[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 866 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 866

          To reform prison litigation, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                 May 25 (legislative day, May 15), 1995

Mr. Dole (for himself, Mr. Kyl, and Mr. Hatch) introduced the following 
    bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 
                               Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
          To reform prison litigation, 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 ``Prison Litigation Reform Act of 
1995''.

SEC. 2. PROCEEDINGS IN FORMA PAUPERIS.

    (a) Filing Fees.--Section 1915 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)--
                    (A) by striking ``(a) Any'' and inserting ``(a)(1) 
                Subject to subsection (b), any'';
                    (B) by striking ``fees and'';
                    (C) by striking ``makes affidavit'' and inserting 
                ``submits an affidavit'';
                    (D) by striking ``such costs'' and inserting ``such 
                fees'';
                    (E) by striking ``he'' each place it appears and 
                inserting ``the person'';
                    (F) by adding immediately after paragraph (1), the 
                following new paragraph:
    ``(2) A prisoner of a Federal, State, or local institution seeking 
to bring a civil action or appeal a judgment in a civil action or 
proceeding, without prepayment of fees or security therefor, in 
addition to filing the affidavit filed under paragraph (1), shall 
submit a certified copy of the trust fund account statement (or 
institutional equivalent) for the prisoner for the 6-month period 
immediately preceding the filing of the complaint or notice of appeal, 
obtained from the appropriate official of each institution at which the 
prisoner is or was confined.''; and
                    (E) by striking ``An appeal'' and inserting ``(3) 
                An appeal'';
            (2) by redesignating subsections (b), (c), (d), and (e) as 
        subsections (c), (d), (e), and (f), respectively;
            (3) by inserting after subsection (a) the following new 
        subsection:
    ``(b)(1) Notwithstanding subsection (a), if a prisoner brings a 
civil action or files an appeal in forma pauperis, the prisoner shall 
be required to pay the full amount of a filing fee. The court shall 
assess, and when funds exist, collect, as a partial payment of any 
court fees required by law, an initial partial filing fee of 20 percent 
of the greater of--
            ``(A) the average monthly deposits to the prisoner's 
        account; or
            ``(B) the average monthly balance in the prisoner's account 
        for the 6-month period immediately preceding the filing of the 
        complaint or notice of appeal.
    ``(2) After payment of the initial partial filing fee, the prisoner 
shall be required to make monthly payments of 20 percent of the 
preceding month's income credited to the prisoner's account. The agency 
having custody of the prisoner shall forward payments from the 
prisoner's account to the clerk of the court each time the amount in 
the account exceeds $10 until the filing fees are paid.
    ``(3) In no event shall the filing fee collected exceed the amount 
of fees permitted by statute for the commencement of a civil action or 
an appeal of a civil action or criminal judgment.
    ``(4) In no event shall a prisoner be prohibited from bringing a 
civil action or appealing a civil or criminal judgment for the reason 
that the prisoner is unable to pay the initial partial filing fee.'';
            (4) in subsection (c), as redesignated by paragraph (2), by 
        striking ``subsection (a) of this section'' and inserting 
        ``subsections (a) and (b) and the prepayment of any partial 
        filing fee as may be required under subsection (b)''; and
            (5) by amending subsection (e), as redesignated by 
        paragraph (2), to read as follows:
    ``(e) The court may request an attorney to represent any person 
unable to employ counsel, and shall dismiss the case at any time if the 
allegation of poverty is untrue, or if the court determines that the 
action or appeal is frivolous or malicious, or fails to state a claim 
on which relief may be granted.''.
    (b) Costs.--Section 1915(e) of title 28, United States Code (as 
redesignated by subsection (a)(2)), is amended)--
            (1) by striking ``(f) Judgment'' and inserting ``(f)(1) 
        Judgment'';
            (2) by striking ``such cases'' and inserting ``proceedings 
        under this section'';
            (3) by striking ``cases'' and inserting ``proceedings''; 
        and
            (4) by adding at the end the following new paragraph:
    ``(2)(A) If the judgment against a prisoner includes the payment of 
costs under this subsection, the prisoner shall be required to pay the 
full amount of the costs ordered.
    ``(B) The prisoner shall be required to make payments for costs 
under this subsection in the same manner as is provided for filing fees 
under subsection (a)(2).
    ``(C) In no event shall the costs collected exceed the amount of 
the costs ordered by the court.''.

SEC. 3. JUDICIAL SCREENING.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 123 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 1915 the following new section:
``Sec. 1915A. Screening
    ``(a) Screening.--The court shall review, before docketing if 
feasible or, in any event, as soon as practicable after docketing, a 
complaint in a civil action in which a prisoner seeks redress from a 
governmental entity or officer or employee of a governmental entity.
    ``(b) Grounds for Dismissal.--On review, the court shall dismiss 
the complaint, or any portion of the complaint, if the complaint--
            ``(1) fails to state a claim upon which relief may be 
        granted; or
            ``(2) seeks monetary relief from a defendant that is immune 
        from such relief.
    ``(c) Definition.--As used in this section, the term `prisoner' 
means a person that is serving a sentence following conviction of a 
crime or is being held in custody pending trial or sentencing.''.
    (b) Technical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 123 of title 28, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 1915 the following new item:

``1915A. Screening.''.
SEC. 4. FEDERAL TORT CLAIMS.

    Section 1346(b) of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
            (1) by striking ``(b)'' and inserting ``(b)(1)''; and
            (2) by adding at the end the following:
    ``(2) No person convicted of a felony who is incarcerated while 
awaiting sentencing or while serving a sentence may bring a civil 
action against the United States or an agency, officer, or employee of 
the Government, for mental or emotional injury suffered while in 
custody without a prior showing of physical injury.''.

SEC. 5. CIVIL RIGHTS CLAIMS.

    The Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (42 U.S.C. 1997 
et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 7 the following new 
section:

``SEC. 7A. LIMITATION ON RECOVERY.

    ``No civil action may be brought against the United States by an 
adult convicted of a crime confined in a jail, prison, or other 
correctional facility, for mental or emotional injury suffered while in 
custody without a prior showing of physical injury.''.

SEC. 6. EARNED RELEASE CREDIT OR GOOD TIME CREDIT REVOCATION.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 123 of title 28, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 1932. Revocation of earned release credit
    ``In a civil action brought by an adult convicted of a crime and 
confined in a Federal correctional facility, the court may order the 
revocation of earned good time credit (or the institutional equivalent) 
if--
            ``(1) the court finds that--
                    ``(A) the claim was filed for a malicious purpose;
                    ``(B) the claim was filed solely to harass the 
                party against which it was filed; or
                    ``(C) the claimant testifies falsely or otherwise 
                knowingly presents false evidence or information to the 
                court; or
            ``(2) if the Attorney General determines that subparagraph 
        (A), (B), or (C) of paragraph (1) has been met and recommends 
        revocation of earned good time credit to the court.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 123 of title 28, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 1931 the following:

``1931. Revocation of earned release credit.''.
SEC. 7. EXHAUSTION REQUIREMENT.

    Section 7(a)(1) of the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons 
Act (42 U.S.C. 1997e(a)(1)) 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 ``and exhausted'' after ``available''.
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