Title: United States Parole Commission Extension Act of 2018
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
United States Parole Commission Extension Act of 2018
This bill extends for two years the authority and functions of the U.S. Parole Commission, including the requirement to submit data to Congress on each type of case under its jurisdiction.
Additionally, the bill amends the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 to require auditors who monitor compliance with national prison rape standards to be certified.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6896 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6896

To provide for the continued performance of the functions of the United 
           States Parole Commission, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 26, 2018

  Mr. Sensenbrenner (for himself and Ms. Jackson Lee) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for the continued performance of the functions of the United 
           States Parole Commission, 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 ``United States Parole Commission 
Extension Act of 2018''.

SEC. 2. AMENDMENT OF SENTENCING REFORM ACT OF 1984.

    For purposes of section 235(b) of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 
(18 U.S.C. 3551 note; Public Law 98-473; 98 Stat. 2032), as such 
section relates to chapter 311 of title 18, United States Code, and the 
United States Parole Commission, each reference in such section to ``31 
years'' or ``31-year period'' shall be deemed a reference to ``33 
years'' or ``33-year period'', respectively.

SEC. 3. PAROLE COMMISSION REPORT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the United States Parole Commission shall report 
to the Committees on the Judiciary of the Senate and House of 
Representatives the following for fiscal year 2018:
            (1) The number of offenders in each type of case over which 
        the Commission has jurisdiction, including the number of Sexual 
        or Violent Offender Registry offenders and Tier Levels 
        offenders.
            (2) The number of hearings, record reviews and National 
        Appeals Board considerations conducted by the Commission in 
        each type of case over which the Commission has jurisdiction.
            (3) The number of hearings conducted by the Commission by 
        type of hearing in each type of case over which the Commission 
        has jurisdiction.
            (4) The number of record reviews conducted by the 
        Commission by type of consideration in each type of case over 
        which the Commission has jurisdiction.
            (5) The number of warrants issued and executed compared to 
        the number requested in each type of case over which the 
        Commission has jurisdiction.
            (6) The number of revocation determinations by the 
        Commission in each type of case over which the Commission has 
        jurisdiction.
            (7) The distribution of initial offenses, including violent 
        offenses, for offenders in each type of case over which the 
        Commission has jurisdiction.
            (8) The distribution of subsequent offenses, including 
        violent offenses, for offenders in each type of case over which 
        the Commission has jurisdiction.
            (9) The percentage of offenders paroled or re-paroled 
        compared with the percentage of offenders continued to 
        expiration of sentence (less any good time) in each type of 
        case over which the Commission has jurisdiction.
            (10) The percentage of cases (except probable cause 
        hearings and hearings in which a continuance was ordered) in 
        which the primary and secondary examiner disagreed on the 
        appropriate disposition of the case (the amount of time to be 
        served before release), the release conditions to be imposed, 
        or the reasons for the decision in each type of case over which 
        the Commission has jurisdiction.
            (11) The percentage of decisions within, above, or below 
        the Commission's decision guidelines for Federal initial 
        hearings (28 C.F.R. 2.20) and Federal and D.C. Code revocation 
        hearings (28 C.F.R. 2.21).
            (12) The percentage of revocation and non-revocation 
        hearings in which the offender is accompanied by a 
        representative in each type of case over which the Commission 
        has jurisdiction.
            (13) The number of administrative appeals and the action of 
        the National Appeals Board in relation to those appeals in each 
        type of case over which the Commission has jurisdiction.
            (14) The projected number of Federal offenders that will be 
        under the Commission's jurisdiction as of October 31, 2021.
            (15) An estimate of the date on which no Federal offenders 
        will remain under the Commission's jurisdiction.
            (16) The Commission's annual expenditures for offenders in 
        each type of case over which the Commission has jurisdiction.
            (17) The annual expenditures of the Commission, including 
        travel expenses and the annual salaries of the members and 
        staff of the Commission.
    (b) Succeeding Fiscal Years.--For each of fiscal years 2019 through 
2021, not later than 90 days after the end of the fiscal year, the 
United States Parole Commission shall report to the Committees on the 
Judiciary of the Senate and House of Representatives the items in 
paragraphs (1) through (17) of subsection (a), for the fiscal year.
    (c) District of Columbia Parole Failure Rate Report.--Not later 
than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the United 
States Parole Commission shall report to the Committees on the 
Judiciary of the Senate and House of Representatives the following:
            (1) The parole failure rate for the District of Columbia 
        for the last full fiscal year immediately preceding the date of 
        the report.
            (2) The factors that cause that parole failure rate.
            (3) Remedial measures that might be undertaken to reduce 
        that parole failure rate.

