[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 667 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 667

          To control crime by incarcerating violent criminals.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 25, 1995

 Mr. McCollum introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
          To control crime by incarcerating violent criminals.

    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 ``Violent Criminal Incarceration Act 
of 1995''.

                      TITLE I--TRUTH IN SENTENCING

SEC. 101. TRUTH IN SENTENCING GRANT PROGRAM.

    Title V of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 
1994 is amended to read as follows:

                 ``TITLE V--TRUTH IN SENTENCING GRANTS

``SEC. 501. AUTHORIZATION OF GRANTS.

    ``(a) In General.--The Attorney General is authorized to provide 
grants to eligible States and to eligible States organized as a 
regional compact to build, expand, and operate space in correctional 
facilities in order to increase the prison bed capacity in such 
facilities for the confinement of persons convicted of a serious 
violent felony and to build, expand, and operate temporary or permanent 
correctional facilities, including facilities on military bases, for 
the confinement of convicted nonviolent offenders and criminal aliens 
for the purpose of freeing suitable existing prison space for the 
confinement of persons convicted of a serious violent felony.
    ``(b) Limitation.--An eligible State or eligible States organized 
as a regional compact may receive either a general grant under section 
502 or a truth-in-sentencing incentive grant under section 503.

``SEC. 502. GENERAL GRANTS.

    ``(a) Distribution of General Grants.--50 percent of the total 
amount of funds made available under this title for each of the fiscal 
years 1995 through 2000 shall be made available for general eligibility 
grants for each State or States organized as a regional compact that 
meets the requirements of subsection (b).
    ``(b) General Grants.--In order to be eligible to receive funds 
under subsection (a), a State or States organized as a regional compact 
shall submit an application to the Attorney General that provides 
assurances that such State since 1993 has--
            ``(1) increased the percentage of convicted violent 
        offenders sentenced to prison;
            ``(2) increased the average prison time actually to be 
        served in prison by convicted violent offenders sentenced to 
        prison; and
            ``(3) increased the percentage of sentence to be actually 
        served in prison by violent offenders sentenced to prison.

``SEC. 503. TRUTH-IN-SENTENCING GRANTS.

    ``(a) Truth-in-Sentencing Incentive Grants.--50 percent of the 
total amount of funds made available under this title for each of the 
fiscal years 1995 through 2000 shall be made available for truth-in-
sentencing incentive grants to each State or States organized as a 
regional compact that meet the requirements of subsection (c).
    ``(b) Eligibility for Truth-in-Sentencing Incentive Grants.--In 
order to be eligible to receive funds under subsection (a), a State or 
States organized as a regional compact shall submit an application to 
the Attorney General that provides assurances that each State applying 
has enacted laws and regulations which include--
            ``(1)(A) truth-in-sentencing laws which require persons 
        convicted of a serious violent felony serve not less than 85 
        percent of the sentence imposed or 85 percent of the court-
        ordered maximum sentence for States that practice indeterminate 
        sentencing; or
            ``(B) truth-in-sentencing laws which have been enacted, but 
        not yet implemented, that require such State, not later than 
        three years after such State submits an application to the 
        Attorney General, to provide that persons convicted of a 
        serious violent felony serve not less than 85 percent of the 
        sentence imposed or 85 percent of the court-ordered maximum 
        sentence for States that practice indeterminate sentencing, and
            ``(2) laws requiring that the sentencing or releasing 
        authorities notify and allow the victims of the defendant or 
        the family of such victims the opportunity to be heard 
        regarding the issue of sentencing and any postconviction 
        release.

``SEC. 504. SPECIAL RULES.

    ``(a) Indeterminant Sentencing Exception.--Notwithstanding the 
provisions of paragraphs (1) through (3) of section 502(b), a State 
shall be eligible for grants under this title, if the State, not later 
than the date of the enactment of this title--
            ``(1) practices indeterminant sentencing; and
            ``(2) the average times served in such State for the 
        offenses of murder, rape, robbery, and assault exceed, by 10 
        percent or greater, the national average of times served for 
        such offenses.
    ``(b) Exception.--The requirements under section 502(b) shall 
apply, except that a State may provide that the Governor of the State 
may allow for the release of a prisoner over the age of 70 after a 
public hearing in which representatives of the public and the 
prisoner's victims have an opportunity to be heard regarding a proposed 
release.

``SEC. 505. FORMULA FOR GRANTS.

    ``To determine the amount of funds that each eligible State or 
eligible States organized as a regional compact may receive to carry 
out programs under section 502 or 503, the Attorney General shall apply 
the following formula:
            ``(1) $500,000 or 0.40 percent, whichever is greater shall 
        be allocated to each participating State or compact, as the 
        case may be; and
            ``(2) of the total amount of funds remaining after the 
        allocation under paragraph (1), there shall be allocated to 
        each State or compact, as the case may be, an amount which 
        bears the same ratio to the amount of remaining funds described 
        in this paragraph as the population of such State or compact, 
        as the case may be, bears to the population of all the States.

