Safer Supervision Act of 2022
Bill: S.5040 | Sponsor: Sen. Coons, Christopher A. (D-DE)
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
Safer Supervision Act of 2022
This bill modifies provisions relating to the terms of supervised release after imprisonment, including by (1) requiring individualized assessments and written explanations by the court as to whether supervised release is appropriate, and (2) providing a presumption of early termination of supervised release if the individual has served half of the term and meets certain other criteria.

To amend title 18, United States Code, to provide appropriate standards 
 for the inclusion of a term of supervised release after imprisonment, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Safer Supervision Act of 2022''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Over 110,000 people were on Federal supervised release 
        as of June 2021.
            (2) The Supreme Court of the United States explained in 
        Johnson v. United States that ``Supervised release departed 
        from the parole system it replaced by giving district courts 
        the freedom to provide postrelease supervision for those, and 
        only those, who needed it. . . . Congress aimed, then, to use 
        the district courts' discretionary judgment to allocate 
        supervision to those releasees who needed it most.''.
            (3) Federal probation officers report significant caseloads 
        that can exceed 100 cases per officer. This can create a 
        difficult burden for the officers and limit their ability to 
        provide appropriate supervision to those who need it.
            (4) The potential for early termination or other 
        modifications of supervision, when consistent with public 
        safety, can not only reduce burdens and save valuable judicial 
        resources, but also create positive incentives for compliance 
        and rehabilitation consistent with the purposes of supervision. 
        In the 12-month period ending in June 2021, early terminations 
        were 23 percent of successful supervised release closures.
            (5) The Administrative Office of the United States Courts 
        has explained that ``excessive correctional intervention for 
        low-risk defendants may increase the probability of recidivism 
        by disrupting prosocial activities and exposing defendants to 
        antisocial associates.''.
            (6) Supervised release is and should remain an important 
        tool for the Federal courts to use, as appropriate, to, among 
        other items, protect the public from further crimes, deter 
        future criminal conduct, and help the defendant become a 
        contributing member of society by recovering from substance use 
        disorder, participating in rehabilitation and training 
        programs, and providing restitution to victims, among other 
        outcomes.
            (7) Better tailoring when and how supervised release is 
        imposed, encouraging early termination when appropriate, and 
        expanding judicial discretion on certain revocations will 
        reduce burdens on law enforcement officers and taxpayers, 
        encourage compliance and improve public safety, and better 
        assist defendants in their pursuit of rehabilitation and 
        reintegration, to the benefit of themselves, victims, and 
        communities.

SEC. 3. INCLUSION OF A TERM OF SUPERVISED RELEASE AFTER IMPRISONMENT.

