[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 619 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 619

  To establish a grant program that provides incentives for States to 
 enact mandatory minimum sentences for certain firearms offenses, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 26, 2001

  Mr. DeWine (for himself, Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. Warner, Mr. Allen, Mr. 
 Helms, Mr. Hagel, Mr. Grassley, Mr. Santorum, Mr. Sessions, and Mrs. 
   Lincoln) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To establish a grant program that provides incentives for States to 
 enact mandatory minimum sentences for certain firearms offenses, 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 ``Project Exile: The Safe Streets and 
Neighborhoods Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. FIREARMS SENTENCING INCENTIVE GRANTS.

    (a) Program Established.--Title II of the Violent Crime Control and 
Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-322; 108 Stat. 1815) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subtitle D as subtitle E; and
            (2) by inserting after subtitle C the following:

           ``Subtitle D--Firearms Sentencing Incentive Grants

``SEC. 20351. DEFINITIONS.

    ``In this subtitle:
            ``(1) Firearm.--The term `firearm' has the meaning given 
        the term in section 921(a) of title 18, United States Code.
            ``(2) Part 1 violent crime.--The term `part 1 violent 
        crime' means murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible 
        rape, robbery, and aggravated assault, as reported to the 
        Federal Bureau of Investigation for purposes of the Uniform 
        Crime Reports.
            ``(3) Serious drug trafficking crime.--The term `serious 
        drug trafficking crime' means an offense under State law for 
        the manufacture or distribution of a controlled substance, for 
        which State law authorizes to be imposed a sentence to a term 
        of imprisonment of not less than 10 years.
            ``(4) State.--The term `State' means a State of the United 
        States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
        Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, 
        and the Northern Mariana Islands.
            ``(5) Unit of local government.--The term `unit of local 
        government' has the meaning given the term in section 901(a) of 
        title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 
        1968 (42 U.S.C. 3791(a)).
            ``(6) Violent crime.--The term `violent crime' means murder 
        and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, robbery, and 
        aggravated assault, or a crime in a reasonably comparable class 
        of serious violent crimes, as approved by the Attorney General.

``SEC. 20352. AUTHORIZATION OF GRANTS.

    ``(a) In General.--From amounts made available to carry out this 
subtitle, the Attorney General shall award Firearms Sentencing 
Incentive Grants to eligible States in accordance with this subtitle.
    ``(b) Allowable Uses.--Grants awarded under this subtitle may be 
used by a State only--
            ``(1) to support--
                    ``(A) law enforcement agencies;
                    ``(B) prosecutors;
                    ``(C) courts;
                    ``(D) probation officers;
                    ``(E) correctional officers;
                    ``(F) the juvenile justice system;
                    ``(G) the expansion, improvement, and coordination 
                of criminal history records; or
                    ``(H) case management programs involving the 
                sharing of information about serious offenders;
            ``(2) to carry out a public awareness and community support 
        program described in section 20353(a)(2); or
            ``(3) to build or expand correctional facilities.
    ``(c) Subgrants.--A State may use grants awarded under this 
subtitle directly or by making subgrants to units of local government 
within that State.

``SEC. 20353. FIREARMS SENTENCING INCENTIVE GRANTS.

