[House Report 107-46]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



107th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                     107-46

======================================================================



 
            CONSEQUENCES FOR JUVENILE OFFENDERS ACT OF 2001

                                _______
                                

 April 20, 2001.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Sensenbrenner, from the Committee on the Judiciary, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 863]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on the Judiciary, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 863) to provide grants to ensure increased 
accountability for juvenile offenders, having considered the 
same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and 
recommends that the bill as amended do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
The Amendment....................................................     1
Purpose and Summary..............................................     8
Background and Need for the Legislation..........................     8
Hearings.........................................................    10
Committee Consideration..........................................    11
Vote of the Committee............................................    11
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................    11
Performance Goals and Objectives.................................    11
New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures........................    11
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................    11
Constitutional Authority Statement...............................    13
Section-by-Section Analysis and Discussion.......................    13
Agency Views.....................................................    20
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported............    24
Markup Transcript................................................    37

    The amendment is as follows:
    Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Consequences for Juvenile Offenders 
Act of 2001''.

SEC. 2. GRANT PROGRAM.

    Part R of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act 
of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796 et seq.) is amended to read as follows:

             ``PART R--JUVENILE ACCOUNTABILITY BLOCK GRANTS

``SEC. 1801. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

    ``(a) In General.--The Attorney General is authorized to provide 
grants to States, for use by States and units of local government, and 
in certain cases directly to specially qualified units.
    ``(b) Authorized Activities.--Amounts paid to a State or a unit of 
local government under this part shall be used by the State or unit of 
local government for the purpose of strengthening the juvenile justice 
system, which includes----
            ``(1) developing, implementing, and administering graduated 
        sanctions for juvenile offenders;
            ``(2) building, expanding, renovating, or operating 
        temporary or permanent juvenile correction, detention, or 
        community corrections facilities;
            ``(3) hiring juvenile court judges, probation officers, and 
        court-appointed defenders and special advocates, and funding 
        pretrial services for juvenile offenders, to promote the 
        effective and expeditious administration of the juvenile 
        justice system;
            ``(4) hiring additional prosecutors, so that more cases 
        involving violent juvenile offenders can be prosecuted and case 
        backlogs reduced;
            ``(5) providing funding to enable prosecutors to address 
        drug, gang, and youth violence problems more effectively and 
        for technology, equipment, and training to assist prosecutors 
        in identifying and expediting the prosecution of violent 
        juvenile offenders;
            ``(6) establishing and maintaining training programs for 
        law enforcement and other court personnel with respect to 
        preventing and controlling juvenile crime;
            ``(7) establishing juvenile gun courts for the prosecution 
        and adjudication of juvenile firearms offenders;
            ``(8) establishing drug court programs for juvenile 
        offenders that provide continuing judicial supervision over 
        juvenile offenders with substance abuse problems and the 
        integrated administration of other sanctions and services for 
        such offenders;
            ``(9) establishing and maintaining a system of juvenile 
        records designed to promote public safety;
            ``(10) establishing and maintaining interagency 
        information-sharing programs that enable the juvenile and 
        criminal justice system, schools, and social services agencies 
        to make more informed decisions regarding the early 
        identification, control, supervision, and treatment of 
        juveniles who repeatedly commit serious delinquent or criminal 
        acts;
            ``(11) establishing and maintaining accountability-based 
        programs designed to reduce recidivism among juveniles who are 
        referred by law enforcement personnel or agencies;
            ``(12) establishing and maintaining programs to conduct 
        risk and need assessments of juvenile offenders that facilitate 
        the effective early intervention and the provision of 
        comprehensive services, including mental health screening and 
        treatment and substance abuse testing and treatment to such 
        offenders;
            ``(13) establishing and maintaining accountability-based 
        programs that are designed to enhance school safety;
            ``(14) establishing and maintaining restorative justice 
        programs;
            ``(15) establishing and maintaining programs to enable 
        juvenile courts and juvenile probation officers to be more 
        effective and efficient in holding juvenile offenders 
        accountable and reducing recidivism; and
            ``(16) hiring detention and corrections personnel, and 
        establishing and maintaining training programs for such 
        personnel to improve facility practices and programming.
    ``(c) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term 
`restorative justice program' means a program that emphasizes the moral 
accountability of an offender toward the victim and the affected 
community, and may include community reparations boards, restitution 
(in the form of monetary payment or service to the victim or, where no 
victim can be identified, service to the affected community), and 
mediation between victim and offender.

``SEC. 1802. GRANT ELIGIBILITY.

    ``(a) State Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant under 
this section, a State shall submit to the Attorney General an 
application at such time, in such form, and containing such assurances 
and information as the Attorney General may require by guidelines, 
including----
            ``(1) information about----
                    ``(A) the activities proposed to be carried out 
                with such grant; and
                    ``(B) the criteria by which the State proposes to 
                assess the effectiveness of such activities on 
                achieving the purposes of this part; and
            ``(2) assurances that the State and any unit of local 
        government to which the State provides funding under section 
        1803(b), has in effect (or shall have in effect, not later than 
        1 year after the date that the State submits such application) 
        laws, or has implemented (or shall implement, not later than 1 
        year after the date that the State submits such application) 
        policies and programs, that provide for a system of graduated 
        sanctions described in subsection (c).
    ``(b) Local Eligibility.----
            ``(1) Subgrant eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a 
        subgrant, a unit of local government, other than a specially 
        qualified unit, shall provide to the State----
                    ``(A) information about----
                            ``(i) the activities proposed to be carried 
                        out with such subgrant; and
                            ``(ii) the criteria by which the unit 
                        proposes to assess the effectiveness of such 
                        activities on achieving the purposes of this 
                        part; and
                    ``(B) such assurances as the State shall require, 
                that, to the maximum extent applicable, the unit of 
                local government has in effect (or shall have in 
                effect, not later than 1 year after the date that the 
                unit submits such application) laws, or has implemented 
                (or shall implement, not later than 1 year after the 
                date that the unit submits such application) policies 
                and programs, that provide for a system of graduated 
                sanctions described in subsection (c).
            ``(2) Special rule.--The requirements of paragraph (1) 
        shall apply to a specially qualified unit that receives funds 
        from the Attorney General under section 1803(e), except that 
        information that is otherwise required to be submitted to the 
        State shall be submitted to the Attorney General.
    ``(c) Graduated Sanctions.--A system of graduated sanctions, which 
may be discretionary as provided in subsection (d), shall ensure, at a 
minimum, that----
            ``(1) sanctions are imposed on a juvenile offender for each 
        delinquent offense;
            ``(2) sanctions escalate in intensity with each subsequent, 
        more serious delinquent offense;
            ``(3) there is sufficient flexibility to allow for 
        individualized sanctions and services suited to the individual 
        juvenile offender; and
            ``(4) appropriate consideration is given to public safety 
        and victims of crime.
    ``(d) Discretionary Use of Sanctions.----
            ``(1) Voluntary participation.--A State or unit of local 
        government may be eligible to receive a grant under this part 
        if----
                    ``(A) its system of graduated sanctions is 
                discretionary; and
                    ``(B) it demonstrates that it has promoted the use 
                of a system of graduated sanctions by taking steps to 
                encourage implementation of such a system by juvenile 
                courts.
            ``(2) Reporting requirement if graduated sanctions not 
        used.----
                    ``(A) Juvenile courts.--A State or unit of local 
                government in which the imposition of graduated 
                sanctions is discretionary shall require each juvenile 
                court within its jurisdiction--
                            ``(i) which has not implemented a system of 
                        graduated sanctions, to submit an annual report 
                        that explains why such court did not implement 
                        graduated sanctions; and
                            ``(ii) which has implemented a system of 
                        graduated sanctions but has not imposed 
                        graduated sanctions in all cases, to submit an 
                        annual report that explains why such court did 
                        not impose graduated sanctions in all cases.
                    ``(B) Units of local government.--Each unit of 
                local government, other than a specially qualified 
                unit, that has 1 or more juvenile courts that use a 
                discretionary system of graduated sanctions shall 
                collect the information reported under subparagraph (A) 
                for submission to the State each year.
                    ``(C) States.--Each State and specially qualified 
                unit that has 1 or more juvenile courts that use a 
                discretionary system of graduated sanctions shall 
                collect the information reported under subparagraph (A) 
                for submission to the Attorney General each year. A 
                State shall also collect and submit to the Attorney 
                General the information collected under subparagraph 
                (B).
    ``(e) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
            ``(1) The term `discretionary' means that a system of 
        graduated sanctions is not required to be imposed by each and 
        every juvenile court in a State or unit of local government.
            ``(2) The term `sanctions' means tangible, proportional 
        consequences that hold the juvenile offender accountable for 
        the offense committed. A sanction may include counseling, 
        restitution, community service, a fine, supervised probation, 
        or confinement.

``SEC. 1803. ALLOCATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.

