[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5608 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5608

 To establish alternative sentencing procedures for certain nonviolent 
                             drug offenses.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 31, 2000

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To establish alternative sentencing procedures for certain nonviolent 
                             drug offenses.

    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 ``Federal Drug Treatment Alternative 
Sentencing Act of 2000''.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the court, upon the 
conviction of an individual for a misdemeanor under section 404(a) of 
the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 844(a)), if the individual is 
a defendant described in section 3553(f)(2) of title 18, United States 
Code, shall consider sentencing that individual to a term of probation 
that includes a condition, or a term of imprisonment that includes a 
recommendation, of participation in substance abuse treatment, 
including a rehabilitation program as described under this Act.

SEC. 3. PROBATION PROGRAMS.

    (a) Generally.--If the court orders probation pursuant to section 
2, the sentence of probation shall be subject to subtitle B of chapter 
227 of title 18, United States Code. In considering discretionary 
conditions of probation under section 3563(b) of such title, the court 
shall consider and use, where appropriate to assure participation in 
substance abuse treatment, any of the following:
            (1) Day fines.
            (2) House arrest.
            (3) Electronic monitoring.
            (4) Intensive probation supervision.
            (5) Day reporting centers.
            (6) Victim-offender reconciliation.
            (7) Intermittent confinement.
            (8) Treatment in a therapeutic community.
    (b) Alternative Sentence.--In order to assure participation in 
substance abuse treatment each offender who participates in a substance 
abuse program pursuant to this section shall serve a sentence of 
imprisonment with respect to the underlying offense if that offender 
does not successfully complete such a substance abuse treatment 
program.
    (c) Preference for Community-Based Programs.--The court shall 
order, to the greatest extent practicable, that substance abuse 
treatment for an individual sentenced under subsection (a) shall be 
provided in the locality in which the individual resides.

SEC. 4. REHABILITATION PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--The Bureau of Prisons (hereinafter in this Act 
referred to as the ``Bureau'') shall maintain a rehabilitation program 
for offenders sentenced to incarceration under this Act. The program 
shall consist of--
            (1) residential substance abuse treatment; and
            (2) aftercare services.
    (b) Report.--The Bureau of Prisons shall transmit to the Congress 
on January 1, 2002, and on January 1 of each year thereafter, a report. 
Such report shall contain--
            (1) a detailed quantitative and qualitative description of 
        each substance abuse treatment program, residential or not, 
        operated by the Bureau; and
            (2) a complete statement of to what extent the Bureau has 
        achieved compliance with the requirements of this Act.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act--
            (1) the term ``residential substance abuse treatment'' 
        means a course of individual and group activities, lasting 
        between 9 and 12 months, in residential treatment programs--
                    (A) directed at the substance abuse problems of the 
                convicted person;
                    (B) intended to develop a person's cognitive, 
                behavioral, social, vocational, and other skills so as 
                to solve the convicted person's substance abuse and 
                related problems; and
                    (C) shall include--
                            (i) addiction education;
                            (ii) individual, group, and family 
                        counseling pursuant to individualized treatment 
                        plans;
                            (iii) opportunity for involvement in 
                        Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, or 
                        Cocaine Anonymous;
                            (iv) parenting skills training, domestic 
                        violence counseling, and sexual abuse 
                        counseling, where appropriate;
                            (v) HIV education counseling and testing, 
                        when requested, and early intervention services 
                        for seropositive individuals;
                            (vi) services that facilitate access to 
                        health and social services, where appropriate 
                        and to the extent available; and
                            (vii) planning for and counseling to assist 
                        reentry into society, including referrals to 
                        appropriate educational, vocational, and other 
                        employment-related programs (to the extent 
                        available), referrals, to appropriate 
                        outpatient or other drug or alcohol treatment, 
                        counseling, transitional housing, and 
                        assistance in obtaining suitable affordable 
                        housing and employment upon completion of 
                        treatment (and release from prison, if 
                        applicable);
            (2) the term ``aftercare services'' means a course of 
        individual and group treatment for a minimum of one year or for 
        the remainder of the term of incarceration if less than one 
        year, involving sustained and frequent interaction with 
        individuals who have successfully completed a program of 
        residential substance abuse treatment, and shall include 
        consistent personal interaction between the individual and a 
        primary counselor or case manager, participation in group and 
        individual counseling sessions, social activities targeted 
        toward a recovering substance abuser, and, where appropriate, 
        more intensive intervention; and
            (3) the term ``substance abuse or dependency'' means the 
        abuse of drugs or alcohol.

SEC. 6. STUDY OF THE EFFECT OF MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCES FOR 
              NONVIOLENT CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE OFFENSES.

    The Attorney General shall within 1 year after the enactment of 
this Act to the Committees on the Judiciary of the House of 
Representatives and Senate issue a report on the racial impact of 
mandatory minimum sentences for controlled substance offenses, their 
effectiveness in reducing drug-related crime by nonviolent offenders in 
contrast with other approaches such as drug treatment programs, and the 
appropriateness of the use of such sentences on nonviolent offenders.
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