of the United

10 States.’’.

11 TITLE II—STOPPING ABUSIVE

12 PRISONER LAWSUITS

13 SEC. 201. EXHAUSTION REQUIREMENT.

14 Section 7(a)(1) of the Civil Rights of Institutionalized

15 Persons Act (42 U.S.C. 1997d) is amended—

16 (1) by striking ‘‘in any action brought’’ and in17 serting ‘‘no action shall be brought’’;

18 (2) by striking ‘‘the court shall’’ and all that

19 follows through ‘‘require exhaustion of’’ and insert

20 ‘‘until’’; and

21 (3) by inserting ‘‘are exhausted’’ after ‘‘avail22 able’’.
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1 SEC. 202. FRIVOLOUS ACTIONS.

2 Section 7(a) of the Civil Rights of Institutionalized

3 Persons Act (42 U.S.C. 1997d(a)) is amended by adding

4 at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(3) The court shall on its own motion or on motion

6 of a party dismiss any action brought pursuant to section

7 1979 of the Revised Statutes of the United States by an

8 adult convicted of a crime and confined in any jail, prison,

9 or other correctional facility if the court is satisfied that

10 the action fails to state a claim upon which relief can be

11 granted or is frivolous or malicious.’’.

12 SEC. 203. MODIFICATION OF REQUIRED MINIMUM STAND13 ARDS.

14 Section 7(b)(2) of the Civil Rights of Institutionalized

15 Persons Act (42 U.S.C. 1997d(b)(2)) is amended by strik16 ing subparagraph (A) and redesignating subparagraphs

17 (B) through (E) as subparagraphs (A) through (D), re18 spectively.

19 SEC. 204. PROCEEDINGS IN FORMA PAUPERIS.

20 (a) DISMISSAL.—Section 1915(d) of title 28, United

21 States Code, is amended—

22 (1) by inserting ‘‘at any time’’ after ‘‘counsel

23 and may’’; and

24 (2) by striking ‘‘and may’’ and inserting ‘‘and

25 shall’’;
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1 (3) by inserting ‘‘fails to state a claim upon

2 which relief may be granted or’’ after ‘‘that the ac3 tion’’; and

4 (4) by inserting ‘‘even if partial filing fees have

5 been imposed by the court’’ before the period.

6 (b) PRISONER’S STATEMENT OF ASSETS.—Section

7 1915 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by add8 ing at the end the following:

9 ‘‘(f) If a prisoner in a correctional institution files

10 an affidavit in accordance with subsection (a) of this sec11 tion, such prisoner shall include in that affidavit a state12 ment of all assets such prisoner possesses. The court shall

13 make inquiry of the correctional institution in which the

14 prisoner is incarcerated for information available to that

15 institution relating to the extent of the prisoner’s assets.

16 The court shall require full or partial payment of filing

17 fees according to the prisoner’s ability to pay.’’.

18 TITLE III—STOP TURNING OUT

19 PRISONERS

20 SEC. 301. APPROPRIATE REMEDIES FOR PRISON CONDI21 TIONS.

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3626 of title 18, United

23 States Code, is amended to read as follows:
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1 ‘‘§ 3626. Appropriate remedies with respect to prison

2 conditions

3 ‘‘(a) REQUIREMENTS FOR RELIEF.—

4 ‘‘(1) LIMITATIONS ON PROSPECTIVE RELIEF.—

5 Prospective relief in a civil action with respect to

6 prison conditions shall extend no further than nec7 essary to remove the conditions that are causing the

8 deprivation of the Federal rights of individual plain9 tiffs in that civil action. The court shall not grant

10 or approve any prospective relief unless the court

11 finds that such relief is narrowly drawn and the

12 least intrusive means to remedy the violation of the

13 Federal right. In determining the intrusiveness of

14 the relief, the court shall give substantial weight to

15 any adverse impact on public safety or the operation

16 of a criminal justice system caused by the relief.

17 ‘‘(2) PRISON POPULATION REDUCTION RE18 LIEF.—In any civil action with respect to prison con19 ditions, the court shall not grant or approve any re20 lief whose purpose or effect is to reduce or limit the

21 prison population, unless the plaintiff proves that

22 crowding is the primary cause of the deprivation of

23 the Federal right and no other relief will remedy

24 that deprivation.

