Next Step Act of 2019

Bill: 116-s-697
Sponsor: Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2019-03-07 in the Senate
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Administrative law and regulatory procedures
Administrative remedies
Child health
Child safety and welfare
Civil actions and liability
Congressional oversight
Correctional facilities and imprisonment
Criminal investigation, prosecution, interrogation
Criminal justice information and records
Criminal procedure and sentencing
Department of Defense
Detention of persons
Drug trafficking and controlled substances
Drug, alcohol, tobacco use
Emergency medical services and trauma care
Employee hiring
Employee performance
Employment and training programs
Employment discrimination and employee rights
Evidence and witnesses
Firearms and explosives
Food assistance and relief
General Services Administration
Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management
Government information and archives
Government studies and investigations
Health programs administration and funding
Health promotion and preventive care
Housing and community development funding
Intergovernmental relations
Judicial procedure and administration
Juvenile crime and gang violence
Law enforcement administration and funding
Law enforcement officers
Lawyers and legal services
Licensing and registrations
Mental health
Military procurement, research, weapons development
Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
Personnel records
Poverty and welfare assistance
Public contracts and procurement
Sex, gender, sexual orientation discrimination
State and local government operations
Trade restrictions
U.S. Sentencing Commission
Voting rights

Summary:
action_date: 2019-03-07
text: 

Next Step Act of 2019

 
This bill revises sentencing guidelines, addresses prison conditions and prisoner reentry, and addresses law enforcement training.
 
First, it eliminates increased and mandatory minimum penalties for drug offenses involving mixtures or substances which contain cocaine base (i.e., crack cocaine).
 
It decriminalizes marijuana by (1) removing marijuana from the list of scheduled substances; (2) eliminating criminal penalties for an individual who imports, exports, manufactures, distributes, or possesses with intent to distribute marijuana; and (3) expunging convictions for marijuana use or possession.
 
It reduces the mandatory minimum prison term for defendants who manufacture, distribute, or possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
 
Additionally, the bill
 
 
requires the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to provide videoconferencing free of charge to prisoners; 
 
prohibits federal agencies from requesting that applicants disclose their criminal history before receiving a conditional offer of employment; 
 
restricts the use of criminal records to disqualify individuals from employment, occupational licensing, or occupational certification; 
 
creates a mechanism by which certain eligible individuals may file a petition to seal federal criminal records for certain nonviolent offenses; 
 
reinstates the right to vote in federal elections for persons convicted of criminal offenses; 
 
revises requirements for the BOP to help prisoners obtain identification documents prior to their release; 
 
establishes and revises certain grants;
 
requires a state or tribe that receives certain funding to report on use-of-force incidents involving a law enforcement officer and a civilian; and 
 
prohibits racial profiling by law enforcement. 
 


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2019-03-07
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
action_date: 2019-03-07
text: Introduced in Senate