    ``(a) State Allocation.----
            ``(1) In general.--In accordance with regulations 
        promulgated pursuant to this part and except as provided in 
        paragraph (3), the Attorney General shall allocate----
                    ``(A) 0.25 percent for each State; and
                    ``(B) of the total funds remaining after the 
                allocation under subparagraph (A), to each State, an 
                amount which bears the same ratio to the amount of 
                remaining funds described in this subparagraph as the 
                population of people under the age of 18 living in such 
                State for the most recent calendar year in which such 
                data is available bears to the population of people 
                under the age of 18 of all the States for such fiscal 
                year.
            ``(2) Prohibition.--No funds allocated to a State under 
        this subsection or received by a State for distribution under 
        subsection (b) may be distributed by the Attorney General or by 
        the State involved for any program other than a program 
        contained in an approved application.
    ``(b) Local Distribution.----
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), 
        each State which receives funds under subsection (a)(1) in a 
        fiscal year shall distribute among units of local government, 
        for the purposes specified in section 1801, not less than 75 
        percent of such amounts received.
            ``(2) Waiver.--If a State submits to the Attorney General 
        an application for waiver that demonstrates and certifies to 
        the Attorney General that----
                    ``(A) the State's juvenile justice expenditures in 
                the fiscal year preceding the date in which an 
                application is submitted under this part (the `State 
                percentage') is more than 25 percent of the aggregate 
                amount of juvenile justice expenditures by the State 
                and its eligible units of local government; and
                    ``(B) the State has consulted with as many units of 
                local government in such State, or organizations 
                representing such units, as practicable regarding the 
                State's calculation of expenditures under subparagraph 
                (A), the State's application for waiver under this 
                paragraph, and the State's proposed uses of funds,
        the percentage referred to in paragraph (1) shall equal the 
        percentage determined by subtracting the State percentage from 
        100 percent.
            ``(3) Allocation.--In making the distribution under 
        paragraph (1), the State shall allocate to such units of local 
        government an amount which bears the same ratio to the 
        aggregate amount of such funds as----
                    ``(A) the sum of----
                            ``(i) the product of----
                                    ``(I) three-quarters; multiplied by
                                    ``(II) the average juvenile justice 
                                expenditure for such unit of local 
                                government for the 3 most recent 
                                calendar years for which such data is 
                                available; plus
                            ``(ii) the product of----
                                    ``(I) one-quarter; multiplied by
                                    ``(II) the average annual number of 
                                part 1 violent crimes in such unit of 
                                local government for the 3 most recent 
                                calendar years for which such data is 
                                available, bears to----
                    ``(B) the sum of the products determined under 
                subparagraph (A) for all such units of local government 
                in the State.
            ``(4) Expenditures.--The allocation any unit of local 
        government shall receive under paragraph (3) for a payment 
        period shall not exceed 100 percent of juvenile justice 
        expenditures of the unit for such payment period.
            ``(5) Reallocation.--The amount of any unit of local 
        government's allocation that is not available to such unit by 
        operation of paragraph (4) shall be available to other units of 
        local government that are not affected by such operation in 
        accordance with this subsection.
    ``(c) Unavailability of Data for Units of Local Government.--If the 
State has reason to believe that the reported rate of part 1 violent 
crimes or juvenile justice expenditures for a unit of local government 
is insufficient or inaccurate, the State shall----
            ``(1) investigate the methodology used by the unit to 
        determine the accuracy of the submitted data; and
            ``(2) if necessary, use the best available comparable data 
        regarding the number of violent crimes or juvenile justice 
        expenditures for the relevant years for the unit of local 
        government.
    ``(d) Local Government With Allocations Less Than $10,000.--If 
under this section a unit of local government is allocated less than 
$10,000 for a payment period, the amount allotted shall be expended by 
the State on services to units of local government whose allotment is 
less than such amount in a manner consistent with this part.
    ``(e) Direct Grants to Specially Qualified Units.----
            ``(1) In general.--If a State does not qualify or apply for 
        funds reserved for allocation under subsection (a) by the 
        application deadline established by the Attorney General, the 
        Attorney General shall reserve not more than 75 percent of the 
        allocation that the State would have received under subsection 
        (a) for such fiscal year to provide grants to specially 
        qualified units which meet the requirements for funding under 
        section 1802.
            ``(2) Award basis.--In addition to the qualification 
        requirements for direct grants for specially qualified units 
        the Attorney General may use the average amount allocated by 
        the States to units of local government as a basis for awarding 
        grants under this section.

``SEC. 1804. GUIDELINES.

    ``(a) In General.--The Attorney General shall issue guidelines 
establishing procedures under which a State or unit of local government 
that receives funds under section 1803 is required to provide notice to 
the Attorney General regarding the proposed use of funds made available 
under this part.
    ``(b) Advisory Board.--The guidelines referred to in subsection (a) 
shall include a requirement that such eligible State or unit of local 
government establish and convene an advisory board to review the 
proposed uses of such funds. The board shall include representation 
from, if appropriate----
            ``(1) the State or local police department;
            ``(2) the local sheriff's department;
            ``(3) the State or local prosecutor's office;
            ``(4) the State or local juvenile court;
            ``(5) the State or local probation officer;
            ``(6) the State or local educational agency;
            ``(7) a State or local social service agency;
            ``(8) a nonprofit, nongovernmental victim advocacy 
        organization; and
            ``(9) a nonprofit, religious, or community group.

``SEC. 1805. PAYMENT REQUIREMENTS.

    ``(a) Timing of Payments.--The Attorney General shall pay to each 
State or unit of local government that receives funds under section 
1803 that has submitted an application under this part not later than--
--
            ``(1) 180 days after the date that the amount is available, 
        or
            ``(2) the first day of the payment period if the State has 
        provided the Attorney General with the assurances required by 
        subsection (c),
whichever is later.
    ``(b) Repayment of Unexpended Amounts.----
            ``(1) Repayment required.--From amounts awarded under this 
        part, a State or specially qualified unit shall repay to the 
        Attorney General, before the expiration of the 36-month period 
        beginning on the date of the award, any amount that is not 
        expended by such State or unit.
            ``(2) Extension.--The Attorney General may adopt policies 
        and procedures providing for a one-time extension, by not more 
        than 12 months, of the period referred to in paragraph (1).
            ``(3) Penalty for failure to repay.--If the amount required 
        to be repaid is not repaid, the Attorney General shall reduce 
        payment in future payment periods accordingly.
            ``(4) Deposit of amounts repaid.--Amounts received by the 
        Attorney General as repayments under this subsection shall be 
        deposited in a designated fund for future payments to States 
        and specially qualified units.
    ``(c) Administrative Costs.--A State or unit of local government 
that receives funds under this part may use not more than 5 percent of 
such funds to pay for administrative costs.
    ``(d) Nonsupplanting Requirement.--Funds made available under this 
part to States and units of local government shall not be used to 
supplant State or local funds as the case may be, but shall be used to 
increase the amount of funds that would, in the absence of funds made 
available under this part, be made available from State or local 
sources, as the case may be.
    ``(e) Matching Funds.----
            ``(1) In general.--The Federal share of a grant received 
        under this part may not exceed 90 percent of the total program 
        costs.
            ``(2) Construction of facilities.--Notwithstanding 
        paragraph (1), with respect to the cost of constructing 
        juvenile detention or correctional facilities, the Federal 
        share of a grant received under this part may not exceed 50 
        percent of approved cost.

``SEC. 1806. UTILIZATION OF PRIVATE SECTOR.

    ``Funds or a portion of funds allocated under this part may be used 
by a State or unit of local government that receives a grant under this 
part to contract with private, nonprofit entities, or community-based 
organizations to carry out the purposes specified under section 
1801(b).

``SEC. 1807. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

    ``(a) In General.--A State or specially qualified unit that 
receives funds under this part shall----
            ``(1) establish a trust fund in which the government will 
        deposit all payments received under this part;
            ``(2) use amounts in the trust fund (including interest) 
        during the period specified in section 1805(b)(1) and any 
        extension of that period under section 1805(b)(2);
            ``(3) designate an official of the State or specially 
        qualified unit to submit reports as the Attorney General 
        reasonably requires, in addition to the annual reports required 
        under this part; and
            ``(4) spend the funds only for the purposes under section 
        1801(b).
    ``(b) Title I Provisions.--Except as otherwise provided, the 
administrative provisions of part H shall apply to this part and for 
purposes of this section any reference in such provisions to title I 
shall be deemed to include a reference to this part.

``SEC. 1808. ASSESSMENT REPORTS.

    ``(a) Reports to Attorney General.----
            ``(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), for 
        each fiscal year for which a grant or subgrant is awarded under 
        this part, each State or unit of local government that receives 
        such a grant or subgrant shall submit to the Attorney General a 
        report, at such time and in such manner as the Attorney General 
        may reasonably require, which report shall include----
                    ``(A) a summary of the activities carried out with 
                such grant or subgrant; and
                    ``(B) an assessment of the effectiveness of such 
                activities on achieving the purposes of this part.
            ``(2) Waivers.--The Attorney General may waive the 
        requirement of an assessment in paragraph (1)(B) for a State or 
        unit of local government if the Attorney General determines 
        that----
                    ``(A) the nature of the activities are such that 
                assessing their effectiveness would not be practical or 
                insightful;
                    ``(B) the amount of the grant or subgrant is such 
                that carrying out the assessment would not be an 
                effective use of those amounts; or
                    ``(C) the resources available to the State or unit 
                are such that carrying out the assessment would pose a 
                financial hardship on the State or unit.
    ``(b) Reports to Congress.--Not later than 90 days after the last 
day of each fiscal year for which 1 or more grants are awarded under 
this part, the Attorney General shall submit to the Congress a report, 
which shall include----
            ``(1) a summary of the information provided under 
        subsection (a);
            ``(2) the assessment of the Attorney General of the grant 
        program carried out under this part; and
            ``(3) such other information as the Attorney General 
        considers appropriate.

``SEC. 1809. DEFINITIONS.

    ``For purposes of this part:
            ``(1) The term `unit of local government' means----
                    ``(A) a county, township, city, or political 
                subdivision of a county, township, or city, that is a 
                unit of local government as determined by the Secretary 
                of Commerce for general statistical purposes;
                    ``(B) any law enforcement district or judicial 
                enforcement district that----
                            ``(i) is established under applicable State 
                        law; and
                            ``(ii) has the authority, in a manner 
                        independent of other State entities, to 
                        establish a budget and raise revenues; and
                    ``(C) the District of Columbia and the recognized 
                governing body of an Indian tribe or Alaskan Native 
                village that carries out substantial governmental 
                duties and powers.
            ``(2) The term `specially qualified unit' means a unit of 
        local government which may receive funds under this part only 
        in accordance with section 1803(e).
            ``(3) The term `State' means any State of the United 
        States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
        Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, and the 
        Northern Mariana Islands, except that American Samoa, Guam, and 
        the Northern Mariana Islands shall be considered as 1 State and 
        that, for purposes of section 1803(a), 33 percent of the 
        amounts allocated shall be allocated to American Samoa, 50 
        percent to Guam, and 17 percent to the Northern Mariana 
        Islands.
            ``(4) The term `juvenile' means an individual who is 17 
        years of age or younger.
            ``(5) The term `juvenile justice expenditures' means 
        expenditures in connection with the juvenile justice system, 
        including expenditures in connection with such system to carry 
        out----
                    ``(A) activities specified in section 1801(b); and
                    ``(B) other activities associated with 
                prosecutorial and judicial services and corrections as 
                reported to the Bureau of the Census for the fiscal 
                year preceding the fiscal year for which a 
                determination is made under this part.
            ``(6) The term `part 1 violent crimes' 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.

``SEC. 1810. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    ``(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this part----
            ``(1) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2002;
            ``(2) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2003; and
            ``(3) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.
    ``(b) Oversight Accountability and Administration.--Of the amount 
authorized to be appropriated under subsection (a), there shall be 
available to the Attorney General, for each of the fiscal years 2002 
through 2004 (as applicable), to remain available until expended----
            ``(1) not more than 2 percent of that amount, for research, 
        evaluation, and demonstration consistent with this part;
            ``(2) not more than 1 percent of that amount, for training 
        and technical assistance; and
            ``(3) not more than 1 percent, for administrative costs to 
        carry out the purposes of this part.
The Attorney General shall establish and execute an oversight plan for 
monitoring the activities of grant recipients.
    ``(c) Funding Source.--Appropriations for activities authorized in 
this part may be made from the Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund.''.

SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE.

    The amendments made by section 2 shall take effect on the first day 
of the first fiscal year that begins after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.

SEC. 4. TRANSITION OF JUVENILE ACCOUNTABILITY INCENTIVE BLOCK GRANTS 
                    PROGRAM.

