IIA
104TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 667
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
FEBRUARY 22, 1995
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
AN ACT
To control crime by incarcerating violent criminals.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Violent Criminal Incar-
ceration Act of 1995’’.
TITLE I—TRUTH IN SENTENCING
SEC. 101. TRUTH IN SENTENCING GRANT PROGRAM.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Title V of the Violent Crime Con-
trol and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 is amended to read
as follows:
‘‘TITLE V—TRUTH IN
SENTENCING GRANTS
‘‘SEC. 501. AUTHORIZATION OF GRANTS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General is author-
ized to provide grants to eligible States and to eligible
States organized as a regional compact to build, expand,
and operate space in correctional facilities in order to in-
crease the prison bed capacity in such facilities for the
confinement of persons convicted of a serious violent fel-
ony and to build, expand, and operate temporary or per-
manent correctional facilities, including facilities on mili-
tary bases and boot camp facilities, for the confinement
of convicted nonviolent offenders and criminal aliens for
the purpose of freeing suitable existing prison space for
the confinement of persons convicted of a serious violent
felony. Such grants may also be used to build, expand,
and operate secure youth correctional facilities.
‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—An eligible State or eligible
States organized as a regional compact may receive either
a general grant under section 502 or a truth-in-sentencing
incentive grant under section 503.
‘‘SEC. 502. GENERAL GRANTS.
‘‘(a) DISTRIBUTION OF GENERAL GRANTS.—50 per-
cent of the total amount of funds made available under
this title for each of the fiscal years 1995 through 2000
shall be made available for general eligibility grants for
each State or States organized as a regional compact that
meets the requirements of subsection (b).
‘‘(b) GENERAL GRANTS.—In order to be eligible to
receive funds under subsection (a), a State or States orga-
nized as a regional compact shall submit an application
to the Attorney General that provides assurances that
such State since 1993 has—
‘‘(1) increased the percentage of convicted vio-
lent offenders sentenced to prison;
‘‘(2) increased the average prison time actually
to be served in prison by convicted violent offenders
sentenced to prison; and
‘‘(3) increased the percentage of sentence to be
actually served in prison by violent offenders sen-
tenced to prison.
‘‘SEC. 503. TRUTH-IN-SENTENCING GRANTS.
‘‘(a) TRUTH-IN-SENTENCING INCENTIVE GRANTS.—
50 percent of the total amount of funds made available
under this title for each of the fiscal years 1995 through
2000 shall be made available for truth-in-sentencing incen-
tive grants to each State or States organized as a regional
compact that meet the requirements of subsection (b).
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY FOR TRUTH-IN-SENTENCING IN-
CENTIVE GRANTS.—In order to be eligible to receive funds
under subsection (a), a State or States organized as a re-
gional compact shall submit an application to the Attorney
General that provides assurances that each State applying
has enacted laws and regulations which include—
‘‘(1)(A) truth-in-sentencing laws which require
persons convicted of a serious violent felony serve
not less than 85 percent of the sentence imposed or
85 percent of the court-ordered maximum sentence
for States that practice indeterminate sentencing; or
‘‘(B) truth-in-sentencing laws which have been
enacted, but not yet implemented, that require such
State, not later than three years after such State
submits an application to the Attorney General, to
provide that persons convicted of a serious violent
felony serve not less than 85 percent of the sentence
imposed or 85 percent of the court-ordered maxi-
mum sentence for States that practice indeterminate
sentencing;
‘‘(2) laws requiring that the sentencing or re-
leasing authorities notify and allow the victims of
the defendant or the family of such victims the op-
portunity to be heard regarding the issue of sentenc-
ing and any postconviction release; and
‘‘(3) laws requiring that the releasing authority
notify the victims of serious violent felons or the
family of such victims and the convicting court re-
garding the release of a defendant.
‘‘SEC. 504. SPECIAL RULES.
