‘‘(II) not later than 30 minutes 
after being placed in room confine-
ment. 
‘‘(C) RISK OF HARM AFTER MAXIMUM PE-
RIOD OF CONFINEMENT.—If, after the applica-
ble maximum period of confinement under 
clause (i)(II) or (ii)(II) of subparagraph (B) 
has expired, a juvenile continues to pose a seri-
ous and immediate risk of physical harm de-
scribed in clause (i) or (ii) of that subpara-
graph, as applicable— 
‘‘(i) the juvenile shall be transferred 
to another juvenile detention facility or in-
ternal location where services can be pro-
vided to the juvenile without relying on 
room confinement; or 
‘‘(ii) if the juvenile cannot be trans-
ferred to another juvenile detention facility 
or internal location in accordance with 
clause (i), and a qualified medical or men-
tal health professional believes the level of 
crisis service needed is not available in the 
current environment, a staff member of the 
juvenile detention facility shall initiate a 
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referral to a location that can meet the 
needs of the juvenile. 
‘‘(D) SPIRIT AND PURPOSE.—The use of 
consecutive periods of room confinement to 
evade the spirit and purpose of this subsection 
shall be prohibited. 
‘‘(E) CONDITIONS.—A room used for room 
confinement for a juvenile shall— 
‘‘(i) have not less than 80 square feet 
of floor space; 
‘‘(ii) have adequate lighting, heating 
or cooling (as applicable), and ventilation 
for the comfort of the juvenile; 
‘‘(iii) be suicide-resistant and protru-
sion-free; and 
‘‘(iv) have reasonable access to water, 
toilet facilities, and hygiene supplies. 
‘‘(F) ACCESS
TO
SERVICES.—A juvenile 
placed in room confinement shall— 
‘‘(i) have access to appropriate med-
ical and psychological services; and 
‘‘(ii) receive crisis intervention and 
one-on-one observation. 
‘‘(c) STUDY AND REPORT.—Not later than 2 years 
after the date of enactment of this section, and each year 
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thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress 
a report that— 
‘‘(1) contains a detailed description of the type 
of physical force, restraints, and room confinement 
used at juvenile detention facilities; and 
‘‘(2) describes the number of instances physical 
force, restraints, or room confinement are used at 
juvenile detention facilities, disaggregated by race, 
ethnicity, and gender.’’. 
(2) TECHNICAL
AND
CONFORMING
AMEND-
MENT.—The table of sections for chapter 403 of 
title 18, United States Code, as amended by sub-
section (d), is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘5045. Juvenile solitary confinement.’’. 
SEC. 4. STUDY AND REPORT ON COST SAVINGS FROM SEAL-
ING AND EXPUNGEMENT PROVISIONS. 
(a) STUDY.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 years after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Attorney Gen-
eral, in consultation with the Secretary of Labor and 
the Director of the Office of Management and Budg-
et, shall conduct a study on the cost savings and 
broader economic impact of the sealing and 
expungement provisions in the amendments made by 
sections 2, 3, and 6 of this Act. 
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(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In conducting the study 
under paragraph (1), the Attorney General shall 
consider— 
(A) the reduction in recidivism and associ-
ated cost savings related to corrections and 
public safety; 
(B) increased economic activity by former 
offenders, including by conducting an analysis 
of the tax revenue generated by that activity; 
and 
(C) the economic impact on the household 
of former offenders and the children of former 
offenders. 
(b) REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the date 
of enactment of this Act, the Attorney General shall sub-
mit to Congress a report on the study conducted under 
subsection (a). 
SEC. 5. TANF ASSISTANCE AND SNAP BENEFITS. 