    For each grant made from amounts made available for the Juvenile 
Accountability Incentive Block Grants program (as described under the 
heading ``VIOLENT CRIME REDUCTION PROGRAMS, STATE AND LOCAL LAW 
ENFORCEMENT ASSISTANCE'' in the Department of Justice Appropriations 
Act, 2000 (as enacted by Public Law 106-113; 113 Stat. 1537-14)), the 
grant award shall remain available to the grant recipient for not more 
than 36 months after the date of reciept of the grant.

                          Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 863 authorizes the Department of Justice to make 
grants to States and local governments to strengthen their 
juvenile justice systems. The bill allows the States and 
localities flexibility in using the grant funds and provides an 
illustrative list of possible uses for the grant money. For 
example, the grant money may be used for a range of purposes 
from the hiring of more judges, prosecutors, and corrections 
personnel to supporting juvenile gun courts, drug court 
programs, and accountability-based school safety programs. This 
flexibility allows States and localities to strengthen their 
juvenile justice systems in ways that best meet their needs.
    To be eligible for the grant funds, a State must have in 
place or agree to implement a system of graduated sanctions for 
juvenile offenders within 1 year of applying for the funds. 
Under the legislation, the graduated sanctions system must 
ensure that sanctions are imposed on juvenile offenders for 
every offense, that the sanctions escalate in intensity with 
each subsequent more serious offense, that the courts will be 
flexible in applying sanctions that address the specific 
problems of the individual offender, and that consideration is 
given to public safety and victims of crime.
    A State or locality may still qualify for a grant even if 
its system of graduated sanctions is discretionary, allowing 
juvenile courts to not participate. If an applicant's system is 
discretionary, however, then the non-participating juvenile 
courts must report at the end of the year why they did not 
impose graduated sanctions.

                Background and Need for the Legislation

    In the 1980's, the public perception was that serious 
juvenile crime was increasing and the juvenile justice system 
was too lenient.\1\ This perception was partially based on the 
tremendous growth in the rate of juvenile violent crime in the 
late 1980's through the early 1990's.\2\ After 1993, however, 
the rate began to decline.\3\ By 1999, the decline had resulted 
in the lowest juvenile violent crime arrest rate in the 
decade.\4\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ Howard N. Snyder and Melissa Sickmund, U.S. Dep't of Justice, 
Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999 National Report 88 (2000).
    \2\ Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. 
Dep't of Justice, Juvenile Justice Bulletin, December 2000 at 1.
    \3\ Id.
    \4\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                    Juvenile Violence Still Too High

    While the rate of violent teenage crime is down, 
criminologists and policymakers remain concerned that the level 
of juvenile violence is too high. In 1999, law enforcement 
agencies made an estimated 2.5 million juvenile arrests in the 
United States.\5\ In 1999, 17 percent of all arrests and 16 
percent of all violent crime arrests were juveniles.\6\ More 
specifically, 9 percent of murder arrests, 14 percent of 
aggravated assault arrests, 33 percent of burglary arrests, 35 
percent of robbery arrests and 24 percent of weapons arrests 
involved juveniles.\7\ According to the Office of Juvenile 
Justice and Delinquency Prevention at the Department of 
Justice, ``[s]erious and violent juvenile offenders comprise a 
troubled and often dangerous population. Although their numbers 
are small, they are responsible for a disproportionate amount 
of crime.'' \8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \5\ Id.
    \6\ Id.
    \7\ Id.
    \8\ Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. 
Dep't of Justice, Juvenile Justice Bulletin, May 1998, at 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

               Juvenile Courts' Caseloads Still Too High

    While the juvenile violent crime rate has dropped, the case 
load for juvenile courts has not. The number of juvenile 
delinquency cases has increased 48 percent between 1988 and 
1997.\9\ In 1997, the juvenile courts handled 1.8 million cases 
in which the juvenile was charged with a delinquency 
offense.\10\ A delinquency offense is an offense for which an 
adult could be prosecuted in criminal court.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \9\ Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. 
Dep't of Justice, Fact Sheet #04, March 2000, at 1.
    \10\ Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. 
Dep't of Justice, Juvenile Justice Bulletin, October 2000.
    \11\ Id.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Graduated Sanctions Help to Reduce the Rate of Juvenile Crime and 
                               Recidivism

    The drop in violent juvenile crime has offered States and 
localities the opportunity to focus more on first time 
offenders, as testimony before the Subcommittee on Crime has 
highlighted. At a hearing before the Subcommittee held on March 
8, 2001, witnesses testified that the juvenile justice system 
needs to do a better job of becoming involved in the lives of 
juvenile offenders at an earlier time. The witnesses testified 
that getting involved earlier reduces recidivism and the crime 
rate. Judge Michael Anderegg of the Family Division of the 
Marquette County (MI) Circuit Court testified from the 
perspective of rural areas. He stated that ``continuation of 
the Federal effort to assist State courts in dealing with 
juvenile offenders will ultimately reduce adult crime, reduce 
the costs of crime, and increase public safety.''
    Also at the March 8, 2001 hearing, the Executive Director 
of the Texas Youth Commission, Steve Robinson, testified that 
their system of graduated sanctions was working to reduce 
juvenile crime. He stated that ``the preliminary numbers 
indicate that there has been a 14-percent decrease in referrals 
to the juvenile probation departments since [Texas has] 
instituted graduated sanctions.'' In 1995, Texas reformed its 
juvenile code to require the adoption of a seven-step 
progressive sanctions policy.\12\ He also testified that ``in 
Texas, our recidivism rate has dropped steadily since 1995. . . 
.'' The States' systems of graduated sanctions vary based on 
each individual State's needs and the systems require 
substantial funding commitments to ensure adequate 
implementation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \12\ Shay Bilchik, U.S. Dep't of Justice, Juvenile Justice Reform 
Initiatives in the States (1997).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

         Congressional Efforts to Assist States and Localities

    In the last two Congresses, legislation similar to H.R. 863 
was introduced to assist States and localities seeking to 
implement graduated sanctions. H.R. 863, the ``Consequences for 
Juvenile Offenders Act of 2001,'' is similar to H.R. 1501, the 
``Consequences for Juvenile Offenders Act of 1999,'' a bill 
introduced in the 106th Congress.
    H.R. 1501 would have created a new grant program to be used 
to strengthen the juvenile justice system. Just as H.R. 863 
does, H.R. 1501 would have replaced the Juvenile Accountability 
Incentive Block Grant (JAIBG) program with the Juvenile 
Accountability Block Grant (JABG) Program. The appropriations 
bill funding the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State 
for FY 1999 (P.L. 105-119) established the JAIBG program, which 
is administered by the Office of Juvenile Justice and 
Delinquency Prevention. The JAIBG program provides block grants 
to States that have implemented, or are considering 
implementing, legislation and/or programs promoting greater 
accountability in the juvenile justice system.
    Similar to H.R. 863, H.R. 1501 would have added new 
purposes for which the funds could be used. Neither H.R. 862 
nor H.R. 1501 include the JAIBG requirement that a certain 
percentage of the funds be spent on specified purposes. The 
Subcommittee on Crime reported H.R. 1501 favorably to the 
Committee by voice vote on April 21, 1999. The bill was then 
considered by the full House where a number of non-germane 
amendments were adopted. On June 17, 1999, the amended bill 
passed the House by a recorded vote of 287-139. The Senate 
amended the bill further and the Senate and House did not 
report the bill out of the conference on the bill. All of the 
Members of the Subcommittee on Crime were original co-sponsors 
of H.R. 1501.
    In the 105th Congress, H.R. 3, the ``Juvenile Crime Control 
Act of 1997'' passed the House by a vote of 286-132. title III 
of that bill contained an incentive grant program to help 
States and localities strengthen their juvenile justice system 
infrastructure, thereby enabling them to ensure meaningful 
sanctions for juvenile offenders. While H.R. 3 did not become 
law, title III did become the basis for the JAIBG program 
created by the appropriations bill for the Departments of 
Commerce, Justice, and State. JAIBG received an appropriation 
of $250 million for fiscal years 1998 and 1999, and after 
rescissions, the program received $238 million in fiscal year 
2000 and $244 million in fiscal year 2001. Through those 
appropriations bills, the JAIBG has provided almost a billion 
dollars to those States and localities that certified that they 
had implemented or were ``actively considering'' implementing 
the core requirements of H.R. 3. All 50 States are 
participating in that program, and make sub-awards to eligible 
counties and cities.

                                Hearings

    The Committee's Subcommittee on Crime held one hearing on 
H.R. 863, the ``Consequences for Juvenile Offenders Act of 
2001,'' on March 8, 2001. Testimony was received from four 
witnesses representing four organizations. The witnesses were: 
the Honorable Michael Anderegg, Marquette, Michigan, Juvenile 
Court; the Honorable Jim Payne, Marion County, Indiana, 
Juvenile Court; Steve Robinson, Executive Director, Texas Youth 
Commission; and Vincent N. Schiraldi, Center on Juvenile and 
Criminal Justice.

                        Committee Consideration

    On March 21, 2001, the Subcommittee on Crime met in open 
session and ordered favorably reported the bill H.R. 863, as 
amended, by a voice vote, a quorum being present. On March 28, 
2001, the Committee met in open session and ordered favorably 
reported the bill H.R. 863 with an amendment, by voice vote, a 
quorum being present.

                         Vote of the Committee

    No recorded votes were taken on the bill H.R. 863 during 
Committee consideration.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee reports that the 
findings and recommendations of the Committee, based on 
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of rule X of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives, are incorporated in the 
descriptive portions of this report.

                    Performance Goals and Objectives

    While the grant funds authorized by H.R. 863 are to be 
awarded to States and units of local government, the program 
will likely be administered by the Office of Justice Programs 
within the Department of Justice. That office should set as a 
performance goal to distribute all grants funds appropriated 
for the program each year. It should also set performance 
measures based on the level of compliance by States and 
localities receiving grant funds with the bill's requirements 
concerning appropriate use of the funds, adoption of systems of 
graduated sanctions by grant recipients, the level of matching 
funding provided by States and units of local government, and 
reporting requirements (both by grants recipients to the 
Attorney General and by the Attorney General to Congress).

               New Budget Authority and Tax Expenditures

    Clause 3(c)(2) of House rule XIII is inapplicable because 
this legislation does not provide new budgetary authority or 
increased tax expenditures.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee sets forth, with 
respect to the bill, H.R. 863, the following estimate and 
comparison prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office under section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 
1974:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, April 5, 2001.
Hon. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., Chairman,
Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 863, the 
Consequences for Juvenile Offenders Act of 2001.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Mark 
Grabowicz, who can be reached at 226-2860.
            Sincerely,
                                  Dan L. Crippen, Director.

Enclosure

cc:
        Honorable John Conyers Jr.
        Ranking Member
H.R. 863--Consequences for Juvenile Offenders Act of 2001.

                                SUMMARY

    H.R. 863 would authorize the appropriation of $500 million 
for each of fiscal years 2002 through 2004 for the Attorney 
General to make grants designed to strengthen the juvenile 
justice system to state, local, and tribal governments. 
Assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts, CBO estimates 
that implementing H.R. 863 would cost $1.5 billion over the 
2002-2006 period. This legislation would not affect direct 
spending or receipts, so pay-as-you-go procedures would not 
apply.
    The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 
and would benefit state, local, and tribal governments.