‘‘(a) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible to
receive a grant under section 502 or 503, a State or States
organized as a regional compact shall provide an assur-
ance to the Attorney General that—
‘‘(1) to the extent practicable, inmate labor will
be used to build and expand correctional facilities;
‘‘(2) each State will involve counties and other
units of local government, when appropriate, in the
construction, development, expansion, modification,
operation, or improvement of correctional facilities
designed to ensure the incarceration of offenders,
and that each State will share funds received under
this title with any county or other unit of local gov-
ernment that is housing State prisoners, taking into
account the burden placed on such county or unit of
local government in confining prisoners due to over-
crowding in State prison facilities in furtherance of
the purposes of this Act;
‘‘(3) the State has implemented or will imple-
ment, not later than 18 months after the date of the
enactment of the Violent Criminal Incarceration Act
of 1995, policies to determine the veteran status of
exceed, by 10 percent or greater, the national aver-
age of times served for such offenses.
‘‘(d) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS FOR JAIL CONSTRUC-
TION.—A State may use up to 15 percent of the funds
provided under this title for jail construction, if the Attor-
ney General determines that the State has enacted—
‘‘(1) legislation that provides for pretrial release
requirements at least as restrictive as those found in
section 3142 of title 18, United States Code; or
‘‘(2) legislation that requires an individual
charged with an offense for which a sentence of
more than one year may be imposed, or charged
with an offense involving violence against another
person, may not be released before trial without a fi-
nancial guarantee to ensure appearance before trial.
‘‘(e) EXCEPTION.—The requirements under section
503(b) shall apply, except that a State may provide that
the Governor of the State may allow for earlier release
of a geriatric prisoner or a prisoner whose medical condi-
tion precludes the prisoner from posing a threat to the
public after a public hearing in which representatives of
the public and the prisoner’s victims have an opportunity
to be heard regarding a proposed release.
‘‘(f) FUNDS FOR JUVENILE OFFENDERS.—Notwith-
standing any other provision of this title, if a State or
unit of local government located in a State which other-
wise meets the requirements of section 502 or 503 certifies
to the Attorney General that exigent circumstances exist
which require that the State expend funds to confine juve-
nile offenders, the State may use funds received under this
title to build, expand, and operate juvenile correctional fa-
cilities or pretrial detention facilities for such offenders.
‘‘SEC. 505. FORMULA FOR GRANTS.
‘‘To determine the amount of funds that each eligible
State or eligible States organized as a regional compact
may receive to carry out programs under section 502 or
503, the Attorney General shall apply the following
formula:
‘‘(1) $500,000 or 0.40 percent, whichever is
greater, shall be allocated to each participating State
or compact, as the case may be; and
‘‘(2) of the total amount of funds remaining
after the allocation under paragraph (1), there shall
be allocated to each State or compact, as the case
may be, an amount equal to the ratio that the num-
ber of part 1 violent crimes reported by such State
or States to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for
the most recent calendar year for which the data is
available.
‘‘SEC. 506. ACCOUNTABILITY.
‘‘(a) FISCAL REQUIREMENTS.—A State or States or-
ganized as a regional compact that receives funds under
this title shall use accounting, audit, and fiscal procedures
that conform to guidelines which shall be prescribed by
the Attorney General, including a requirement that any
funds used to carry out the programs under section 501(a)
shall represent the best value for the State governments
at the lowest possible cost and employ the best available
technology.
‘‘(b) REPORTING.—Each State that receives funds
under this title shall submit an annual report, beginning
on January 1, 1996, and each January 1 thereafter, to
the Congress regarding compliance with the requirements
of this title.
‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.—(1) The admin-
istrative provisions of sections 801 and 802 of the Omni-
bus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 shall
apply to the Attorney General in the same manner as such
provisions apply to the officials listed in such sections.