25 ‘‘(b) TERMINATION OF RELIEF.—
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1 ‘‘(1) AUTOMATIC TERMINATION OF PROSPEC2 TIVE RELIEF AFTER 2-YEAR PERIOD.—In any civil

3 action with respect to prison conditions, any pro4 spective relief shall automatically terminate 2 years

5 after the later of—

6 ‘‘(A) the date the court found the violation

7 of a Federal right that was the basis for the re8 lief; or

9 ‘‘(B) the date of the enactment of the Stop

10 Turning Out Prisoners Act.

11 ‘‘(2) IMMEDIATE TERMINATION OF PROSPEC12 TIVE RELIEF.—In any civil action with respect to

13 prison conditions, a defendant or intervenor shall be

14 entitled to the immediate termination of any pro15 spective relief, if that relief was approved or granted

16 in the absence of a finding by the court that prison

17 conditions violated a Federal right.

18 ‘‘(c) PROCEDURE FOR MOTIONS AFFECTING PRO19 SPECTIVE RELIEF.—

20 ‘‘(1) GENERALLY.—The court shall promptly

21 rule on any motion to modify or terminate prospec22 tive relief in a civil action with respect to prison con23 ditions.
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1 ‘‘(2) AUTOMATIC STAY.—Any prospective relief

2 subject to a pending motion shall be automatically

3 stayed during the period—

4 ‘‘(A) beginning on the 30th day after such

5 motion is filed, in the case of a motion made

6 under subsection (b); and

7 ‘‘(B) beginning on the 180th day after

8 such motion is filed, in the case of a motion

9 made under any other law;

10 and ending on the date the court enters a final order

11 ruling on that motion.

12 ‘‘(d) STANDING.—Any Federal, State, or local official

13 or unit of government—

14 ‘‘(1) whose jurisdiction or function includes the

15 prosecution or custody of persons in a prison subject

16 to; or

17 ‘‘(2) who otherwise is or may be affected by;

18 any relief whose purpose or effect is to reduce or limit

19 the prison population shall have standing to oppose the

20 imposition or continuation in effect of that relief and may

21 intervene in any proceeding relating to that relief. Stand22 ing shall be liberally conferred under this subsection so

23 as to effectuate the remedial purposes of this section.

24 ‘‘(e) SPECIAL MASTERS.—In any civil action in a

25 Federal court with respect to prison conditions, any spe-
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1 cial master or monitor shall be a United States magistrate

2 and shall make proposed findings on the record on com3 plicated factual issues submitted to that special master or

4 monitor by the court, but shall have no other function.

5 The parties may not by consent extend the function of

6 a special master beyond that permitted under this sub7 section.

8 ‘‘(f) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—No attorney’s fee under

9 section 722 of the Revised Statutes of the United States

10 (42 U.S.C. 1988) may be granted to a plaintiff in a civil

11 action with respect to prison conditions except to the ex12 tent such fee is—

13 ‘‘(1) directly and reasonably incurred in proving

14 an actual violation of the plaintiff’s Federal rights;

15 and

16 ‘‘(2) proportionally related to the extent the

17 plaintiff obtains court ordered relief for that viola18 tion.’’.

19 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section—

20 ‘‘(1) the term ‘prison’ means any Federal,

21 State, or local facility that incarcerates or detains

22 juveniles or adults accused of, convicted of, sen23 tenced for, or adjudicated delinquent for, violations

24 of criminal law;
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1 ‘‘(2) the term ‘relief’ means all relief in any

2 form which may be granted or approved by the

3 court, and includes consent decrees and settlement

4 agreements; and

5 ‘‘(3) the term ‘prospective relief’ means all re6 lief other than compensatory monetary damages.’’

7 (b) APPLICATION OF AMENDMENT.—Section 3626 of

8 title 18, United States Code, as amended by this section,

9 shall apply with respect to all relief (as defined in such

10 section) whether such relief was originally granted or ap11 proved before, on, or after the date of the enactment of

12 this Act.

13 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections

14 at the beginning of subchapter C of chapter 229 of title

15 18, United States Code, is amended by striking ‘‘crowd16 ing’’ and inserting ‘‘conditions’’.

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