                ESTIMATED COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

    For this estimate, CBO assumes that the amounts authorized 
in H.R. 863 will be appropriated by the start of each fiscal 
year and that spending will follow the historical rates for 
similar programs. The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 863 is 
shown in the following table. The costs of this legislation 
fall within budget function 750 (administration of justice).

                                     By Fiscal Year, in Millions of Dollars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              2001     2002     2003     2004     2005     2006
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Spending Under Current Law for
Juvenile Accountability Block Grants
  Budget Authority \1\                                          250        0        0        0        0        0
  Estimated Outlays                                             247       75        0        0        0        0

Proposed Changes
  Authorization Level                                             0      500      500      500        0        0
  Estimated Outlays                                               0      350      500      500      150        0

Spending Under H.R. 863 for
Juvenile Accountability Block Grants
  Authorization Level \1\                                       250      500      500      500        0        0
  Estimated Outlays                                             247      425      500      500      150        0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. The 2001 level is the amount appropriated for juvenile accountability incentive block grants, a program that
  is very similar to the one authorized by H.R. 863.

                     PAY-AS-YOU-GO CONSIDERATIONS:

    None.

              INTERGOVERNMENTAL AND PRIVATE-SECTOR IMPACT

    H.R. 863 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in UMRA and would benefit state, local, and 
tribal governments. The bill would authorize the appropriation 
of $1.5 billion over three years in grants to state, local, and 
tribal governments for juvenile justice programs. Any costs 
incurred by these governments would be the result of complying 
with grant conditions and would be voluntary.

                         ESTIMATE PREPARED BY:

Federal Costs: Mark Grabowicz (226-2860)
Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Shelley 
    Finlayson (225-3220)
Impact on the Private Sector: Paige Piper/Bach (226-2618)

                         ESTIMATE APPROVED BY:

Peter H. Fontaine
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Pursuant to clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee finds the authority for 
this legislation in Article I, section 8, of the Constitution.

               Section-by-Section Analysis and Discussion

                         Section 1: Short Title

    Section 1 of the bill states the short title of the bill as 
the ``Consequences for Juvenile Offenders Act of 2001''.

                        Section 2: Grant Program

    Section 2 amends Part R of title I of the Omnibus Crime 
Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (42 U.S.C. 3796) in 
substituting in its place ``Part R--Juvenile Accountability 
Block Grants.'' The new Part R is comprised of 10 sections, 
numbered 1801 through 1810.
Section 1801. Program Authorized
    New section 1801 authorizes the Attorney General to provide 
grants to States, and in certain cases directly to eligible 
units of local government, for use by States and localities for 
the purpose of strengthening their juvenile justice systems. 
Section 1801(b) provides an illustrative list of acceptable 
expenditures for the grant money. Some examples of acceptable 
uses of the grant funds include:
          (1) hiring juvenile court judges, probation officers, 
        and court-appointed defenders and special advocates, 
        and funding pretrial services for juvenile offenders, 
        to promote the effective and expeditious administration 
        of the juvenile justice system;
          (2) hiring additional prosecutors, so that more cases 
        involving violent juvenile offenders can be prosecuted 
        and case backlogs reduced;
          (3) establishing and maintaining interagency 
        information-sharing programs that enable juvenile and 
        criminal justice system, schools, and social services 
        agencies to make more informed decisions regarding the 
        early identification, control, supervision, and 
        treatment of juveniles who repeatedly commit serious 
        delinquent or criminal acts;
          (4) establishing and maintaining accountability-based 
        programs designed to reduce recidivism among juveniles 
        who are referred by law enforcement personnel or 
        agencies;
          (5) establishing and maintaining programs to conduct 
        risk and need assessments of juvenile offenders that 
        facilitate effective early intervention and the 
        provision of comprehensive services, including mental 
        health screening and treatment and substance abuse 
        testing and treatment to such offenders;
          (6) establishing and maintaining accountability-based 
        programs designed to enhance school safety; or
          (7) establishing and maintaining restorative justice 
        programs.

    While this list should not be construed as an exclusive 
list, it is the view of the Committee that it generally 
reflects the types of expenditures States and localities incur 
in meeting the needs of their juvenile justice systems. These 
programs are aimed at ensuring that juveniles receive 
appropriate sanctions and face consequences for their 
wrongdoing and at the same time receive the help they may need 
to prevent future offenses. The States and localities have the 
discretion to determine how best to use the grant money to meet 
the needs of their juvenile justice systems.
Section 1802. Grant Eligibility.
    Section 1802 establishes the eligibility criteria for 
States and localities to receive funding under the grant 
program. Section 1802(a) provides that States applying for 
grant funds, must provide the Attorney General with information 
about the proposed activities the State and its localities will 
carry out with the grant and the criteria by which the State 
proposes to assess the effectiveness of such activities on 
achieving the purposes of this part. In addition, the applicant 
must provide the Attorney General with assurances that the 
State and any localities within the State that qualify for 
funding have in effect, or will have in effect within 1 year of 
submitting its application, policies and programs that provide 
for a system of graduated sanctions as defined in Section 
1802(c). The Attorney General also may require additional 
information.
    Section 1802(b) establishes the eligibility criteria for 
localities, both within States which qualify for funding, and 
within States that do not qualify or apply for funds, to 
receive grant funds under the bill. Section 1802(b)(1)(A) 
requires that the localities must provide information about the 
activities the localities propose to carry out with the 
subgrant and the criteria by which the locality proposes to 
assess the effectiveness of such activities. Localities within 
qualifying States must provide this information to the States. 
Localities within non-qualifying States must provide this 
information to the Attorney General.
    Section 1802(b)(1)(B) requires that localities must provide 
assurances that a system of graduated sanctions, as described 
in section 1802(c), is or will be in effect within 1 year of 
applying for the funds. While both the States and localities 
must meet the same criteria, it is important to note that the 
Committee recognizes that localities, by themselves, may be 
unable to effect certain reforms. Section 1802(b)(1)(B) 
reflects this distinction and provides that localities must 
only provide assurances to the State that the four requirements 
in section 1802(c) are being met ``to the maximum extent 
applicable.'' It is also the Committee's view that localities 
in non-qualifying States only need to assure the Attorney 
General that they have in place policies or programs that meet 
the four requirements in section 1802(c). The Committee's view 
is that localities within qualifying States will almost always 
qualify by virtue of the State qualifying.
    Section 1802(c) describes four requirements that a system 
of graduated sanctions must meet for an applicant to qualify 
for the grant funds. The first requirement is that the 
sanctions must be imposed on a juvenile offender for each 
delinquent offense. Each time a court determines a juvenile has 
committed a delinquent act, the court should hold the juvenile 
responsible and accountable for his or her behavior. Juveniles 
must be made to understand that there will be a consequence for 
breaking the law. By beginning with the juvenile's first act of 
delinquency, the goal is to prevent young offenders from 
engaging in more serious wrongdoing later in their lives.
    The second requirement is that the sanctions escalate in 
intensity with each subsequent, more serious delinquent 
offense. This type of system will help prevent recidivism and 
break the cycle of delinquency that often leads juveniles into 
more serious crimes in their late teens or early adult years. 
The Committee recognizes that it will be difficult to precisely 
measure the extent to which a State or locality ensures a 
sanction for every delinquent or criminal act. It is the 
Committee's view that a general assessment of the degree to 
which such policies and practices are being carried out is a 
sufficient basis for a State's or locality's determination.
    The third requirement is that the system have sufficient 
flexibility to allow for individualized sanctions and services 
suited to the individual juvenile offender. It is the 
Committee's view that the purpose of the juvenile justice 
system remains principally one of rehabilitation. Accordingly, 
the sanctions should be reasonable and appropriate in response 
to the juvenile's history of offenses and the seriousness of 
the offense in question. The courts should be flexible in 
applying the sanctions to address the specific problems and 
needs of the juvenile.
    The fourth requirement is that the system accord 
appropriate consideration to public safety and victims of 
crime. The sanctions should have the goal of repairing harm to 
the victims and the community and protecting the public from 
future crimes.
    Section 1802(d) provides that a State or locality may 
qualify for the grant funds even if its system of graduated 
sanctions is discretionary. As such, a State or locality does 
not have to require all of its juvenile courts to impose 
graduated sanctions or to impose them in every case. In States 
and localities where the imposition of graduated sanctions is 
discretionary, however, the juvenile courts that do not impose 
graduated sanctions at all, or do not impose them in every 
case, must report at least annually to the applicable State or 
locality why graduated sanctions were not imposed in all such 
cases. The State then must submit this information to the 
Attorney General. The Committee recognizes that the juvenile 
courts are already overburdened and it does not want to harm 
the courts' ability to effectively and efficiently handle 
juvenile cases through burdensome reporting requirements. 
Therefore, it is the Committee's view that, to satisfy this 
requirement, the non-participating courts may provide general 
statements explaining the reasons why graduated sanctions were 
not imposed in all cases.
    Section 1802(e) defines the terms ``discretionary'' and 
``sanctions.'' The term discretionary means that each and every 
juvenile court in a State or locality does not have to impose a 
system of graduated sanctions. The term sanctions means 
tangible, proportional consequences that hold juvenile 
offenders accountable for the offense committed. A sanction may 
include, but is not limited to, counseling, restitution, 
community service, a fine, supervised probation, or 
confinement.
Section 1803. Allocation and Distribution of Funds.
    Section 1803(a) provides that each State is to receive 0.25 
percent of the total grant funds. The term ``State'' is defined 
in new section 1809. The remaining funds are then to be 
distributed among the States based the size of each State's 
juvenile population.
    Section 1803(b)(1) requires that a participating State must 
distribute to its participating localities 75 percent of the 
total grant funds the State receives. This ``pass-through'' 
provision is aimed at ensuring that localities receive most of 
the funding when they bear most of the juvenile justice 
expenditures.
    Section 1803(b)(2) provides for a waiver of the pass-
through provision when the State is responsible for more than 
25 percent of the total juvenile justice expenditures in the 
State. The State may seek a waiver of the pass-through 
requirement from the Attorney General so that it may keep a 
share of the grant funds equal to its share of the total 
expenditures in that State. If the State demonstrates that the 
State's expenditures for the administration of juvenile justice 
exceeded 25 percent of the total spent by the State and its 
local governments for the administration of juvenile justice, 
then the State may increase the amount of grant funds it keeps 
to a level reflecting its share of the total expenditures.\13\ 
States may not request a waiver for more than the State's 
relative share of the total juvenile justice expenditures in 
that State.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \13\ For example, if a State's share is 35 percent, the State may 
request a waiver to receive 35 percent of the grant funds.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Section 1803(b)(3) provides an allocation formula to 
distribute the grant funding among the localities within a 
State. The allocation formula is intended to provide maximum 
resources to the localities that bear the largest burden in 
administering the juvenile justice system in the participating 
State. Under the formula, each State determines the amount that 
each of its localities receives, based on a combination of 
juvenile justice expenditures and the level of violent crime in 
each locality. Reflecting the goal of providing more resources 
to the localities with greater juvenile justice expenditures, 
the formula places greater weight on the juvenile justice 
expenditures than on the variable of the number of violent 
crimes. It is the Committee's intent that States not have the 
discretion to refuse to make a grant to localities that have 
provided the requisite assurances, absent a good faith basis 
for believing that the assurances provided are inaccurate.
    Section 1803(b)(4) provides that a local government shall 
not receive a subgrant of more than 100 percent of its juvenile 
justice expenditures. When a locality would receive more than 
100 percent of its juvenile justice expenditures from the 
allocation formula, Section 1803(b)(5) allows the State to 
reallocate any amount above 100 percent to other local 
governments.
    Section 1803(c) requires the State to investigate the 
methodology used by a locality to determine the accuracy of the 
locality's submitted data, if the State has reason to believe 
such information is insufficient or inaccurate.
    Section 1803(d) provides that States shall expend money on 
services to localities whose allotments are less than $10,000. 
The Committee is of the view that requiring localities 
receiving allocations of less than $10,000 to comply with the 
planning and reporting requirements of the act places a burden 
on the localities that outweighs the benefit of the funds. 
Accordingly, the bill requires States to withhold distribution 
of any allocation that is less than $10,000. In such an event, 
the State is required to combine all such allocations, and to 
then expend the funds for the benefit of the localities that 
did not receive allocations.
    Section 1803(e) provides that the Attorney General will 
reserve not more than 75 percent of the allocation that a non-
qualifying State would have received under section 1803(a) if 
it had qualified. This reserve will be used to provide grants 
to localities that meet the requirements for funding under 
section 1802 even though they are in the non-qualifying States.
Section 1804. Guidelines.
    Section 1804(a) requires the Attorney General to issue 
guidelines establishing procedures under which a State or 
locality that receives funds is required to provide notice 
regarding the proposed use of funds made available under this 
part.
    Section 1804(b) requires an eligible State or locality to 
establish an advisory board to review the proposed uses of such 
funds. While the size of the board may be as large as State and 
local government officials, determine, the members of the board 
must include representatives of certain groups, as appropriate. 
These groups are: State and local police departments, 
prosecutor's offices, juvenile courts, probation offices, 
educational agencies, and social service agencies; the local 
sheriff's departments; nonprofit, nongovernmental victim 
advocacy organizations; and nonprofit, religious or community 
groups. The use of the phrase ``as appropriate'' is to make 
clear that advisory board members may be drawn from State level 
agencies or organizations, local level agencies or 
organizations, or both, as determined by the State or local 
officials, as the case may be.
Section 1805. Payment Requirements.
    This section establishes various provisions regarding 
payment of funds to eligible States and localities and 
repayment of unexpended funds to the Attorney General. Section 
1805(a) requires the Attorney General to pay out the grant 
funds no later than 180 days after the date that the amount is 
available or the first day of the payment period if the State 
has provided the Attorney General with assurances required by 
subsection (c). Section 1805(b) requires that a State or 
locality that receives a grant directly from the Attorney 
General repay the Attorney General any amount that is not 
expended within a 36-month period beginning with the date of 
the award. The Attorney General may extend this period for up 
to 12 months, in appropriate cases. Failure to repay grants 
amounts requires that the Attorney General to reduce future 
payments to that State accordingly.
    This section also limits grant recipients to using no more 
than 5 percent of any grants funds received for administrative 
costs. The section further requires that recipients may not 
receive more than 90 percent of their total program costs. The 
remaining funds must come from State or local funds. With 
respect to construction costs, however, the State or unit of 
local government must pay for half of the program cost. 
Finally, the section makes it clear that grants funds are to be 
used to supplement, and not supplant, State and local funds. 
The purpose of the bill is enable States and localities to 
strength their juvenile justice system through additional 
spending, and not to allow them to shift State and local funds 
to other uses.
Section 1806. Utilization of Private Sector.
    This section provides that States or localities may use the 
funds to contract with private, nonprofit entities or 
community-based organizations to carry out the purposes of 
section 1801.
Section 1807. Administrative Provisions.
    This section establishes administrative provisions for 
recipient States or localities that receive funds directly from 
the Attorney General. The recipient of the funds must establish 
a trust fund and deposit all payments received under this grant 
program into that trust.
Section 1808. Assessment Reports.
    Section 1808(a) requires that a State or locality that 
receives the grant or subgrant funding must provide a report to 
the Attorney General summarizing the activities carried out 
with the funds and assessing the effectiveness of those 
activities. This section also includes a waiver provision for 
activities that are not practical to assess.
    Section 1808(b) requires the Attorney General to submit a 
report to Congress that includes a summary of the information 
under section 1808(a) and an assessment by the Attorney General 
of the grant program.
Section 1809. Definitions.
    This section provides definitions of key terms used in the 
legislation.
Section 1810. Authorization of Appropriations.
    This section authorizes the appropriations of up to 
$500,000,000 for each fiscal year from fiscal year 2002 through 
fiscal year 2004. Of the amounts authorized to be appropriated, 
the Attorney General may spend up to 2 percent for research, 
evaluation and demonstration consistent with the grant program, 
1 percent for training and technical assistance, and 1 percent 
for administrative costs.