‘‘(2)(A) A State that receives funds under this title
shall, in such form and manner as the Attorney General
determines, and under such regulations as the Attorney
General shall prescribe, require that the appropriate public
authorities report promptly to the Attorney General the
death of each individual who dies in custody while in a
municipal or county jail, State prison, or other similar
place of confinement. Each such report shall include the
cause of death and all other facts relevant to the death
reported, which the person so reporting shall have the duty
to make a good faith effort to ascertain.
‘‘(B) The Attorney General shall annually publish a
report containing—
‘‘(i) the number of deaths in each institution
for which a report was filed during the relevant re-
porting period;
‘‘(ii) the cause of death and time of death for
each death so reported; and
‘‘(iii) such other information about the death as
the Attorney General deems relevant.
‘‘SEC. 507. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be ap-
propriated to carry out this title—
‘‘(1) $997,500,000 for fiscal year 1996;
‘‘(2) $1,330,000,000 for fiscal year 1997;
‘‘(3) $2,527,000,000 for fiscal year 1998;
‘‘(4) $2,660,000,000 for fiscal year 1999; and
‘‘(5) $2,753,100,000 for fiscal year 2000.
‘‘(b) LIMITATIONS ON FUNDS.—
‘‘(1) USES OF FUNDS.—Funds made available
under this title may be used to carry out the pur-
poses described in section 501(a).
‘‘(2) NONSUPPLANTING REQUIREMENT.—Funds
made available under this section shall not be used
to supplant State funds, but shall be used to in-
crease the amount of funds that would, in the ab-
sence of Federal funds, be made available from
State sources.
‘‘(3) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more than
three percent of the funds available under this sec-
tion may be used for administrative costs.
‘‘(4) MATCHING FUNDS.—The Federal share of
a grant received under this title may not exceed 75
percent of the costs of a proposal as described in an
application approved under this title.
‘‘(5) CARRY OVER OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Any
funds appropriated but not expended as provided by
this section during any fiscal year shall remain avail-
able until expended.
‘‘(6) TRANSFER
OF
UNALLOCATED
FUNDS.—
After making the distribution to all eligible States
required under section 503, the Attorney General
may transfer, as provided in this paragraph, in such
amounts as may be provided in appropriations Acts,
any remaining unallocated funds which have been
available for more than two fiscal years, but all such
funds shall be available for the purposes of this
paragraph after fiscal year 2000. Funds transferred
under this paragraph may be made available for ex-
penses of the Immigration and Nationalization Serv-
ice for investigators and for expenses of the Bureau
of Prisons, the Federal Bureau of Investigations and
the United States Attorneys for activities and oper-
ations related to the investigation, prosecution and
conviction of persons accused of a serious violent fel-
ony, and the incarceration of persons convicted of
such offenses, and the National Institute of Justice
for law enforcement technology programs.
‘‘SEC. 508. PAYMENTS TO STATES FOR INCARCERATION OF
CRIMINAL ALIENS.
‘‘(a) RESERVATION
OF FUNDS.—Notwithstanding
any other provision of this title, for each of the fiscal years
1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000 from amounts appro-
priated under section 507, the Attorney General shall first
reserve an amount which when added to amounts appro-
priated to carry out section 242(j) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act for such fiscal year equals $650,000,000.
