[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3646 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

<DOC>






116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 3646

   To require the transfer or release of certain individuals in the 
custody of the United States because of their risk of exposure during a 
              national emergency, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 7, 2020

 Mr. Booker (for himself, Ms. Harris, and Mr. Sanders) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To require the transfer or release of certain individuals in the 
custody of the United States because of their risk of exposure during a 
              national emergency, 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 ``Emergency Community Supervision 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) As of the date of introduction of this Act, the novel 
        coronavirus has spread to all 50 States, the District of 
        Columbia, and 3 territories.
            (2) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have 
        projected that between 160,000,000 and 214,000,000 people could 
        be infected by the novel coronavirus in the United States over 
        the course of the pandemic.
            (3) Although the United States has less than 5 percent of 
        the world's population, the United States holds approximately 
        21 percent of the world's prisoners and leads the world in the 
        number of individuals incarcerated, with nearly 2,200,000 
        people incarcerated in State and Federal prisons and local 
        jails.
            (4) Studies have shown that individuals age out of crime 
        starting around 25 years of age, and released individuals over 
        the age of 50 have a very low recidivism rate.
            (5) According to public health experts, incarcerated 
        individuals are particularly vulnerable to being gravely 
        impacted by the novel corona virus pandemic because--
                    (A) they have higher rates of underlying health 
                issues than members of the general public, including 
                higher rates of respiratory disease, heart disease, 
                diabetes, obesity, HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, 
                hepatitis, and other conditions that suppress immune 
                response; and
                    (B) the close conditions and lack of access to 
                hygiene products in prisons make these institutions 
                unusually susceptible to viral pandemics.
            (6) The spread of communicable viral disease in the United 
        States generally constitutes a serious, heightened threat to 
        the safety of incarcerated individuals, and there is a serious 
        threat to the general public that prisons may become incubators 
        of community spread of communicable viral disease.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Covered health condition.--The term ``covered health 
        condition'' with respect to an individual, means the 
        individual--
                    (A) is pregnant;
                    (B) has chronic lung disease or asthma;
                    (C) has congestive heart failure or coronary artery 
                disease;
                    (D) has diabetes;
                    (E) has a neurological condition that weakens the 
                ability to cough;
                    (F) has HIV;
                    (G) has sickle cell anemia;
                    (H) has cancer; or
                    (I) has a weakened immune system.
            (2) Covered individual.--The term ``covered individual''--
                    (A) means an individual who--
                            (i) is a juvenile (as defined in section 
                        5031 of title 18, United States Code);
                            (ii) is 50 years of age or older;
                            (iii) has a covered health condition; or
                            (iv) is within 12 months of release from 
                        incarceration; and
                    (B) includes an individual described in 
                subparagraph (A) who is serving a term of imprisonment 
                for an offense committed before November 1, 1987.
            (3) National emergency relation to a communicable 
        disease.--The term ``national emergency relating to a 
        communicable disease'' means--
                    (A) an emergency involving Federal primary 
                responsibility determined to exist by the President 
                under section 501(b) of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster 
                Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5191(b)) 
                with respect to a communicable disease; or
                    (B) a national emergency declared by the President 
                under the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et 
                seq.) with respect to a communicable disease.

SEC. 4. PLACEMENT OF CERTAIN INDIVIDUALS IN COMMUNITY SUPERVISION.

    (a) Authority.--Except as provided in subsection (b), beginning on 
the date on which a national emergency relating to a communicable 
disease is declared and ending on the date that is 60 days after such 
national emergency expires--
            (1) notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
        Director of the Bureau of Prisons shall place in community 
        supervision all covered individuals who are in the custody of 
        the Bureau of Prisons; and
            (2) the district court of the United States for each 
        judicial district shall place in community supervision all 
        covered individuals who are in the custody and care of the 
        United States Marshals Service.
    (b) Exceptions.--
            (1) Bureau of prisons.--In carrying out subsection (a)(1), 
        the Director--
                    (A) may not place in community supervision any 
                individual determined, by clear and convincing 
                evidence, to be likely to pose a specific and 
                substantial risk of causing bodily injury or using 
                violent force against the person of another;
                    (B) shall place in the file of each individual 
                described in subparagraph (A) documentation of such 
                determination, including the evidence used to make the 
                determination; and
                    (C) not later than 180 days after the date on which 
                the national emergency relating to a communicable 
                disease expires, shall provide a report to Congress 
                documenting--
                            (i) the demographic data (including race, 
                        gender, age, offense of conviction, and 
                        criminal history level) of the individuals 
                        denied placement in community supervision under 
                        subparagraph (A); and
                            (ii) the justification for the denials 
                        described in clause (i).
            (2) District courts.--In carrying out subsection (a)(2), 
        each district court of the United States--
                    (A) shall conduct an immediate and expedited review 
                of the detention orders of all covered individuals in 
                the custody and care of the United States Marshals 
                Service, which may be conducted sua sponte and ex 
                parte, without--
                            (i) appearance by the defendant or any 
                        party; or
                            (ii) requiring a petition, motion, or other 
                        similar document to be filed;
                    (B) may not place in community supervision any 
                individual the court determines, after a hearing and by 
                clear and convincing evidence, to be likely to pose a 
                specific and substantial risk of causing bodily injury 
                or using violent force against the person of another; 
                and
                    (C) in carrying out subparagraphs (A) and (B), 
                may--
                            (i) rely on evidence presented in prior 
                        court proceedings; and
                            (ii) if the court determines it necessary, 
                        request additional information from the parties 
                        to make the determination.
    (c) Limitation on Community Supervision Placement.--In placing 
covered individuals into community supervision under this section, the 
Director of the Bureau of Prisons and the district court of the United 
States for each judicial district shall take into account and 
prioritize placements that enable adequate social distancing, which 
include home confinement or other forms of low in-person-contact 
supervised release.

SEC. 5. LIMITATION ON PRE-TRIAL DETENTION.

    Notwithstanding section 3142 of title 18, United States Code, 
beginning on the date on which a national emergency relating to a 
communicable disease is declared and ending on the date that is 60 days 
after such national emergency expires, the Government may not seek to 
detain, and a judicial officer (as defined in section 3156 of title 18, 
United States Code) may not order the detention of, any individual, 
unless the Government shows by clear and convincing evidence that--
            (1) releasing the individual will create a high risk of 
        willful non-appearance in court; or
            (2) the individual poses a specific and substantial risk of 
        causing bodily injury or using violent force against the person 
        of another.

SEC. 6. LIMITATION ON SUPERVISED RELEASE.

    Beginning on the date on which a national emergency relating to a 
communicable disease is declared and ending on the date that is 60 days 
after such national emergency expires, the Office of Probation and 
Pretrial Services of the Administrative Office of the United States 
Courts shall take measures to prevent the spread of the communicable 
viral disease among individuals under supervision by--
            (1) suspending the requirement that individuals determined 
        to be a lower risk of reoffending, or any other individuals 
        determined to be appropriate by the supervising probation 
        officer, report in person to their probation or parole officer;
            (2) identifying individuals who have successfully completed 
        not less than 18 months of supervision and transferring such 
        individuals to administrative supervision or petitioning the 
        court to terminate supervision, as appropriate; and
            (3) suspending the request for detention and imprisonment 
        as a sanction for violations of probation, supervised release, 
        or parole.

SEC. 7. PROHIBITION.

    No individual who is granted placement in community supervision, 
termination of supervision, placement on administrative supervision, or 
pre-trial release shall be re-incarcerated, placed on supervision or 
active supervision, or ordered detained pre-trial only as a result of 
the expiration of the national emergency relating to a communicable 
disease.
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