    Section 3583 of title 18, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking ``The court'' and inserting the 
                following:
            ``(1) In general.--The court''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Individualized assessment.--When determining whether 
        to include a term of supervised release as part of the 
        sentence, and except to the extent that a term of supervised 
        release is required by statute as described in paragraph (1), 
        the court shall--
                    ``(A) make an individualized assessment under the 
                factors set forth in subsections (c) and (d) as to--
                            ``(i) whether such a term is appropriate; 
                        and
                            ``(ii) the appropriate length and 
                        conditions of such a term; and
                    ``(B) provide the reasons of the court for imposing 
                or not imposing such a term on the record.'';
            (2) in subsection (d), in the fifth sentence, by striking 
        ``shall also'' and inserting ``may also'';
            (3) in subsection (e)--
                    (A) by redesignating paragraphs (1) through (4) as 
                subparagraphs (A) through (D), respectively, and 
                adjusting the margins accordingly;
                    (B) by striking ``The court may,'' and inserting 
                the following:
            ``(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the court 
        may,'';
                    (C) in subparagraph (A), as so redesignated, by 
                striking ``after the expiration of one year of 
                supervised release'';
                    (D) in subparagraph (C), as so redesignated, by 
                striking ``this paragraph'' and inserting ``this 
                subparagraph'';
                    (E) in subparagraph (D), as so redesignated, by 
                striking ``this paragraph'' and inserting ``this 
                subparagraph''; and
                    (F) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(2) Termination of supervised release.--For purposes of 
        the termination of supervised release under paragraph (1)(A)--
                    ``(A) after a defendant has served 50 percent of 
                the term of supervised release imposed on the 
                defendant, the Administrative Office of the United 
                States Courts shall provide notice to a defendant, 
                defendant's counsel, and any local Federal Public 
                Defender Organization or Community Defender 
                Organization of the opportunity to seek early 
                termination of supervised release under paragraph 
                (1)(A) and the process for doing so;
                    ``(B) there shall be a presumption of early 
                termination of supervised release for a defendant under 
                supervision if--
                            ``(i)(I) for a defendant serving a term of 
                        supervised release imposed in connection with a 
                        conviction for an offense described in 
                        subsection (a) of section 16, the defendant has 
                        served 66.6 percent of the term of supervised 
                        release imposed on the defendant; or
                            ``(II) for a defendant other than a 
                        defendant described in subclause (I), the 
                        defendant has served 50 percent of the term of 
                        supervised release imposed on the defendant;
                            ``(ii) the defendant has demonstrated good 
                        conduct and compliance while on supervised 
                        release; and
                            ``(iii) the early termination will not 
                        jeopardize public safety;
                    ``(C) the Government shall have an opportunity to 
                object to a request for termination of supervised 
                release and to present evidence, which the defendant 
                shall have the opportunity to rebut, in any proceeding 
                relating to such request; and
                    ``(D) crime victims' rights under section 3771 
                shall apply to any proceeding relating to a request for 
                early termination of supervised release.
            ``(3) Public safety.--In assessing whether early 
        termination will not jeopardize public safety under this 
        subsection, the court shall consider the nature of the offense 
        committed by the defendant, the defendant's criminal history, 
        the defendant's record while incarcerated (including good 
        behavior and violations of prison rules), the defendant's 
        efforts to reintegrate into the community and to avoid 
        recidivism, any statements or information provided by victims 
        of the offense, and other factors the court may find relevant 
        to public safety.
            ``(4) Assistance of counsel.--The court may appoint a 
        Federal public defender, a community defender, or other counsel 
        qualified to be appointed under section 3006A to assist a 
        defendant seeking early termination of supervised release under 
        paragraph (1)(A) or modification of conditions under paragraph 
        (1)(B).
            ``(5) Rule of construction.--Paragraph (2)(B) shall not be 
        construed to limit the discretion of a court under paragraph 
        (1).'';
            (4) in subsection (g)--
                    (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 
                ``Possession of Controlled Substance or Firearm or for 
                Refusal to Comply With Drug Testing'' and inserting 
                ``Distribution of a Controlled Substance or Possession 
                of a Firearm'';
                    (B) by amending paragraph (1) to read as follows:
            ``(1)(A) possesses a controlled substance with the intent 
        to distribute; or
            ``(B) possesses a controlled substance, the possession of 
        which may be punished by imprisonment for a term exceeding 1 
        year;'';
                    (C) in paragraph (2), by inserting ``or'' at the 
                end;
                    (D) by amending paragraph (3) to read as follows:
            ``(3) willfully refuses to comply with drug testing imposed 
        as a condition of supervised release;'';
                    (E) by striking paragraph (4); and
                    (F) in the matter following paragraph (4), by 
                striking ``subsection (e)(3)'' and inserting 
                ``subsection (e)(1)(C)''; and
            (5) in subsection (k), in the second sentence, by striking 
        ``subsection (e)(3)'' and inserting ``subsection (e)(1)(C)''.

SEC. 4. LAW ENFORCEMENT AVAILABILITY PAY FOR PROBATION AND PRETRIAL 
              SERVICES OFFICERS.

    Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, 
the Director of the Administrative Office of the United States Courts, 
in consultation with the Director of the Office of Personnel 
Management, shall submit to the Committee on the Judiciary of the 
Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
Representatives a report containing a legislative proposal, and 
considerations for implementation of the proposal, that would provide 
law enforcement availability pay to Federal probation officers and pre-
trial services officers that is equal to that provided to criminal 
investigators under section 5545a of title 5, United States Code.

SEC. 5. GAO REPORT.

    (a) Initiation of Study.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 
shall initiate a study on Federal post-release supervision and reentry 
services.
    (b) Report.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
submit to Congress a report regarding the study under subsection (a), 
which shall include findings and potential recommendations related to--
            (1) the number of individuals that have been placed on 
        Federal probation or supervised release since 2019;
            (2) the process for transitioning an individual from the 
        custody of the Bureau of Prisons to the Office of Probation and 
        Pretrial Services or the custody of the United States Marshals 
        Service;
            (3) a review of Federal programs or funding sources that 
        aim to assist individuals from the custody of the Bureau of 
        Prisons with reentry, including--
                    (A) ongoing mental health and substance use 
                counseling, housing, medical care, education, and job 
                placement; and
                    (B) any changes in such programs or funding since 
                2019; and
            (4) a workforce assessment of judicial districts, including 
        an analysis of--
                    (A) during 2020 and 2021, the number of officers, 
                officer caseloads, and overtime hours worked, reported, 
                or accrued; and
                    (B) the system for tracking overtime hours worked 
                by officers of the Office of Probation and Pretrial 
                Services.
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