Title: COVID–19 Correctional Facility Emergency Response Act of 2020
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement

Summary:
COVID-19 Correctional Facility Emergency Response Act of 2020
This bill establishes a new grant program to help states and local governments prevent, detect, and stop the spread of COVID-19 (i.e., coronavirus disease 2019) in correctional facilities.
Specifically, the Department of Justice (DOJ) must award grants to states and local governments that release certain persons—persons who do not pose a serious risk or who meet certain criteria based on age or health—from correctional facilities.
Additionally, DOJ must award grants to states and local governments that adopt cite-and-release procedures for suspects who do not pose a public safety risk.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6414 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 6414

  To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
    establish the Pandemic Jail and Prison Emergency Response grant 
                   programs, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 27, 2020

  Mr. Nadler (for himself, Ms. Bass, and Mr. Jeffries) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to 
    establish the Pandemic Jail and Prison Emergency Response grant 
                   programs, 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 ``COVID-19 Correctional Facility 
Emergency Response Act of 2020''.

SEC. 2. PANDEMIC CORRECTIONAL FACILITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE.

    Title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 
(34 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:

      ``PART OO--PANDEMIC CORRECTIONAL FACILITY EMERGENCY RESPONSE

``SEC. 3061. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.

    ``(a) Immediate Release of Vulnerable and Low-Risk Individuals.--
The purpose of the grant program under section 3062 is to provide for 
the testing, initiation and transfer to treatment in the community, and 
provision of services in the community, by States and units of local 
government as they relate to preventing, detecting, and stopping the 
spread of COVID-19 in correctional facilities.
    ``(b) Pretrial Citation and Release.--
            ``(1) Findings.--Congress finds as follows:
                    ``(A) With the dramatic growth in pretrial 
                detention resulting in county and city correctional 
                facilities regularly exceeding capacity, such 
                correctional facilities may serve to rapidly increase 
                the spread of COVID-19, as facilities that hold large 
                numbers of individuals in congregant living situations 
                may promote the spread of COVID-19.
                    ``(B) While individuals arrested and processed at 
                local correctional facilities may only be held for 
                hours or days, exposure to large number of individuals 
                in holding cells and courtrooms promotes the spread of 
                COVID-19.
                    ``(C) Pretrial detainees and individuals in 
                correctional facilities are then later released into 
                the community having being exposed to COVID-19.
            ``(2) Purpose.--The purpose of the grant program under 
        section 3063 is to substantially increase the use of risk-based 
        citation release for all individuals who do not present a 
        public safety risk.

``SEC. 3062. IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF VULNERABLE AND LOW-RISK INDIVIDUALS.

