[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3895 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3895

        To provide appropriate remedies for prison overcrowding.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 24, 1994

  Mr. Canady (for himself, Mr. Pete Geren of Texas, Mr. Zimmer, Mrs. 
   Thurman, Mr. Diaz-Balart, Mr. Condit, Mr. Collins of Georgia, Mr. 
   Hoekstra, Mr. Pombo, Mr. Inglis of South Carolina, Mr. Hutto, Mr. 
 Miller of Florida, Mr. Doolittle, Mr. Crapo, Mr. Kasich, Mrs. Fowler, 
     Mr. Bilirakis, Mr. DeLay, Mr. Goss, Mr. Talent, Mr. Baker of 
 California, Mr. Callahan, Mr. Lewis of Florida, Mr. Young of Florida, 
   Mr. Dornan, Mr. Moorhead, Mr. Stump, Mr. Boehner, Mr. Coble, Mr. 
   McKeon, and Mr. Stearns) introduced the following bill; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
        To provide appropriate remedies for prison overcrowding.

    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 ``Prison Management Relief Act of 
1994''.

SEC. 2. APPROPRIATE REMEDIES FOR PRISON OVERCROWDING.

    (a) Amendment of Title 18, United States Code.--Subchapter C of 
chapter 229 of part 2 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
``Sec. 3626. Appropriate remedies with respect to prison crowding
    ``(a) Requirement of Showing With Respect To the Plaintiff in 
Particular.--
            ``(1) Holding.--A Federal court shall not hold prison or 
        jail crowding unconstitutional under the eighth amendment 
        except to the extent that an individual plaintiff inmate proves 
        that the crowding causes the infliction of cruel and unusual 
        punishment of that inmate.
            ``(2) Relief.--The relief in a case described in paragraph 
        (1) shall extend no further than necessary to remove the 
        conditions that are causing the cruel and unusual punishment of 
        the plaintiff inmate.
    ``(b) Inmate Population Ceilings.--
            ``(1) Requirement of showing with respect to particular 
        prisoners.--A Federal court shall not place a ceiling on the 
        inmate population of any Federal, State, or local detention 
        facility as an equitable remedial measure for conditions that 
        violate the eighth amendment unless crowding is inflicting 
        cruel and unusual punishment on particular identified 
        prisoners.
            ``(2) Rule of construction.--Paragraph (1) of this 
        subsection shall not be construed to have any effect on Federal 
        judicial power to issue equitable relief other than that 
        described in paragraph (1) of this subsection, including the 
        requirement of improved medical or health care and the 
        imposition of civil contempt fines or damages, where such 
        relief is appropriate.
    ``(c) Periodic Reopening.--Each Federal court order or consent 
decree seeking to remedy an eighth amendment violation shall be 
reopened at the behest of a defendant for recommended modification at a 
minimum of 2-year intervals.''.
    (b) Application of Amendment.--Section 3626 of title 18, United 
States Code, as added by paragraph (1), shall apply to all outstanding 
court orders on the date of enactment of this Act. Any State or 
municipality shall be entitled to seek modification of any outstanding 
eighth amendment decree pursuant to that section.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
subchapter C of chapter 229 of title 18, United States Code, is amended 
by adding at the end the following new item:

``3626. Appropriate remedies with respect to prison crowding.''.
    (d) Sunset Provision.--This section and the amendments made by this 
section are repealed effective as of the date that is 5 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act.

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