                       Section 3. Effective Date

    Section 3 of the bill provides that the amendments made by 
the bill take effect on the first day of the first fiscal year 
that begins after enactment of the bill. This provision is 
designed to help ensure a smooth transition from the JAIBG to 
the JABG program.

Section 4. Transition of Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grants 
                                Program

    Section 4 of the bill provides that funds awarded under the 
JAIBG program are to remain available to the grant recipients 
for up to 36 months after the date of the receipt of the grant. 
This provision complements section 3 of the bill and is to make 
clear that recipients of JAIBG grants funds may continue to use 
those funds for a period of up to 36 months after their receipt 
of the funds, notwithstanding the replacement of the JAIBG 
program with the JABG program.

                              Agency Views

                             Department of Justice,
                                    Washington, DC, April 19, 2001.
Hon. F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr., Chairman,
Committee on the Judiciary,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: This presents the views of the 
Department of Justice on H.R. 863, the ``Consequences for 
Juvenile Offenders Act of 2001,'' as ordered reported by the 
Committee on the Judiciary.
    H.R. 863 would amend Part ``R'' of title I of the Omnibus 
Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (``the Act'') (42 
U.S.C. Sec. 3796, et seq.) to reauthorize, with various 
changes, the Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grant 
(``JAIBG'') program.\1\ In particular, the bill would authorize 
the Attorney General to make grants to States, for use by 
States and units of local government (including qualifying 
Indian tribes and Alaskan Native villages) for 16 specified 
purposes (e.g., developing and implementing graduated sanctions 
for juvenile offenders; building or renovating juvenile 
correctional facilities; hiring juvenile court judges, 
probation officers, and court-appointed defenders; and 
establishing juvenile gun courts). Section 1810 of the act 
would authorize appropriations of $500 million for each of 
fiscal years 2002 through 2004. Appropriations for activities 
authorized by the bill would be permitted to be made from the 
Violent Crime Reduction Trust Fund.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\ The existing program being reauthorized is entitled the 
``Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grants`` (``JAIBG'') program. 
The bill would redesignate the program as the ``Juvenile Accountability 
Block Grant'' (``JABG'') program.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    We support enactment of H.R. 863. In our view, the JAIBG 
program has proven to be an effective and efficient way to 
assist State and local governments in combating juvenile crime 
and should therefore be continued beyond its current expiration 
date of October 1, 2001. We do, however, have a number of 
concerns about provisions of the bill as they are currently 
drafted. These concerns--and other detailed comments--are set 
forth in an enclosure to this letter.
    We look forward to working with you on this important 
legislation. We trust that you will not hesitate to call upon 
us if we may be of additional assistance with this or any other 
matter. The Office of Management and Budget has advised that 
there is no objection from the standpoint of the 
Administration's program to the presentation of this report.
            Sincerely,
       Sheryl L. Walter, Acting Assistant Attorney General.

cc:
        John Conyers, Jr.
        Ranking Member
        
        
         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italics, existing law in which no change 
is proposed is shown in roman):

                       OMNIBUS CRIME CONTROL AND

                        SAFE STREETS ACT OF 1968



           *       *       *       *       *       *       *
                  TITLE I--JUSTICE SYSTEM IMPROVEMENT

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                      [PART R--CERTAIN PUNISHMENT

                          FOR YOUNG OFFENDERS

[SEC. 1801. GRANT AUTHORIZATION.

    [(a) In General.--The Attorney General may make grants 
under this part to States, for the use by States and units of 
local government, for the purpose of developing alternative 
methods of punishment for young offenders to traditional forms 
of incarceration and probation.
    [(b) Alternative Methods.--The alternative methods of 
punishment referred to in subsection (a) should ensure certain 
punishment for young offenders and promote reduced recidivism, 
crime prevention, and assistance to victims, particularly for 
young offenders who can be punished more effectively in an 
environment other than a traditional correctional facility, 
including----
            [(1) alternative sanctions that create 
        accountability and certain punishment for young 
        offenders;
            [(2) restitution programs for young offenders;
            [(3) innovative projects, such as projects 
        consisting of education and job training activities for 
        incarcerated young offenders, modeled, to the extent 
        practicable, after activities carried out under part B 
        of title IV of the Job Training Partnership Act or 
        subtitle C of title I of the Workforce Investment Act 
        of 1998 (relating to Job Corps) and projects that 
        provide family counseling;
            [(4) correctional options, such as community-based 
        incarceration, weekend incarceration, and electronic 
        monitoring of offenders;
            [(5) community service programs that provide work 
        service placement for young offenders at non-profit, 
        private organizations and community organizations;
            [(6) innovative methods that address the problems 
        of young offenders convicted of serious substance abuse 
        (including alcohol abuse) and gang-related offenses; 
        and
            [(7) adequate and appropriate after care programs 
        for young offenders, such as substance abuse treatment, 
        education programs, vocational training, job placement 
        counseling, family counseling and other support 
        programs upon release.

[SEC. 1802. STATE APPLICATIONS.

    [(a) In General.----
            [(1) Submission of application.--To request a grant 
        under this part, the chief executive of a State shall 
        submit an application to the Attorney General in such 
        form and containing such information as the Attorney 
        General may reasonably require.
            [(2) Assurances.--An application under paragraph 
        (1) shall include assurances that Federal funds 
        received under this part shall be used to supplement, 
        not supplant, non-Federal funds that would otherwise be 
        available for activities funded under this part.
    [(b) State Office.--The office designated under section 
507----
            [(1) shall prepare the application as required 
        under subsection (a); and
            [(2) shall administer grant funds received under 
        this part, including review of spending, processing, 
        progress, financial reporting, technical assistance, 
        grant adjustments, accounting, auditing, and fund 
        disbursement.