‘‘(b) PAYMENTS TO ELIGIBLE STATES.—
unless, on a case-by-case basis, the transfer of
such juveniles for disposition in the juvenile jus-
tice system is determined under State law to be
in the interest of justice;
‘‘(E) require that whenever a juvenile is
adjudicated in a juvenile proceeding to have en-
gaged in the conduct constituting an offense de-
scribed in subparagraph (D) that—
‘‘(i) a record is kept relating to that
adjudication which is—
‘‘(I) equivalent to the record that
would be kept of an adult conviction
for that offense;
‘‘(II) retained for a period of
time that is equal to the period of
time records are kept for adult convic-
tions; and
‘‘(III) made available to law en-
forcement officials to the same extent
that a record of an adult conviction
would be made available;
‘‘(ii) the juvenile is fingerprinted and
photographed, and the fingerprints and
photograph are sent to the Federal Bureau
of Investigation; and
‘‘(iii) the court in which the adjudica-
tion takes place transmits to the Federal
Bureau of Investigation the information
concerning the adjudication, including the
name and birth date of the juvenile, date
of adjudication, and disposition;
‘‘(F) where practicable and appropriate,
require parents to participate in meeting the
dispositional requirements imposed on the juve-
nile by the court;
‘‘(G) have consulted with any units of local
government responsible for secure youth correc-
tional facilities in setting priorities for construc-
tion, development, expansion and modification,
operation or improvement of juvenile facilities,
and to the extent practicable, ensure that the
needs of entities currently administering juve-
nile facilities are addressed; and
‘‘(H) have in place or are putting in place
systems to provide objective evaluations of State
and local juvenile justice systems to determine
such systems’ effectiveness in protecting the
community, reducing recidivism, and ensuring
compliance with dispositions.’’.
(b) PREFERENCE IN PAYMENTS UNDER SECTION
242(J) OF IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT.—Sec-
tion 242(j)(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1252(j)(4)) is amended by adding at the end the
following:
‘‘(C) In carrying out paragraph (1)(A), the
Attorney General shall give preference in mak-
ing payments to States and political subdivi-
sions of States which are ineligible for pay-
ments under section 508 of the Violent Crime
Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.’’.
SEC. 102. CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.
(a) OMNIBUS CRIME CONTROL AND SAFE STREETS
ACT OF 1968.—
(1) PART V.—Part V of title I of the Omnibus
Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 is re-
pealed.
(2) FUNDING.—(A) Section 1001(a) of the Om-
nibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968
is amended by striking paragraph (20).
(B) Notwithstanding the provisions of subpara-
graph (A), any funds that remain available to an ap-
plicant under paragraph (20) of title I of the Omni-
bus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968
shall be used in accordance with part V of such Act
as such Act was in effect on the day preceding the
date of enactment of this Act.
(b) VIOLENT CRIME CONTROL AND LAW ENFORCE-
MENT ACT OF 1994.—
(1) REPEAL.—(A) Subtitle A of title II of the
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of
1994 is repealed.
(B) The table of contents of the Violent Crime
Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 is
amended by striking the matter relating to subtitle
A of title II.
(2) COMPLIANCE.—Notwithstanding the provi-
sions of paragraph (1), any funds that remain avail-
able to an applicant under subtitle A of title II of
the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement
Act of 1994 shall be used in accordance with such
subtitle as such subtitle was in effect on the day pre-
ceding the date of enactment of this Act.
(3) TRUTH-IN-SENTENCING.—The table of con-
tents of the Violent Crime Control and Law En-
forcement Act of 1994 is amended by striking the
matter relating to title V and inserting the following:
‘‘TITLE V—TRUTH-IN-SENTENCING GRANTS
‘‘Sec. 501. Authorization of grants.
‘‘Sec. 502. General grants.
‘‘Sec. 503. Truth-in-sentencing grants.
‘‘Sec. 504. Special rules.
‘‘Sec. 505. Formula for grants.
‘‘Sec. 506. Accountability.
‘‘Sec. 507. Authorization of appropriations.
‘‘Sec. 508. Definitions.’’.
TITLE II—STOPPING ABUSIVE
PRISONER LAWSUITS
SEC. 201. EXHAUSTION REQUIREMENT.
Section 7(a)(1) of the Civil Rights of Institutionalized
Persons Act (42 U.S.C. 1997e) is amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘in any action brought’’ and in-
serting ‘‘no action shall be brought’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘the court shall’’ and all that
follows through ‘‘require exhaustion of’’ and insert
‘‘until’’; and
(3) by inserting ‘‘are exhausted’’ after ‘‘avail-
able’’.
SEC. 202. FRIVOLOUS ACTIONS.