``SEC. 506. ACCOUNTABILITY.

    ``(a) Fiscal Requirements.--A State or States organized as a 
regional compact that receives funds under this title shall use 
accounting, audit, and fiscal procedures that conform to guidelines 
which shall be prescribed by the Attorney General.
    ``(b) Reporting.--Each State that receives funds under this title 
shall submit an annual report, beginning on January 1, 1996, and each 
January 1 thereafter, to the Congress regarding compliance with the 
requirements of this title.
    ``(c) Administrative Provisions.--The administrative provisions of 
sections 801 and 802 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 
of 1968 shall apply to the Attorney General in the same manner as such 
provisions apply to the officials listed in such sections.

``SEC. 507. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``(a) In General.--There are authorized to be appropriated to carry 
out this title--
            ``(1) $232,000,000 for fiscal year 1995;
            ``(2) $997,500,000 for fiscal year 1996;
            ``(3) $1,330,000,000 for fiscal year 1997;
            ``(4) $2,527,000,000 for fiscal year 1998;
            ``(5) $2,660,000,000 for fiscal year 1999; and
            ``(6) $2,753,100,000 for fiscal year 2000.
    ``(b) Limitations on Funds.--
            ``(1) Uses of funds.--Funds made available under this title 
        may be used to carry out the purposes described in section 
        501(a).
            ``(2) Nonsupplanting requirement.--Funds made available 
        under this section shall not be used to supplant State funds, 
        but shall be used to increase the amount of funds that would, 
        in the absence of Federal funds, be made available from State 
        sources.
            ``(3) Administrative costs.--Not more than three percent of 
        the funds available under this section may be used for 
        administrative costs.
            ``(4) Matching funds.--The Federal share of a grant 
        received under this title may not exceed 75 percent of the 
        costs of a proposal as described in an application approved 
        under this title.
            ``(5) Carry over of appropriations.--Any funds appropriated 
        but not expended as provided by this section during any fiscal 
        year shall remain available until expended.

``SEC. 508. DEFINITIONS.

    ``As used in this title--
            ``(1) the term `indeterminate sentencing' means a system by 
        which--
                    ``(A) the court has discretion on imposing the 
                actual length of the sentence imposed, up to the 
                statutory maximum; and
                    ``(B) an administrative agency, generally the 
                parole board, controls release between court-ordered 
                minimum and maximum sentence;
            ``(2) the term `serious violent felony' means--
                    ``(A) an offense that is a felony and has as an 
                element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of 
                physical force against the person or property of 
                another and has a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 
                years or more,
                    ``(B) any other offense that is a felony and that, 
                by its nature, involves a substantial risk that 
                physical force against the person or property of 
                another may be used in the course of committing the 
                offense and has a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 
                years or more, or
                    ``(C) such crimes include murder, assault with 
                intent to commit murder, arson, armed burglary, rape, 
                assault with intent to commit rape, kidnapping, and 
                armed robbery; and
            ``(3) the term `State' means a State of the United States, 
        the District of Columbia, or any commonwealth, territory, or 
        possession of the United States.''.

              TITLE II--STOPPING ABUSIVE PRISONER LAWSUITS

SEC. 201. EXHAUSTION REQUIREMENT.

    Section 7(a)(1) of the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1997d) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``in any action brought'' and inserting 
        ``no action shall be brought'';
            (2) by striking ``the court shall'' and all that follows 
        through ``require exhaustion of'' and insert ``until''; and
            (3) by inserting ``are exhausted'' after ``available''.

SEC. 202. FRIVOLOUS ACTIONS.

    Section 7(a) of the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act 
(42 U.S.C. 1997d(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(3) The court shall on its own motion or on motion of a party 
dismiss any action brought pursuant to section 1979 of the Revised 
Statutes of the United States by an adult convicted of a crime and 
confined in any jail, prison, or other correctional facility if the 
court is satisfied that the action fails to state a claim upon which 
relief can be granted or is frivolous or malicious.''.

SEC. 203. MODIFICATION OF REQUIRED MINIMUM STANDARDS.

    Section 7(b)(2) of the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1997d(b)(2)) is amended by striking subparagraph (A) and 
redesignating subparagraphs (B) through (E) as subparagraphs (A) 
through (D), respectively.

SEC. 204. PROCEEDINGS IN FORMA PAUPERIS.

    (a) Dismissal.--Section 1915(d) of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) by inserting ``at any time'' after ``counsel and may''; 
        and
            (2) by striking ``and may'' and inserting ``and shall'';
            (3) by inserting ``fails to state a claim upon which relief 
        may be granted or'' after ``that the action''; and
            (4) by inserting ``even if partial filing fees have been 
        imposed by the court'' before the period.
    (b) Prisoner's Statement of Assets.--Section 1915 of title 28, 
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(f) If a prisoner in a correctional institution files an 
affidavit in accordance with subsection (a) of this section, such 
prisoner shall include in that affidavit a statement of all assets such 
prisoner possesses. The court shall make inquiry of the correctional 
institution in which the prisoner is incarcerated for information 
available to that institution relating to the extent of the prisoner's 
assets. The court shall require full or partial payment of filing fees 
according to the prisoner's ability to pay.''.