    ``(a) Eligibility.--Except as provided in subsection (b), to be 
eligible to receive a grant award under this section, a State shall 
submit an application to the Attorney General, which shall comply with 
the following requirements:
            ``(1) Firearms sentencing laws.--The application shall 
        demonstrate that the State has implemented firearms sentencing 
        laws requiring 1 or both of the following:
                    ``(A) Any person who, during and in relation to any 
                violent crime or serious drug trafficking crime, uses 
                or carries a firearm, shall, in addition to the 
                punishment provided for that crime of violence or 
                serious drug trafficking crime, be sentenced to a term 
                of imprisonment of not less than 5 years (without the 
                possibility of parole during that term).
                    ``(B) Any person who, having not less than 1 prior 
                conviction for a violent crime, possesses a firearm, 
                shall, for such possession, be sentenced to a term of 
                imprisonment of not less than 5 years (without the 
                possibility of parole during that term).
            ``(2) Public awareness and community support program.--The 
        application shall demonstrate that the State has implemented, 
        or will implement not later than 6 months after receiving a 
        grant under this subtitle, a public awareness and community 
        support program that seeks to build support for, and warns 
        potential violators of, the firearms sentencing laws 
        implemented under paragraph (1).
            ``(3) Coordination with federal government; crime reduction 
        in high-crime areas.--The application shall provide assurances 
        that the State--
                    ``(A) will coordinate with Federal prosecutors and 
                Federal law enforcement agencies whose jurisdictions 
                include the State, so as to promote Federal involvement 
                and cooperation in the enforcement of laws within that 
                State; and
                    ``(B) will allocate its resources in a manner 
                calculated to reduce crime in the high-crime areas of 
                the State.
    ``(b) Alternate Eligibility Requirement.--
            ``(1) In general.--A State that is unable to demonstrate in 
        its application that the State meets the requirement of 
        subsection (a)(1) shall be eligible to receive a grant award 
        under this subtitle notwithstanding that inability, if that 
        State, in such application, provides assurances that the State 
        has in effect an equivalent Federal prosecution agreement.
            ``(2) Equivalent federal prosecution agreement.--For 
        purposes of paragraph (1), an equivalent Federal prosecution 
        agreement is an agreement with appropriate Federal authorities 
        that ensures that 1 or more of the following:
                    ``(A) If a person engages in the conduct specified 
                in subsection (a)(1)(A), but the conviction of that 
                person under State law for that conduct is not certain 
                to result in the imposition of an additional sentence 
                as specified in that subsection, that person is 
                prosecuted for that conduct under Federal law.
                    ``(B) If a person engages in the conduct specified 
                in subsection (a)(1)(B), but the conviction of that 
                person under State law for that conduct is not certain 
                to result in the imposition of a sentence as specified 
                in that subsection, that person is prosecuted for that 
                conduct under Federal law.

``SEC. 20354. FORMULA FOR GRANTS.

    ``(a) In General.--The amount available for grants under this 
subtitle for any fiscal year shall be allocated to each eligible State, 
in the ratio that the number of part 1 violent crimes reported by the 
State to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the 3 years preceding 
the year in which the determination is made, bears to the average 
annual number of part 1 violent crimes reported by all eligible States 
to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for the 3 years preceding the 
year in which the determination is made.
    ``(b) Unavailable Data.--If data regarding part 1 violent crimes in 
any State is substantially inaccurate or is unavailable for the 3 years 
preceding the year in which the determination is made, the Attorney 
General shall utilize the best available comparable data regarding the 
number of violent crimes for the previous year for the State for the 
purposes of the allocation of funds under this subtitle.

``SEC. 20355. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``(a) Authorizations.--There are authorized to be appropriated to 
carry out this subtitle--
            ``(1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2001;
            ``(2) $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2002;
            ``(3) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2003;
            ``(4) $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; and
            ``(5) $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2005.
    ``(b) Limitations on Funds.--
            ``(1) Uses of funds.--Funds made available pursuant to this 
        subtitle shall be used only to carry out the purposes described 
        in section 20352(b).
            ``(2) Nonsupplanting requirement.--Funds made available 
        pursuant to 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 3 percent of the 
        funds made available pursuant to this section for a fiscal year 
        shall be available to the Attorney General for purposes of 
        administration, research and evaluation, technical assistance, 
        and data collection.
            ``(4) Carryover of appropriations.--Funds appropriated 
        pursuant to this section during any fiscal year shall remain 
        available until expended.
            ``(5) Matching funds.--The Federal share of a grant awarded 
        under this subtitle may not exceed 90 percent of the costs of a 
        proposal as described in an application approved under this 
        subtitle.

``SEC. 20356. REPORT BY THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.

    ``Beginning on October 1, 2001, and on each subsequent July 1 
thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit to the Committee on the 
Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House 
of Representatives a report on the implementation of this subtitle. The 
report shall include information regarding the eligibility of States 
under section 20353 and the distribution and use of funds under this 
subtitle.''.
    (b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of contents in section 2 of the 
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-
322; 108 Stat. 1796) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating the item relating to subtitle D of 
        title II as an item relating to subtitle E of that title; and
            (2) by inserting after the item relating to subtitle C of 
        title II the following:

           ``Subtitle D--Firearms Sentencing Incentive Grants

``Sec. 20351. Definitions.
``Sec. 20352. Authorization of grants.
``Sec. 20353. Firearms sentencing incentive grants.
``Sec. 20354. Formula for grants.
``Sec. 20355. Authorization of appropriations.
``Sec. 20356. Report by the Attorney General.''.
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