EQUAL Act

Bill: 118-s-524
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ]
Introduced: 2023-02-16
Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement
Subjects: Criminal procedure and sentencing

Drug trafficking and controlled substances
Latest action: action_date: 2023-02-16
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Summaries:
action_date: 2023-02-16
action_desc: Introduced in Senate
text: <p><strong>Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law Act or the EQUAL Act</strong></p> <p>This bill eliminates the federal sentencing disparity between drug offenses involving crack cocaine and powder cocaine. </p> <p>Currently, different threshold quantities of crack cocaine and powder cocaine (e.g., 28 grams of crack cocaine and 500 grams of powder cocaine) trigger the same statutory criminal penalties.</p> <p>This bill eliminates the lower quantity thresholds for crack cocaine offenses. Under the bill, the same threshold quantities of crack cocaine and powder cocaine trigger the same statutory criminal penalties. </p> <p>The change applies to future cases and cases pending on the date of enactment. With respect to past cases, the bill authorizes resentencing of a defendant who was convicted or sentenced for a crack cocaine offense before the date of enactment. </p>

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 524 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES February 16, 2023 Mr. Booker (for himself, Mr. Graham , Mr. Durbin , Mr. Tillis , Mr. Coons , Ms. Lummis , Mr. Whitehouse , and Mr. Paul ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary A BILL To eliminate the disparity in sentencing for cocaine offenses, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law Act or the EQUAL Act . 2. Elimination of increased penalties for cocaine offenses where the cocaine involved is cocaine base (a) Controlled Substances Act The following provisions of the Controlled Substances Act ( 21 U.S.C. 801 et seq. ) are repealed: (1) Clause (iii) of section 401(b)(1)(A) ( 21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)(A) ). (2) Clause (iii) of section 401(b)(1)(B) ( 21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)(B) ). (b) Controlled Substances Import and Export Act The following provisions of the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act ( 21 U.S.C. 951 et seq. ) are repealed: (1) Subparagraph (C) of section 1010(b)(1) ( 21 U.S.C. 960(b)(1) ). (2) Subparagraph (C) of section 1010(b)(2) ( 21 U.S.C. 960(b)(2) ). (c) Applicability to pending and past cases (1) Pending cases This section, and the amendments made by this section, shall apply to any sentence imposed after the date of enactment of this Act, regardless of when the offense was committed. (2) Past cases In the case of a defendant who, before the date of enactment of this Act, was convicted or sentenced for a Federal offense involving cocaine base, the sentencing court may, on motion of the defendant, the Bureau of Prisons, the attorney for the Government, or on its own motion, impose a reduced sentence after considering the factors set forth in section 3553(a) of title 18, United States Code.