(a) AMENDMENT TO BAN ON ASSISTANCE.—Section 
115 of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity 
Reconciliation Act of 1996 (21 U.S.C. 862a) is amend-
ed— 
(1) in subsection (a)— 
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(A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) and 
(2) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively, 
and adjusting the margins accordingly; 
(B) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
(A), as redesignated— 
(i) by striking ‘‘An individual’’ and in-
serting the following: 
‘‘(1) DENIAL OF ASSISTANCE AND BENEFITS.— 
Except as provided in paragraph (2), an individual’’; 
and 
(ii) by striking ‘‘possession, use, or’’; 
and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) EXCEPTION FOR INDIVIDUALS WHO RE-
CEIVE TREATMENT AND OTHER INDIVIDUALS.—The 
prohibition under paragraph (1) shall not apply to 
an individual convicted of an offense described in 
paragraph (1) who— 
‘‘(A)(i) has successfully completed a cer-
tified substance abuse treatment program; and 
‘‘(ii) has not committed a subsequent of-
fense described in paragraph (1); 
‘‘(B) is participating in a certified sub-
stance abuse treatment program; 
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‘‘(C)(i) is eligible for and has sought to 
participate in a certified substance abuse treat-
ment program; and 
‘‘(ii) agrees to immediately enroll and par-
ticipate in a certified substance abuse treatment 
program once a slot becomes available for the 
individual; 
‘‘(D) is a custodial parent; 
‘‘(E)(i) is suffering from a serious illness, 
other than a substance abuse disorder; and 
‘‘(ii) provides documentation of the illness 
described in clause (i) with a letter of diagnosis 
from a medical provider; 
‘‘(F) is pregnant; or 
‘‘(G) is in compliance with the terms of the 
sentence imposed on the individual for the con-
viction.’’; 
(2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘the date of 
the enactment of this Act’’ each place that term ap-
pears and inserting ‘‘the date of enactment of the 
Record Expungement Designed to Enhance Employ-
ment Act of 2015’’; 
(3) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the 
following: 
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 
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‘‘(1) the term ‘certified substance abuse treat-
ment program’ means a course of substance abuse 
disorder treatment prescribed by a qualified behav-
ioral health provider; 
‘‘(2) the term ‘custodial parent’ means an indi-
vidual who has custody of, and lives in the same 
household as— 
‘‘(A) a dependent child who is less than 18 
years of age; or 
‘‘(B) a disabled child of the individual who 
is not less than 18 years of age; 
‘‘(3) the term ‘State’ has the meaning given the 
term— 
‘‘(A) in section 419(5) of the Social Secu-
rity Act, when referring to assistance provided 
under a State program funded under part A of 
title IV of the Social Security Act; and 
‘‘(B) in section 3 of the Food and Nutri-
tion Act of 2008 (7 U.S.C. 2012), when refer-
ring to the supplemental nutrition assistance 
program (as defined in that section) or any 
State program carried out under that Act; and 
‘‘(4) the term ‘successfully completed’, with re-
spect to an individual who participates in a certified 
substance abuse treatment program, means the indi-
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emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
vidual has completed the prescribed course of treat-
ment for a substance abuse disorder.’’; and 
(4) in subsection (f), by striking paragraph (5) 
and inserting the following: 
‘‘(5) Employment services, including job train-
ing programs and any other employment services 
that are funded using assistance or benefits referred 
to in subsection (a).’’. 
(b) EFFECT ON STATE ELECTIONS TO OPT OUT OR 
LIMIT PERIOD OF PROHIBITION.— 
(1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection— 
(A) the term ‘‘State’’ has the meaning 
given the term in section 115(e) of the Personal 
Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconcili-
ation Act of 1996 (21 U.S.C. 862a(e)); and 
(B) the term ‘‘TANF assistance or SNAP 
benefits’’ means assistance or benefits referred 
to in section 115(a) of the Personal Responsi-
bility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act 
of 1996. 
