I 
116TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 5320 
To require States and units of local government receiving funds under grant 
programs operated by the Department of Justice, which use such funds 
for pretrial services programs, to submit to the Attorney General a 
report relating to such program, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 5, 2019 
Mr. HIGGINS of Louisiana introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To require States and units of local government receiving 
funds under grant programs operated by the Department 
of Justice, which use such funds for pretrial services 
programs, to submit to the Attorney General a report 
relating to such program, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Citizens’ Right to 
Know Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. REPORTING REQUIREMENT FOR DEPARTMENT OF 
JUSTICE GRANT RECIPIENTS USING FUNDS 
FOR PRETRIAL SERVICES PROGRAMS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—For each fiscal year in which a 
State or unit of local government receives funds under any 
grant program operated by the Department of Justice, in-
cluding the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance 
grant program under subpart I of part E of title I of the 
Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 
U.S.C. 3750 et seq.), and which uses funds received under 
such program for a pretrial services program, the State 
or unit of local government shall submit to the Attorney 
General a report which contains the following: 
(1) The name of each defendant participating 
in a pretrial release program administered by the 
pretrial services program, and whether, as applica-
ble, each occasion on which such defendant failed to 
make an appearance. 
(2) Information relating to any prior convic-
tions of each defendant participating in the pretrial 
services program. 
(3) The amount of money allocated for the pre-
trial services program. 
(b) PUBLICATION REQUIREMENT.—Subject to any 
applicable confidentiality requirements, the Attorney Gen-
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eral shall, on an annual basis, make publicly available the 
information received under subsection (a). 
(c) REDUCTION IN FUNDING.—The Attorney General 
shall, for State or unit of local government which fails to 
comply with the requirement under subsection (a) for a 
fiscal year, reduce the amount that the State or local gov-
ernment would otherwise receive under each grant pro-
gram described in subsection (a) in the following fiscal 
year by 100 percent. 
(d) REALLOCATION.—Amounts not allocated to a 
State or unit of local government under subsection (c) 
shall be reallocated under each such grant program to 
States and units of local government that comply with the 
requirement under subsection (a). 
(e) DEFINITION.—The term ‘‘failed to make an ap-
pearance’’ means an action whereby any defendant has 
been charged with an offense before a court and who is 
participating in a pretrial release program for which funds 
received under a grant program referred to in subsection 
(a) are used as a condition of pretrial release— 
(1) does not appear for any court date regard-
ing such charge; 
(2) does not appear for any one appointment 
with the pretrial services program; or 
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(3) does not appear for any post-release appear-
ance the court may require. 
Æ 
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