Section 7(a) of the Civil Rights of Institutionalized
Persons Act (42 U.S.C. 1997e(a)) is amended by adding
at the end the following:
‘‘(3) The court shall on its own motion or on motion
of a party dismiss any action brought pursuant to section
1979 of the Revised Statutes of the United States by an
adult convicted of a crime and confined in any jail, prison,
or other correctional facility if the court is satisfied that
the action fails to state a claim upon which relief can be
granted or is frivolous or malicious.’’.
SEC. 203. MODIFICATION OF REQUIRED MINIMUM STAND-
ARDS.
Section 7(b)(2) of the Civil Rights of Institutionalized
Persons Act (42 U.S.C. 1997e(b)(2)) is amended by strik-
ing subparagraph (A) and redesignating subparagraphs
(B) through (E) as subparagraphs (A) through (D), re-
spectively.
SEC. 204. PROCEEDINGS IN FORMA PAUPERIS.
(a) DISMISSAL.—Section 1915(d) of title 28, United
States Code, is amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘at any time’’ after ‘‘counsel
and may’’;
(2) by striking ‘‘and may’’ and inserting ‘‘and
shall’’;
(3) by inserting ‘‘fails to state a claim upon
which relief may be granted or’’ after ‘‘that the ac-
tion’’; and
(4) by inserting ‘‘even if partial filing fees have
been imposed by the court’’ before the period.
(b) PRISONER’S STATEMENT OF ASSETS.—Section
1915 of title 28, United States Code, is amended by add-
ing at the end the following:
‘‘(f) If a prisoner in a correctional institution files
an affidavit in accordance with subsection (a) of this sec-
tion, such prisoner shall include in that affidavit a state-
ment of all assets such prisoner possesses. The court shall
make inquiry of the correctional institution in which the
prisoner is incarcerated for information available to that
institution relating to the extent of the prisoner’s assets.
The court shall require full or partial payment of filing
fees according to the prisoner’s ability to pay.’’.
TITLE III—STOP TURNING OUT
PRISONERS
SEC. 301. APPROPRIATE REMEDIES FOR PRISON CONDI-
TIONS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3626 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended to read as follows:
‘‘§ 3626. Appropriate remedies with respect to prison
conditions
‘‘(a) REQUIREMENTS FOR RELIEF.—
‘‘(1) LIMITATIONS ON PROSPECTIVE RELIEF.—
Prospective relief in a civil action with respect to
prison conditions shall extend no further than nec-
essary to remove the conditions that are causing the
deprivation of the Federal rights of individual plain-
tiffs in that civil action. The court shall not grant
or approve any prospective relief unless the court
finds that such relief is narrowly drawn and the
least intrusive means to remedy the violation of the
Federal right. In determining the intrusiveness of
the relief, the court shall give substantial weight to
any adverse impact on public safety or the operation
of a criminal justice system caused by the relief.
‘‘(2) PRISON
POPULATION
REDUCTION
RE-
LIEF.—In any civil action with respect to prison con-
ditions, the court shall not grant or approve any re-
lief whose purpose or effect is to reduce or limit the
prison population, unless the plaintiff proves that
crowding is the primary cause of the deprivation of
the Federal right and no other relief will remedy
that deprivation.
‘‘(b) TERMINATION OF RELIEF.—
‘‘(1) AUTOMATIC
TERMINATION
OF
PROSPEC-
TIVE RELIEF AFTER 2-YEAR PERIOD.—In any civil
action with respect to prison conditions, any pro-
spective relief shall automatically terminate 2 years
after the later of—
‘‘(A) the date the court found the violation
of a Federal right that was the basis for the re-
lief; or
‘‘(B) the date of the enactment of the Stop
Turning Out Prisoners Act.
‘‘(2) IMMEDIATE
TERMINATION
OF
PROSPEC-
TIVE RELIEF.—In any civil action with respect to
prison conditions, a defendant or intervenor shall be
entitled to the immediate termination of any pro-
spective relief, if that relief was approved or granted
in the absence of a finding by the court that prison
conditions violated a Federal right.