[SEC. 1803. REVIEW OF STATE APPLICATIONS.

    [(a) In General.--The Attorney General shall make a grant 
under section 1801(a) to carry out the projects described in 
the application submitted by such applicant under section 1802 
upon determining that----
            [(1) the application is consistent with the 
        requirements of this part; and
            [(2) before the approval of the application, the 
        Attorney General has made an affirmative finding in 
        writing that the proposed project has been reviewed in 
        accordance with this part.
    [(b) Approval.--Each application submitted under section 
1802 shall be considered approved, in whole or in part, by the 
Attorney General not later than 45 days after first received 
unless the Attorney General informs the applicant of specific 
reasons for disapproval.
    [(c) Restriction.--Grant funds received under this part 
shall not be used for land acquisition or construction 
projects, other than alternative facilities described in 
section 1801(b).
    [(d) Disapproval Notice and Reconsideration.--The Attorney 
General shall not disapprove any application without first 
affording the applicant reasonable notice and an opportunity 
for reconsideration.

[SEC. 1804. LOCAL APPLICATIONS.

    [(a) In General.----
            [(1) Submission of application.--To request funds 
        under this part from a State, the chief executive of a 
        unit of local government shall submit an application to 
        the office designated under section 1802(b).
            [(2) Approval.--An application under paragraph (1) 
        shall be considered to have been approved, in whole or 
        in part, by the State not later than 45 days after such 
        application is first received unless the State informs 
        the applicant in writing of specific reasons for 
        disapproval.
            [(3) Disapproval.--The State shall not disapprove 
        any application submitted to the State without first 
        affording the applicant reasonable notice and an 
        opportunity for reconsideration.
            [(4) Effect of approval.--If an application under 
        subsection (a) is approved, the unit of local 
        government is eligible to receive funds under this 
        part.
    [(b) Distribution to Units of Local Government.--A State 
that receives funds under section 1801 in a fiscal year shall 
make such funds available to units of local government with an 
application that has been submitted and approved by the State 
within 45 days after the Attorney General has approved the 
application submitted by the State and has made funds available 
to the State. The Attorney General may waive the 45-day 
requirement in this section upon a finding that the State is 
unable to satisfy such requirement under State statutes.

[SEC. 1805. ALLOCATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.

    [(a) State Distribution.--Of the total amount appropriated 
under this part in any fiscal year----
            [(1) 0.4 percent shall be allocated to each of the 
        participating States; and
            [(2) of the total funds remaining after the 
        allocation under paragraph (1), there shall be 
        allocated to each of the participating States an amount 
        which bears the same ratio to the amount of remaining 
        funds described in this paragraph as the number of 
        young offenders of such State bears to the number of 
        young offenders in all the participating States.
    [(b) Local Distribution.----
            [(1) In general.--A State that receives funds under 
        this part in a fiscal year shall distribute to units of 
        local government in such State for the purposes 
        specified under section 1801 that portion of such funds 
        which bears the same ratio to the aggregate amount of 
        such funds as the amount of funds expended by all units 
        of local government for correctional programs in the 
        preceding fiscal year bears to the aggregate amount of 
        funds expended by the State and all units of local 
        government in such State for correctional programs in 
        such preceding fiscal year.
            [(2) Undistributed funds.--Any funds not 
        distributed to units of local government under 
        paragraph (1) shall be available for expenditure by 
        such State for purposes specified under section 1801.
            [(3) Unused funds.--If the Attorney General 
        determines, on the basis of information available 
        during any fiscal year, that a portion of the funds 
        allocated to a State for such fiscal year will not be 
        used by such State or that a State is not eligible to 
        receive funds under section 1801, the Attorney General 
        shall award such funds to units of local government in 
        such State giving priority to the units of local 
        government that the Attorney General considers to have 
        the greatest need.
    [(c) General Requirement.--Notwithstanding subsections (a) 
and (b), not less than two-thirds of funds received by a State 
under this part shall be distributed to units of local 
government unless the State applies for and receives a waiver 
from the Attorney General.
    [(d) Federal Share.--The Federal share of a grant made 
under this part may not exceed 75 percent of the total costs of 
the projects described in the application submitted under 
section 1802(a) for the fiscal year for which the projects 
receive assistance under this part.
    [(e) Consideration.--Notwithstanding subsections (a) and 
(b), in awarding grants under this part, the Attorney General 
shall consider as a factor whether a State has in effect 
throughout such State a law or policy that requires that a 
juvenile who is in possession of a firearm or other weapon on 
school property or convicted of a crime involving the use of a 
firearm or weapon on school property----
            [(1) be suspended from school for a reasonable 
        period of time; and
            [(2) lose driving license privileges for a 
        reasonable period of time.
    [(f) Definition.--For purposes of this part, ``juvenile'' 
means a person 18 years of age or younger.

[SEC. 1806. EVALUATION.

    [(a) In General.----
            [(1) Submission to the director.--Each State and 
        unit of local government that receives a grant under 
        this part shall submit to the Attorney General an 
        evaluation not later than March 1 of each year in 
        accordance with guidelines issued by the Attorney 
        General. Such evaluation shall include an appraisal by 
        representatives of the community of the programs funded 
        by the grant.
            [(2) Waiver.--The Attorney General may waive the 
        requirement specified in paragraph (1) if the Attorney 
        General determines that such evaluation is not 
        warranted in the case of the State or unit of local 
        government involved.
    [(b) Distribution.--The Attorney General shall make 
available to the public on a timely basis evaluations received 
under subsection (a).
    [(c) Administrative Costs.--A State or unit of local 
government may use not more than 5 percent of funds it receives 
under this part to develop an evaluation program under this 
section.]

                    PART R--JUVENILE ACCOUNTABILITY

                              BLOCK GRANTS

SEC. 1801. PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.

    (a) In General.--The Attorney General is authorized to 
provide grants to States, for use by States and units of local 
government, and in certain cases directly to specially 
qualified units.
    (b) Authorized Activities.--Amounts paid to a State or a 
unit of local government under this part shall be used by the 
State or unit of local government for the purpose of 
strengthening the juvenile justice system, which includes----
            (1) developing, implementing, and administering 
        graduated sanctions for juvenile offenders;
            (2) building, expanding, renovating, or operating 
        temporary or permanent juvenile correction, detention, 
        or community corrections facilities;
            (3) hiring juvenile court judges, probation 
        officers, and court-appointed defenders and special 
        advocates, and funding pretrial services for juvenile 
        offenders, to promote the effective and expeditious 
        administration of the juvenile justice system;
            (4) hiring additional prosecutors, so that more 
        cases involving violent juvenile offenders can be 
        prosecuted and case backlogs reduced;
            (5) providing funding to enable prosecutors to 
        address drug, gang, and youth violence problems more 
        effectively and for technology, equipment, and training 
        to assist prosecutors in identifying and expediting the 
        prosecution of violent juvenile offenders;
            (6) establishing and maintaining training programs 
        for law enforcement and other court personnel with 
        respect to preventing and controlling juvenile crime;
            (7) establishing juvenile gun courts for the 
        prosecution and adjudication of juvenile firearms 
        offenders;
            (8) establishing drug court programs for juvenile 
        offenders that provide continuing judicial supervision 
        over juvenile offenders with substance abuse problems 
        and the integrated administration of other sanctions 
        and services for such offenders;
            (9) establishing and maintaining a system of 
        juvenile records designed to promote public safety;
            (10) establishing and maintaining interagency 
        information-sharing programs that enable the juvenile 
        and criminal justice system, schools, and social 
        services agencies to make more informed decisions 
        regarding the early identification, control, 
        supervision, and treatment of juveniles who repeatedly 
        commit serious delinquent or criminal acts;
            (11) establishing and maintaining accountability-
        based programs designed to reduce recidivism among 
        juveniles who are referred by law enforcement personnel 
        or agencies;
            (12) establishing and maintaining programs to 
        conduct risk and need assessments of juvenile offenders 
        that facilitate the effective early intervention and 
        the provision of comprehensive services, including 
        mental health screening and treatment and substance 
        abuse testing and treatment to such offenders;
            (13) establishing and maintaining accountability-
        based programs that are designed to enhance school 
        safety;
            (14) establishing and maintaining restorative 
        justice programs;
            (15) establishing and maintaining programs to 
        enable juvenile courts and juvenile probation officers 
        to be more effective and efficient in holding juvenile 
        offenders accountable and reducing recidivism; and
            (16) hiring detention and corrections personnel, 
        and establishing and maintaining training programs for 
        such personnel to improve facility practices and 
        programming.
    (c) Definition.--For purposes of this section, the term 
``restorative justice program'' means a program that emphasizes 
the moral accountability of an offender toward the victim and 
the affected community, and may include community reparations 
boards, restitution (in the form of monetary payment or service 
to the victim or, where no victim can be identified, service to 
the affected community), and mediation between victim and 
offender.

SEC. 1802. GRANT ELIGIBILITY.