    ``(a) Authorization.--The Attorney General shall carry out a grant 
program to make grants to States and units of local government that 
operate correctional facilities, to establish and implement policies 
and procedures to prevent, detect, and stop the presence and spread of 
COVID-19 among arrestees, detainees, inmates, correctional facility 
staff, and visitors to the facilities.
    ``(b) Program Eligibility.--
            ``(1) In general.--Eligible applicants under this section 
        are States and units of local government that release or have a 
        plan to release the persons described in paragraph (2) from 
        custody in order to meet 80 percent of the rated capacity of a 
        correctional facility, within 60 days of the declaration of a 
        national emergency issued by the President, dated March 13, 
        2020, entitled `Proclamation on Declaring a National Emergency 
        Concerning the Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Outbreak'.
            ``(2) Persons described.--A person described in this 
        paragraph is a person who--
                    ``(A) does not pose a risk of serious, imminent 
                injury to a reasonably identifiable person; or
                    ``(B) is--
                            ``(i) 50 years of age or older;
                            ``(ii) an individual with serious chronic 
                        medical conditions, including heart disease, 
                        cancer, diabetes, HIV, sickle cell anemia, a 
                        neurological disease that interferes with the 
                        ability to cough or breathe, chronic lung 
                        disease, asthma, or respiratory illness;
                            ``(iii) a pregnant woman;
                            ``(iv) an individual who is 
                        immunocompromised or has a weakened immune 
                        system; or
                            ``(v) an individual who has a health 
                        condition or disability that makes them 
                        vulnerable to COVID-19.
    ``(c) Authorized Uses.--Funds awarded pursuant to this section 
shall be used by grantees to--
            ``(1) test all arrestees, detainees, and inmates, and 
        initiate treatment for COVID-19, and transfer such an 
        individual for an appropriate treatment at external medical 
        facility, as needed;
            ``(2) test for COVID-19--
                    ``(A) correctional facility staff;
                    ``(B) volunteers;
                    ``(C) visitors, including family members and 
                attorneys;
                    ``(D) court personnel that have regular contact 
                with arrestees, detainees, and inmates;
                    ``(E) law enforcement officers who transport 
                arrestees, detainees, and inmates; and
                    ``(F) personnel outside the correctional facility 
                who provide medical treatment to arrestees, detainees, 
                and inmates;
            ``(3) curtail booking and in-facility processing for 
        individuals who have committed technical parole or probation 
        violations; and
            ``(4) provide transition and reentry support services to 
        individuals released pursuant to this section, including 
        programs that--
                    ``(A) increase access to and participation in 
                reentry services;
                    ``(B) promote a reduction in recidivism rates;
                    ``(C) facilitate engagement in educational 
                programs, job training, or employment;
                    ``(D) place reentering individuals in safe and 
                sanitary temporary transitional housing;
                    ``(E) facilitate the enrollment of reentering 
                individuals with a history of substance use disorder in 
                medication-assisted treatment and a referral to 
                overdose prevention services, mental health services, 
                or other medical services; and
                    ``(F) facilitate family reunification or support 
                services, as needed.

``SEC. 3063. PRETRIAL CITATION AND RELEASE.

    ``(a) Authorization.--The Attorney General shall make grants under 
this section to eligible applicants for the purposes set forth in 
section 3061(b)(2).
    ``(b) Program Eligibility.--Eligible applicants under this section 
are States and units of local government that implement or continue 
operation of a program described in subsection (c)(1) and not fewer 
than 2 of the other programs enumerated in such subsection.
    ``(c) Use of Grant Funds.--A grantee shall use amounts provided as 
a grant under this section for programs that provide for the following:
            ``(1) Adopting and operating a cite-and-release process for 
        individuals who are suspected of committing misdemeanor and 
        felony offenses and who do not pose a risk of serious, imminent 
        injury to a reasonably identifiable person.
            ``(2) Curtailing booking and in-facility processing for 
        individuals who have committed technical parole or probation 
        violations.
            ``(3) Ensuring that defense counsel is appointed at the 
        earliest hearing that could result in pretrial detention so 
        that low-risk defendants are not unnecessarily further exposed 
        to COVID-19.
            ``(4) Establishing early review of charges by an 
        experienced prosecutor, so only arrestees and detainees who 
        will be charged are detained.
            ``(5) Providing appropriate victims' services supports and 
        safety-focused residential accommodations for victims and 
        community members who have questions or concerns about releases 
        described in this subsection.

``SEC. 3064. REPORT.

    ``Not later than two years after the date on which grants are 
initially made under this section, the Attorney General shall submit to 
Congress a report on the program, which shall include--
            ``(1) the number of grants made, the number of grantees, 
        and the amount of funding distributed to each grantee pursuant 
        to this section;
            ``(2) the location of each correctional facility where 
        activities are carried out using grant amounts; and
            ``(3) the number of persons who have benefitted from early 
        release, disaggregated by type of offense, age, race, and 
        ethnicity.

``SEC. 3065. DEFINITION.

    ``For purposes of this part:
            ``(1) Correctional facility.--The term `correctional 
        facility' includes a juvenile facility.
            ``(2) COVID-19.--The term `COVID-19' means a disease caused 
        by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-
        2).
            ``(3) Detainee; arrestee; inmate.--The terms `detainee', 
        `arrestee', and `inmate' each include juveniles.

``SEC. 3066. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``There is authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000,000 for each of 
fiscal years 2021 and 2022 to carry out sections 3062 and 3063.''.
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