‘‘(c) PROCEDURE FOR MOTIONS AFFECTING PRO-
SPECTIVE RELIEF.—
‘‘(1) GENERALLY.—The court shall promptly
rule on any motion to modify or terminate prospec-
tive relief in a civil action with respect to prison con-
ditions.
‘‘(2) AUTOMATIC STAY.—Any prospective relief
subject to a pending motion shall be automatically
stayed during the period—
‘‘(A) beginning on the 30th day after such
motion is filed, in the case of a motion made
under subsection (b); and
‘‘(B) beginning on the 180th day after
such motion is filed, in the case of a motion
made under any other law;
and ending on the date the court enters a final order
ruling on that motion.
‘‘(d) STANDING.—Any Federal, State, or local official
or unit of government—
‘‘(1) whose jurisdiction or function includes the
prosecution or custody of persons in a prison subject
to; or
‘‘(2) who otherwise is or may be affected by;
any relief whose purpose or effect is to reduce or limit
the prison population shall have standing to oppose the
imposition or continuation in effect of that relief and may
intervene in any proceeding relating to that relief. Stand-
ing shall be liberally conferred under this subsection so
as to effectuate the remedial purposes of this section.
‘‘(e) SPECIAL MASTERS.—In any civil action in a
Federal court with respect to prison conditions, any spe-
cial master or monitor shall be a United States magistrate
and shall make proposed findings on the record on com-
plicated factual issues submitted to that special master or
monitor by the court, but shall have no other function.
The parties may not by consent extend the function of
a special master beyond that permitted under this sub-
section.
‘‘(f) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—No attorney’s fee under
section 722 of the Revised Statutes of the United States
(42 U.S.C. 1988) may be granted to a plaintiff in a civil
action with respect to prison conditions except to the ex-
tent such fee is—
‘‘(1) directly and reasonably incurred in proving
an actual violation of the plaintiff’s Federal rights;
and
‘‘(2) proportionally related to the extent the
plaintiff obtains court ordered relief for that viola-
tion.
‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section—
‘‘(1) the term ‘prison’ means any Federal,
State, or local facility that incarcerates or detains
juveniles or adults accused of, convicted of, sen-
tenced for, or adjudicated delinquent for, violations
of criminal law;
‘‘(2) the term ‘relief’ means all relief in any
form which may be granted or approved by the
court, and includes consent decrees and settlement
agreements (except a settlement agreement the
breach of which is not subject to any court enforce-
ment other than reinstatement of the civil proceed-
ing which such agreement settled); and
‘‘(3) the term ‘prospective relief’ means all re-
lief other than compensatory monetary damages.’’.
(b) APPLICATION OF AMENDMENT.—Section 3626 of
title 18, United States Code, as amended by this section,
shall apply with respect to all relief (as defined in such
section) whether such relief was originally granted or ap-
proved before, on, or after the date of the enactment of
this Act.
(c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The item relating to
section 3626 in the table of sections at the beginning of
subchapter C of chapter 229 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by striking ‘‘crowding’’ and inserting
‘‘conditions’’.
TITLE IV—ENHANCING PROTEC-
TION 
AGAINST 
INCARCER-
ATED CRIMINALS
SEC. 401. PRISON SECURITY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 303 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended by adding at the end the follow-
ing new section:
‘‘§ 4048. Strength-training of prisoners prohibited
‘‘The Bureau of Prisons shall ensure that—
‘‘(1) prisoners under its jurisdiction do not en-
gage in any physical activities designed to increase
their fighting ability; and
‘‘(2) all equipment designed for increasing the
strength or fighting ability of prisoners promptly be
removed from Federal correctional facilities and not
be introduced into such facilities thereafter except as
needed for a medically required program of physical
rehabilitation approved by the Director of the Bu-
reau of Prisons.’’.