    (a) State Eligibility.--To be eligible to receive a grant 
under this section, a State shall submit to the Attorney 
General an application at such time, in such form, and 
containing such assurances and information as the Attorney 
General may require by guidelines, including----
            (1) information about----
                    (A) the activities proposed to be carried 
                out with such grant; and
                    (B) the criteria by which the State 
                proposes to assess the effectiveness of such 
                activities on achieving the purposes of this 
                part; and
            (2) assurances that the State and any unit of local 
        government to which the State provides funding under 
        section 1803(b), has in effect (or shall have in 
        effect, not later than 1 year after the date that the 
        State submits such application) laws, or has 
        implemented (or shall implement, not later than 1 year 
        after the date that the State submits such application) 
        policies and programs, that provide for a system of 
        graduated sanctions described in subsection (c).
    (b) Local Eligibility.----
            (1) Subgrant eligibility.--To be eligible to 
        receive a subgrant, a unit of local government, other 
        than a specially qualified unit, shall provide to the 
        State----
                    (A) information about----
                            (i) the activities proposed to be 
                        carried out with such subgrant; and
                            (ii) the criteria by which the unit 
                        proposes to assess the effectiveness of 
                        such activities on achieving the 
                        purposes of this part; and
                    (B) such assurances as the State shall 
                require, that, to the maximum extent 
                applicable, the unit of local government has in 
                effect (or shall have in effect, not later than 
                1 year after the date that the unit submits 
                such application) laws, or has implemented (or 
                shall implement, not later than 1 year after 
                the date that the unit submits such 
                application) policies and programs, that 
                provide for a system of graduated sanctions 
                described in subsection (c).
            (2) Special rule.--The requirements of paragraph 
        (1) shall apply to a specially qualified unit that 
        receives funds from the Attorney General under section 
        1803(e), except that information that is otherwise 
        required to be submitted to the State shall be 
        submitted to the Attorney General.
    (c) Graduated Sanctions.--A system of graduated sanctions, 
which may be discretionary as provided in subsection (d), shall 
ensure, at a minimum, that----
            (1) sanctions are imposed on a juvenile offender 
        for each delinquent offense;
            (2) sanctions escalate in intensity with each 
        subsequent, more serious delinquent offense;
            (3) there is sufficient flexibility to allow for 
        individualized sanctions and services suited to the 
        individual juvenile offender; and
            (4) appropriate consideration is given to public 
        safety and victims of crime.
    (d) Discretionary Use of Sanctions.----
            (1) Voluntary participation.--A State or unit of 
        local government may be eligible to receive a grant 
        under this part if----
                    (A) its system of graduated sanctions is 
                discretionary; and
                    (B) it demonstrates that it has promoted 
                the use of a system of graduated sanctions by 
                taking steps to encourage implementation of 
                such a system by juvenile courts.
            (2) Reporting requirement if graduated sanctions 
        not used.----
                    (A) Juvenile courts.--A State or unit of 
                local government in which the imposition of 
                graduated sanctions is discretionary shall 
                require each juvenile court within its 
                jurisdiction--
                            (i) which has not implemented a 
                        system of graduated sanctions, to 
                        submit an annual report that explains 
                        why such court did not implement 
                        graduated sanctions; and
                            (ii) which has implemented a system 
                        of graduated sanctions but has not 
                        imposed graduated sanctions in all 
                        cases, to submit an annual report that 
                        explains why such court did not impose 
                        graduated sanctions in all cases.
                    (B) Units of local government.--Each unit 
                of local government, other than a specially 
                qualified unit, that has 1 or more juvenile 
                courts that use a discretionary system of 
                graduated sanctions shall collect the 
                information reported under subparagraph (A) for 
                submission to the State each year.
                    (C) States.--Each State and specially 
                qualified unit that has 1 or more juvenile 
                courts that use a discretionary system of 
                graduated sanctions shall collect the 
                information reported under subparagraph (A) for 
                submission to the Attorney General each year. A 
                State shall also collect and submit to the 
                Attorney General the information collected 
                under subparagraph (B).
    (e) Definitions.--For purposes of this section:
            (1) The term ``discretionary'' means that a system 
        of graduated sanctions is not required to be imposed by 
        each and every juvenile court in a State or unit of 
        local government.
            (2) The term ``sanctions'' means tangible, 
        proportional consequences that hold the juvenile 
        offender accountable for the offense committed. A 
        sanction may include counseling, restitution, community 
        service, a fine, supervised probation, or confinement.

SEC. 1803. ALLOCATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS.

    (a) State Allocation.----
            (1) In general.--In accordance with regulations 
        promulgated pursuant to this part and except as 
        provided in paragraph (3), the Attorney General shall 
        allocate----
                    (A) 0.25 percent for each State; and
                    (B) of the total funds remaining after the 
                allocation under subparagraph (A), to each 
                State, an amount which bears the same ratio to 
                the amount of remaining funds described in this 
                subparagraph as the population of people under 
                the age of 18 living in such State for the most 
                recent calendar year in which such data is 
                available bears to the population of people 
                under the age of 18 of all the States for such 
                fiscal year.
            (2) Prohibition.--No funds allocated to a State 
        under this subsection or received by a State for 
        distribution under subsection (b) may be distributed by 
        the Attorney General or by the State involved for any 
        program other than a program contained in an approved 
        application.
    (b) Local Distribution.----
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph 
        (2), each State which receives funds under subsection 
        (a)(1) in a fiscal year shall distribute among units of 
        local government, for the purposes specified in section 
        1801, not less than 75 percent of such amounts 
        received.
            (2) Waiver.--If a State submits to the Attorney 
        General an application for waiver that demonstrates and 
        certifies to the Attorney General that----
                    (A) the State's juvenile justice 
                expenditures in the fiscal year preceding the 
                date in which an application is submitted under 
                this part (the ``State percentage'') is more 
                than 25 percent of the aggregate amount of 
                juvenile justice expenditures by the State and 
                its eligible units of local government; and
                    (B) the State has consulted with as many 
                units of local government in such State, or 
                organizations representing such units, as 
                practicable regarding the State's calculation 
                of expenditures under subparagraph (A), the 
                State's application for waiver under this 
                paragraph, and the State's proposed uses of 
                funds,
        the percentage referred to in paragraph (1) shall equal 
        the percentage determined by subtracting the State 
        percentage from 100 percent.
            (3) Allocation.--In making the distribution under 
        paragraph (1), the State shall allocate to such units 
        of local government an amount which bears the same 
        ratio to the aggregate amount of such funds as----
                    (A) the sum of----
                            (i) the product of----
                                    (I) three-quarters; 
                                multiplied by
                                    (II) the average juvenile 
                                justice expenditure for such 
                                unit of local government for 
                                the 3 most recent calendar 
                                years for which such data is 
                                available; plus
                            (ii) the product of----
                                    (I) one-quarter; multiplied 
                                by
                                    (II) the average annual 
                                number of part 1 violent crimes 
                                in such unit of local 
                                government for the 3 most 
                                recent calendar years for which 
                                such data is available, bears 
                                to----
                    (B) the sum of the products determined 
                under subparagraph (A) for all such units of 
                local government in the State.
            (4) Expenditures.--The allocation any unit of local 
        government shall receive under paragraph (3) for a 
        payment period shall not exceed 100 percent of juvenile 
        justice expenditures of the unit for such payment 
        period.
            (5) Reallocation.--The amount of any unit of local 
        government's allocation that is not available to such 
        unit by operation of paragraph (4) shall be available 
        to other units of local government that are not 
        affected by such operation in accordance with this 
        subsection.
    (c) Unavailability of Data for Units of Local Government.--
If the State has reason to believe that the reported rate of 
part 1 violent crimes or juvenile justice expenditures for a 
unit of local government is insufficient or inaccurate, the 
State shall----
            (1) investigate the methodology used by the unit to 
        determine the accuracy of the submitted data; and
            (2) if necessary, use the best available comparable 
        data regarding the number of violent crimes or juvenile 
        justice expenditures for the relevant years for the 
        unit of local government.
    (d) Local Government With Allocations Less Than $10,000.--
If under this section a unit of local government is allocated 
less than $10,000 for a payment period, the amount allotted 
shall be expended by the State on services to units of local 
government whose allotment is less than such amount in a manner 
consistent with this part.
    (e) Direct Grants to Specially Qualified Units.----
            (1) In general.--If a State does not qualify or 
        apply for funds reserved for allocation under 
        subsection (a) by the application deadline established 
        by the Attorney General, the Attorney General shall 
        reserve not more than 75 percent of the allocation that 
        the State would have received under subsection (a) for 
        such fiscal year to provide grants to specially 
        qualified units which meet the requirements for funding 
        under section 1802.
            (2) Award basis.--In addition to the qualification 
        requirements for direct grants for specially qualified 
        units the Attorney General may use the average amount 
        allocated by the States to units of local government as 
        a basis for awarding grants under this section.

SEC. 1804. GUIDELINES.

    (a) In General.--The Attorney General shall issue 
guidelines establishing procedures under which a State or unit 
of local government that receives funds under section 1803 is 
required to provide notice to the Attorney General regarding 
the proposed use of funds made available under this part.
    (b) Advisory Board.--The guidelines referred to in 
subsection (a) shall include a requirement that such eligible 
State or unit of local government establish and convene an 
advisory board to review the proposed uses of such funds. The 
board shall include representation from, if appropriate----
            (1) the State or local police department;
            (2) the local sheriff's department;
            (3) the State or local prosecutor's office;
            (4) the State or local juvenile court;
            (5) the State or local probation officer;
            (6) the State or local educational agency;
            (7) a State or local social service agency;
            (8) a nonprofit, nongovernmental victim advocacy 
        organization; and
            (9) a nonprofit, religious, or community group.

SEC. 1805. PAYMENT REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Timing of Payments.--The Attorney General shall pay to 
each State or unit of local government that receives funds 
under section 1803 that has submitted an application under this 
part not later than----
            (1) 180 days after the date that the amount is 
        available, or
            (2) the first day of the payment period if the 
        State has provided the Attorney General with the 
        assurances required by subsection (c),
whichever is later.
    (b) Repayment of Unexpended Amounts.----
            (1) Repayment required.--From amounts awarded under 
        this part, a State or specially qualified unit shall 
        repay to the Attorney General, before the expiration of 
        the 36-month period beginning on the date of the award, 
        any amount that is not expended by such State or unit.
            (2) Extension.--The Attorney General may adopt 
        policies and procedures providing for a one-time 
        extension, by not more than 12 months, of the period 
        referred to in paragraph (1).
            (3) Penalty for failure to repay.--If the amount 
        required to be repaid is not repaid, the Attorney 
        General shall reduce payment in future payment periods 
        accordingly.
            (4) Deposit of amounts repaid.--Amounts received by 
        the Attorney General as repayments under this 
        subsection shall be deposited in a designated fund for 
        future payments to States and specially qualified 
        units.
    (c) Administrative Costs.--A State or unit of local 
government that receives funds under this part may use not more 
than 5 percent of such funds to pay for administrative costs.
    (d) Nonsupplanting Requirement.--Funds made available under 
this part to States and units of local government shall not be 
used to supplant State or local funds as the case may be, but 
shall be used to increase the amount of funds that would, in 
the absence of funds made available under this part, be made 
available from State or local sources, as the case may be.
    (e) Matching Funds.----
            (1) In general.--The Federal share of a grant 
        received under this part may not exceed 90 percent of 
        the total program costs.
            (2) Construction of facilities.--Notwithstanding 
        paragraph (1), with respect to the cost of constructing 
        juvenile detention or correctional facilities, the 
        Federal share of a grant received under this part may 
        not exceed 50 percent of approved cost.

SEC. 1806. UTILIZATION OF PRIVATE SECTOR.

    Funds or a portion of funds allocated under this part may 
be used by a State or unit of local government that receives a 
grant under this part to contract with private, nonprofit 
entities, or community-based organizations to carry out the 
purposes specified under section 1801(b).

SEC. 1807. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

    (a) In General.--A State or specially qualified unit that 
receives funds under this part shall----
            (1) establish a trust fund in which the government 
        will deposit all payments received under this part;
            (2) use amounts in the trust fund (including 
        interest) during the period specified in section 
        1805(b)(1) and any extension of that period under 
        section 1805(b)(2);
            (3) designate an official of the State or specially 
        qualified unit to submit reports as the Attorney 
        General reasonably requires, in addition to the annual 
        reports required under this part; and
            (4) spend the funds only for the purposes under 
        section 1801(b).
    (b) Title I Provisions.--Except as otherwise provided, the 
administrative provisions of part H shall apply to this part 
and for purposes of this section any reference in such 
provisions to title I shall be deemed to include a reference to 
this part.