SEC. 4. PRISON RAPE ELIMINATION STANDARDS AUDITORS.

    Section 8(e)(8) of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (34 
U.S.C. 30307(e)(8)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(8) Standards for auditors.--
                    ``(A) In general.--
                            ``(i) Background checks for auditors.--An 
                        individual seeking certification by the 
                        Department of Justice to serve as an auditor of 
                        prison compliance with the national standards 
                        described in subsection (a) shall, upon 
                        request, submit fingerprints in the manner 
                        determined by the Attorney General for criminal 
                        history record checks of the applicable State 
                        and Federal Bureau of Investigation 
                        repositories.
                            ``(ii) Certification agreements.--Each 
                        auditor certified under this paragraph shall 
                        sign a certification agreement that includes 
                        the provisions of, or provisions that are 
                        substantially similar to, the Bureau of Justice 
                        Assistance's Auditor Certification Agreement in 
                        use in April 2018.
                            ``(iii) Auditor evaluation.--The PREA 
                        Management Office of the Bureau of Justice 
                        Assistance shall evaluate all auditors based on 
                        the criteria contained in the certification 
                        agreement. In the case that an auditor fails to 
                        comply with a certification agreement or to 
                        conduct audits in accordance with the PREA 
                        Auditor Handbook, audit methodology, and 
                        instrument approved by the PREA Management 
                        Office, the Office may take remedial or 
                        disciplinary action, as appropriate, including 
                        decertifying the auditor in accordance with 
                        subparagraph (B).
                    ``(B) Auditor decertification.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The PREA Management 
                        Office may suspend an auditor's certification 
                        during an evaluation of an auditor's 
                        performance under subparagraph (A)(iii). The 
                        PREA Management Office shall promptly publish 
                        the names of auditors who have been 
                        decertified, and the reason for 
                        decertification. Auditors who have been 
                        decertified or are on suspension may not 
                        participate in audits described in subsection 
                        (a), including as an agent of a certified 
                        auditor.
                            ``(ii) Notification.--In the case that an 
                        auditor is decertified, the PREA Management 
                        Office shall inform each facility or agency at 
                        which the auditor performed an audit during the 
                        relevant 3-year audit cycle, and may recommend 
                        that the agency repeat any affected audits, if 
                        appropriate.
                    ``(C) Audit assignments.--The PREA Management 
                Office shall establish a system, to be administered by 
                the Office, for assigning certified auditors to 
                Federal, State, and local facilities.
                    ``(D) Disclosure of documentation.--The Director of 
                the Bureau of Prisons shall comply with each request 
                for documentation necessary to conduct an audit under 
                subsection (a), which is made by a certified auditor in 
                accordance with the provisions of the certification 
                agreement described in subparagraph (A)(ii). The 
                Director of the Bureau of Prisons may require an 
                auditor to sign a confidentiality agreement or other 
                agreement designed to address the auditor's use of 
                personally identifiable information, except that such 
                an agreement may not limit an auditor's ability to 
                provide all such documentation to the Department of 
                Justice, as required under section 115.401(j) of title 
                28, Code of Federal Regulations.''.
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