[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 160 (Tuesday, December 7, 2010)]
[House]
[Page H8066]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


ACCESS TO CRIMINAL HISTORY RECORDS FOR STATE SENTENCING COMMISSIONS ACT 
                                OF 2010

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and 
pass the bill (H.R. 6412) to amend title 28, United States Code, to 
require the Attorney General to share criminal records with State 
sentencing commissions, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 6412

       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 ``Access to Criminal History 
     Records for State Sentencing Commissions Act of 2010''.

     SEC. 2. ATTORNEY GENERAL TO SHARE CRIMINAL RECORDS WITH STATE 
                   SENTENCING COMMISSIONS.

       Section 534(a) of title 28, United States Code, is amended 
     by inserting after ``, the States'' the following: ``, 
     including State sentencing commissions''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Virginia (Mr. Scott) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Daniel E. 
Lungren) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Virginia.


                             General Leave

  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all 
Members have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 6412 is a short, but very important, piece of 
legislation. The bill will allow State sentencing commissions to obtain 
direct national criminal history record information maintained by the 
Department of Justice. These commissions, the State commissions, 
perform critical functions. They shape State policies that promote 
fairer, more consistent sentencing practices. They help protect public 
safety and address the impacts of crime on victims and the community. 
They develop tools to assess the seriousness and risk of offenders so 
that high-risk, dangerous offenders can be handled appropriately, and 
low-risk low-level offenders can be placed in appropriate evidence-
based programs.
  They project the impacts of State legislation, regulations, and 
policies on correctional populations, personnel needs, and fiscal 
requirements. They evaluate the effectiveness of sentencing and 
corrections programs, particularly in terms of outcomes, offender 
recidivism, and cost-benefit analysis.
  Currently, State sentencing commissions are only able to receive out-
of-State and Federal criminal history information through third 
parties, if at all. The effectiveness of the work of these commissions 
is consequently undermined by missing or incomplete information, 
particularly with respect to research relating to recidivism in 
jurisdictions with large populations near their State borders. Allowing 
State sentencing commissions to access complete and accurate criminal 
history information will improve the administration of justice by 
enhancing the effectiveness of sentencing decisions and program 
placements. Access to this information will also improve research 
concerning sentencing outcomes and recidivism.
  This bill will simply put State commissions in the same position as 
the Federal Sentencing Commission in terms of access to this 
information. The United States Sentencing Commission is already 
afforded access to this information, subject to a transfer agreement 
with the Department of Justice, which protects the confidentiality of 
these records. I would expect the Department of Justice to treat State 
commissions the same way once the legislation is enacted.
  I appreciate the assistance of Chairman Conyers and Ranking Member 
Smith for their bipartisan support of this important legislation. I 
urge my colleagues to support the bill.
  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DANIEL E. LUNGREN of California. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such 
time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 6412, the Access to Criminal 
History Records for State Sentencing Commissions Act of 2010. This 
amends the Federal law to direct the Attorney General to share criminal 
history records with State sentencing commissions.
  I am proud to say that although it's not as rare as the chances I 
have to agree with the Senator from New York, I do agree with my friend 
from Virginia more often than that, and it is good to be able to be 
here and support the legislation which he brings to the floor.
  Over a dozen States operate sentencing commissions that, similar to 
the U.S. Sentencing Commission, promulgate guidelines to provide 
uniform sentences for criminal offenses. Many State sentencing 
commissions also collect and report statistics on the types of crimes, 
the lengths of sentences, the rates of recidivism, and other important 
public safety data.
  Federal law has required the Attorney General to collect criminal 
history records and share such records with State and local 
governments, Indian tribes, penal institutions, and the U.S. Sentencing 
Commission. However, interestingly enough, State sentencing commissions 
are not currently eligible to participate in this exchange. H.R. 6412 
corrects this omission by amending the Federal law to add State 
sentencing commissions to the list of entities authorized to obtain 
criminal history records.
  There is an old adage that all crime is local. And in many respects, 
that is still true today. But while crime still may be local, 
oftentimes the criminal is not. Today, more than ever, criminals move 
from one State to the next, or across the country, leaving a trail of 
criminal records behind them. Public safety officials rely upon shared 
criminal history records to apprehend fugitives and to identify 
dangerous criminals.
  Prosecutors and the courts depend on these records to assess 
penalties. And sentencing commissions need this data to accurately 
report sentencing data and to ensure that their sentencing guidelines 
provide fair and appropriate punishment. So I urge my colleagues to 
support this bill brought to us by Mr. Scott of Virginia.
  I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume to thank the gentleman from California for supporting bills 
introduced by this side of the aisle. In light of the change in 
leadership next year, I hope he continues in that great tradition.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and yield back 
the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Scott) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 6412.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. SCOTT of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the 
ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a 
quorum is not present.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.
  The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.

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