(2) EFFECT.—A law enacted by a State under 
the authority under subparagraph (A) or (B) of sub-
section (d)(1) of section 115 of the Personal Respon-
sibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 
1996 (21 U.S.C. 862a) (as in effect on the day be-
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fore the date of enactment of this Act), and any 
State law or regulation enacted to carry out the re-
quirements of such section (as in effect on the day 
before the date of enactment of this Act), that im-
poses conditions on eligibility for TANF assistance 
or SNAP benefits that are more restrictive than the 
conditions on eligibility for TANF assistance or 
SNAP benefits under such section as amended by 
subsection (a) shall have no force or effect. 
SEC. 6. STATE INCENTIVES. 
(a) COPS GRANTS PRIORITY.—Section 1701(c) of 
the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 
(42 U.S.C. 3796dd(c)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘In’’ and inserting the following: 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In’’; 
(2) by striking ‘‘where feasible’’ and all that fol-
lows, and inserting the following: ‘‘where feasible, to 
an application— 
‘‘(A) for hiring and rehiring additional ca-
reer law enforcement officers that involves a 
non-Federal contribution exceeding the 25 per-
cent minimum under subsection (g); or 
‘‘(B) from an applicant in a State that has 
in effect— 
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‘‘(i) a law relating to the confiden-
tiality, sealing, and expungement of juve-
nile records that is substantially similar to, 
or more generous to the former offender 
than, the amendments made by subsections 
(b) through (d) of section 3 of the Record 
Expungement Designed to Enhance Em-
ployment Act of 2015; 
‘‘(ii) a law prohibiting juvenile solitary 
confinement that is substantially similar 
to, or more restrictive than, the amend-
ment made by subsection (e) of section 3 
of the Record Expungement Designed to 
Enhance Employment Act of 2015; 
‘‘(iii) a law relating to the sealing of 
adult records that is substantially similar 
to, or more generous to the former of-
fender than, the amendments made by sec-
tion 2 of the Record Expungement De-
signed to Enhance Employment Act of 
2015; 
‘‘(iv) subject to paragraph (2), a law 
that establishes that an adult criminal 
court may not have original jurisdiction 
over an individual who was less than 18 
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years of age when the individual committed 
an offense; 
‘‘(v) a law that allows an individual 
who has successfully sealed or expunged a 
criminal record to be free from civil and 
criminal perjury laws; or 
‘‘(vi) a law relating to the eligibility of 
individuals for assistance or benefits re-
ferred to in subsection (a) of section 115 
of the Personal Responsibility and Work 
Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 
(21 U.S.C. 862a(a)) that is no more re-
strictive than such section, as amended by 
section 5 of the Record Expungement De-
signed to Enhance Employment Act of 
2015.’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(2) JUVENILE TRANSFER PROVISIONS.—Para-
graph (1)(B)(iv) shall not be construed to preclude 
from preferential consideration an application from 
an applicant in a State that— 
‘‘(A) has in effect a law that authorizes the 
transfer of an individual who is less than 18 
years of age to adult criminal court if the indi-
vidual commits a specified offense or an offense 
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that falls under a specified category of offenses; 
or 
‘‘(B) exercises other case-specific transfer 
mechanisms. 
‘‘(3) DEGREE
OF
PRIORITY
COMMENSURATE 
WITH
DEGREE
OF
COMPLIANCE.—If the Attorney 
General, in awarding grants under this part, gives 
preferential consideration to any application as au-
thorized under paragraph (1)(B), the Attorney Gen-
eral shall base the degree of preferential consider-
ation given to an application from an applicant in a 
particular State on the number of clauses under 
paragraph (1)(B) that the State has satisfied, rel-
ative to the number of such clauses that each other 
State has satisfied.’’. 
(b) ATTORNEY GENERAL GUIDELINES AND TECH-
NICAL ASSISTANCE.—The Attorney General shall issue 
guidelines and provide technical assistance to assist States 
in 
complying 
with 
the 
incentive 
under 
section 
1701(c)(1)(B) of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe 
Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796dd(c)(1)(B)), as 
added by subsection (a). 
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