                 TITLE III--STOP TURNING OUT PRISONERS

SEC. 301. APPROPRIATE REMEDIES FOR PRISON CONDITIONS.

    (a) In General.--Section 3626 of title 18, United States Code, is 
amended to read as follows:
``Sec. 3626. Appropriate remedies with respect to prison conditions
    ``(a) Requirements for Relief.--
            ``(1) Limitations on prospective relief.--Prospective 
        relief in a civil action with respect to prison conditions 
        shall extend no further than necessary to remove the conditions 
        that are causing the deprivation of the Federal rights of 
        individual plaintiffs in that civil action. The court shall not 
        grant or approve any prospective relief unless the court finds 
        that such relief is narrowly drawn and the least intrusive 
        means to remedy the violation of the Federal right. In 
        determining the intrusiveness of the relief, the court shall 
        give substantial weight to any adverse impact on public safety 
        or the operation of a criminal justice system caused by the 
        relief.
            ``(2) Prison population reduction relief.--In any civil 
        action with respect to prison conditions, the court shall not 
        grant or approve any relief whose purpose or effect is to 
        reduce or limit the prison population, unless the plaintiff 
        proves that crowding is the primary cause of the deprivation of 
        the Federal right and no other relief will remedy that 
        deprivation.
    ``(b) Termination of Relief.--
            ``(1) Automatic termination of prospective relief after 2-
        year period.--In any civil action with respect to prison 
        conditions, any prospective relief shall automatically 
        terminate 2 years after the later of--
                    ``(A) the date the court found the violation of a 
                Federal right that was the basis for the relief; or
                    ``(B) the date of the enactment of the Stop Turning 
                Out Prisoners Act.
            ``(2) Immediate termination of prospective relief.--In any 
        civil action with respect to prison conditions, a defendant or 
        intervenor shall be entitled to the immediate termination of 
        any prospective relief, if that relief was approved or granted 
        in the absence of a finding by the court that prison conditions 
        violated a Federal right.
    ``(c) Procedure for Motions Affecting Prospective Relief.--
            ``(1) Generally.--The court shall promptly rule on any 
        motion to modify or terminate prospective relief in a civil 
        action with respect to prison conditions.
            ``(2) Automatic stay.--Any prospective relief subject to a 
        pending motion shall be automatically stayed during the 
        period--
                    ``(A) beginning on the 30th day after such motion 
                is filed, in the case of a motion made under subsection 
                (b); and
                    ``(B) beginning on the 180th day after such motion 
                is filed, in the case of a motion made under any other 
                law;
        and ending on the date the court enters a final order ruling on 
        that motion.
    ``(d) Standing.--Any Federal, State, or local official or unit of 
government--
            ``(1) whose jurisdiction or function includes the 
        prosecution or custody of persons in a prison subject to; or
            ``(2) who otherwise is or may be affected by;
any relief whose purpose or effect is to reduce or limit the prison 
population shall have standing to oppose the imposition or continuation 
in effect of that relief and may intervene in any proceeding relating 
to that relief. Standing shall be liberally conferred under this 
subsection so as to effectuate the remedial purposes of this section.
    ``(e) Special Masters.--In any civil action in a Federal court with 
respect to prison conditions, any special master or monitor shall be a 
United States magistrate and shall make proposed findings on the record 
on complicated factual issues submitted to that special master or 
monitor by the court, but shall have no other function. The parties may 
not by consent extend the function of a special master beyond that 
permitted under this subsection.
    ``(f) Attorney's Fees.--No attorney's fee under section 722 of the 
Revised Statutes of the United States (42 U.S.C. 1988) may be granted 
to a plaintiff in a civil action with respect to prison conditions 
except to the extent such fee is--
            ``(1) directly and reasonably incurred in proving an actual 
        violation of the plaintiff's Federal rights; and
            ``(2) proportionally related to the extent the plaintiff 
        obtains court ordered relief for that violation.''.
    ``(g) Definitions.--As used in this section--
            ``(1) the term `prison' means any Federal, State, or local 
        facility that incarcerates or detains juveniles or adults 
        accused of, convicted of, sentenced for, or adjudicated 
        delinquent for, violations of criminal law;
            ``(2) the term `relief' means all relief in any form which 
        may be granted or approved by the court, and includes consent 
        decrees and settlement agreements; and
            ``(3) the term `prospective relief' means all relief other 
        than compensatory monetary damages.''
    (b) Application of Amendment.--Section 3626 of title 18, United 
States Code, as amended by this section, shall apply with respect to 
all relief (as defined in such section) whether such relief was 
originally granted or approved before, on, or after the date of the 
enactment of this Act.
    (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 striking ``crowding'' and inserting ``conditions''.
                                 <all>
HR 667 IH----2