SEC. 1808. ASSESSMENT REPORTS.

    (a) Reports to Attorney General.----
            (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph 
        (2), for each fiscal year for which a grant or subgrant 
        is awarded under this part, each State or unit of local 
        government that receives such a grant or subgrant shall 
        submit to the Attorney General a report, at such time 
        and in such manner as the Attorney General may 
        reasonably require, which report shall include----
                    (A) a summary of the activities carried out 
                with such grant or subgrant; and
                    (B) an assessment of the effectiveness of 
                such activities on achieving the purposes of 
                this part.
            (2) Waivers.--The Attorney General may waive the 
        requirement of an assessment in paragraph (1)(B) for a 
        State or unit of local government if the Attorney 
        General determines that----
                    (A) the nature of the activities are such 
                that assessing their effectiveness would not be 
                practical or insightful;
                    (B) the amount of the grant or subgrant is 
                such that carrying out the assessment would not 
                be an effective use of those amounts; or
                    (C) the resources available to the State or 
                unit are such that carrying out the assessment 
                would pose a financial hardship on the State or 
                unit.
    (b) Reports to Congress.--Not later than 90 days after the 
last day of each fiscal year for which 1 or more grants are 
awarded under this part, the Attorney General shall submit to 
the Congress a report, which shall include----
            (1) a summary of the information provided under 
        subsection (a);
            (2) the assessment of the Attorney General of the 
        grant program carried out under this part; and
            (3) such other information as the Attorney General 
        considers appropriate.

SEC. 1809. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this part:
            (1) The term ``unit of local government'' means----
                    (A) a county, township, city, or political 
                subdivision of a county, township, or city, 
                that is a unit of local government as 
                determined by the Secretary of Commerce for 
                general statistical purposes;
                    (B) any law enforcement district or 
                judicial enforcement district that----
                            (i) is established under applicable 
                        State law; and
                            (ii) has the authority, in a manner 
                        independent of other State entities, to 
                        establish a budget and raise revenues; 
                        and
                    (C) the District of Columbia and the 
                recognized governing body of an Indian tribe or 
                Alaskan Native village that carries out 
                substantial governmental duties and powers.
            (2) The term ``specially qualified unit'' means a 
        unit of local government which may receive funds under 
        this part only in accordance with section 1803(e).
            (3) The term ``State'' means any State of the 
        United States, the District of Columbia, the 
        Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, 
        American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands, 
        except that American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern 
        Mariana Islands shall be considered as 1 State and 
        that, for purposes of section 1803(a), 33 percent of 
        the amounts allocated shall be allocated to American 
        Samoa, 50 percent to Guam, and 17 percent to the 
        Northern Mariana Islands.
            (4) The term ``juvenile'' means an individual who 
        is 17 years of age or younger.
            (5) The term ``juvenile justice expenditures'' 
        means expenditures in connection with the juvenile 
        justice system, including expenditures in connection 
        with such system to carry out----
                    (A) activities specified in section 
                1801(b); and
                    (B) other activities associated with 
                prosecutorial and judicial services and 
                corrections as reported to the Bureau of the 
                Census for the fiscal year preceding the fiscal 
                year for which a determination is made under 
                this part.
            (6) The term ``part 1 violent crimes'' 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.

SEC. 1810. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized 
to be appropriated to carry out this part----
            (1) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2002;
            (2) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2003; and
            (3) $500,000,000 for fiscal year 2004.
    (b) Oversight Accountability and Administration.--Of the 
amount authorized to be appropriated under subsection (a), 
there shall be available to the Attorney General, for each of 
the fiscal years 2002 through 2004 (as applicable), to remain 
available until expended----
            (1) not more than 2 percent of that amount, for 
        research, evaluation, and demonstration consistent with 
        this part;
            (2) not more than 1 percent of that amount, for 
        training and technical assistance; and
            (3) not more than 1 percent, for administrative 
        costs to carry out the purposes of this part.
The Attorney General shall establish and execute an oversight 
plan for monitoring the activities of grant recipients.
    (c) Funding Source.--Appropriations for activities 
authorized in this part may be made from the Violent Crime 
Reduction Trust Fund.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                           Markup Transcript



                            BUSINESS MEETING

                       WEDNESDAY, MARCH 28, 2001

                  House of Representatives,
                                Committee on the Judiciary,
                                                    Washington, DC.
    The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10 a.m., in Room 
2141, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. F. James 
Sensenbrenner (chairman of the committee) presiding.
    Chairman Sensenbrenner. The next item on the agenda is H.R. 
863, the Consequences for Juvenile Offenders Act of 2001.
    [H.R. 863 follows:]
    
    
    Chairman Sensenbrenner. The Chair recognizes the gentleman 
from Texas, the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Crime, for a 
motion.
    Mr. Smith of Texas. Mr. Chairman, the Subcommittee on Crime 
reports favorably the bill H.R. 863 with a single amendment in 
the nature of a substitute and moves its favorable 
recommendation to the full House.
    Chairman Sensenbrenner. Without objection, the bill will be 
considered as read and open for amendment at any point, and the 
Subcommittee amendment in the nature of a substitute which the 
members have before them will be considered as read and be 
considered as the original text for purposes of amendment.
    The Chair recognizes--the gentleman from Michigan.
    Mr. Conyers. Mr. Chairman, I rise to strike the last word.
    Chairman Sensenbrenner. May I recognize the gentleman from 
Texas who is the Subcommittee Chair?
    Mr. Conyers. Absolutely.
    Chairman Sensenbrenner. The Chair recognizes the gentleman 
from Texas, the Subcommittee Chair, on his motion for 5 
minutes.
    Mr. Smith of Texas. Mr. Chairman, H.R. 863, the 
Consequences for Juvenile Offenders Act of 2001, is designed to 
improve the juvenile justice system. It is a bipartisan bill 
cosponsored by every member of the Crime Subcommittee. H.R. 863 
was reported favorably by the Subcommittee last week by voice 
vote.
    Two weeks ago at a hearing on this bill, our witnesses 
confirmed the need for the Federal Government to assist State 
and local governments with preventing and responding to 
juvenile crime. This bill does just that.
    Mr. Chairman, in the interest of time, I would like to ask 
unanimous consent that the rest of my statement be made a part 
of the record.
    Chairman Sensenbrenner. Without objection.
    [The statement of Mr. Smith of Texas follows:]
 Prepared Statement of Hon. Lamar Smith, a Representative in Congress 
                        From the State of Texas
    Mr. Chairman, H.R. 863, the ``Consequences for Juvenile Offenders 
Act of 2001,'' is designed to improve the juvenile justice system. It 
is a bipartisan bill, co-sponsored by every member of the Crime 
Subcommittee. H.R. 863 was reported favorably by the Subcommittee last 
week by voice vote.
    Two weeks ago at a hearing on this bill, our witnesses confirmed 
the need for the Federal Government to assist State and local 
governments with preventing and responding to juvenile crime. This bill 
does just that.
    H.R. 863 authorizes the Justice Department to make grants to State 
and local governments to employ graduated sanctions in their juvenile 
justice system. The bill authorizes $500 million annually for three 
years beginning in fiscal year 2002.
    To receive these grant funds, States and local governments must 
have in place, or plan to implement, a system of graduated sanctions 
for addressing juvenile delinquency within one year of applying for the 
funds. The sanctions must escalate in intensity with each subsequent, 
more serious offense.
    The bill also requires that the system be sufficiently flexible to 
address the specific problems of the individual offender. H.R. 863 is a 
balanced effort to strengthen juvenile justice systems so that 
appropriate, measured consequences are imposed on juveniles at the 
earliest stage to prevent young offenders from engaging in more serious 
wrongdoing later in their lives.
    The bill authorizes that each State's share of the grant funds is 
based on the size of each State's juvenile populations. The State must 
distribute 75 percent of the funds among its local governments. The 
State determines the amount each of its local governments receives 
based on a formula that takes into account a combination of juvenile 
justice expenditures and the level of violent crime in each unit of 
local government.
    If the State demonstrates that the State's expenditures for the 
administration of juvenile justice exceeded 25 percent of the total 
spent by the State and its local governments for the administration of 
juvenile justice, then the State's share of funding is increased to a 
level reflecting its share of the total expenditures. So if its share 
is 35 percent, the State may request a waiver to receive 35 percent.
    The bill requires all of the grant money to be used to strengthen 
the juvenile justice system and includes a number of specific uses for 
the funds, such as developing graduated sanctions, building and 
operating juvenile corrections facilities, and hiring juvenile court 
judges and prosecutors.
    Mr. Chairman, this grant program seeks to encourage our juvenile 
justice system to pay more attention to juvenile offenders at earlier 
times in their lives with the aim of preventing more serious offenses 
later. With this approach, we hope to ensure that juvenile offenders 
learn that there are consequences for their actions. I urge my 
colleagues to support the bill.

    Mr. Smith of Texas. And Mr. Chairman, I furthermore would 
like to add my thanks to Mr. Scott, the Ranking Member, for his 
work on this bill, which began several years ago.
    And I yield back the balance of my time.
    Chairman Sensenbrenner. The gentleman from Michigan, Mr. 
Conyers.
    Mr. Conyers. Mr. Chairman, I rise to strike the last word.
    Chairman Sensenbrenner. Recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Conyers. Of course I support H.R. 863 and I commend Mr. 
Scott and the Subcommittee Chairman, Mr. Smith. Their tireless 
efforts have created a bill that we are all together on.
    But over the last several Congresses, we've debated the 
get-tough approach versus the prevention and treatment approach 
to addressing juvenile crime. This measure reflects the advice 
of the researchers and expert practitioners who are unanimous 
on the point that more--that more resources are needed for 
appropriate individually tailored responses to juvenile crime.
    The measure before us is not a one-size-fits-all approach 
but a substantive bipartisan approach that actually will reduce 
crime and delinquency where it occurs, and that's why we all 
support it.
    My view also is that juvenile justice is also about gun 
safety. I understand clearly that the sponsors of the bill have 
valid concerns that introducing the issue of gun violence into 
the debate would foster differences of view and jeopardize good 
legislation. They are correct that the Republican leadership 
bottled up this bill in a conference committee last year 
largely in an effort, I am told, to avoid addressing gun 
violence.
    But I believe that preventing juvenile crime is about 
thwarting easy access to guns, just as much as it is about 
prevention programs and services for at-risk youth. Ten 
children a day are killed by gun violence. The shooters at 
Columbine High School were provided a gun largely because of 
the lack of any background check by licensed sellers at gun 
shows. We continue to witness unspeakable horrors every week as 
children open fire on their classmates. You all read and see 
them weekly.
    The Nation stands ready to require a child safety lock on 
every gun. I think most Members of Congress are ready as well. 
But the Congress ignores the cries of the children and their 
parents.
    I know that the National Rifle Association's publicity 
machines have been spinning in high gear since the election to 
perpetuate the myth that gun safety is a losing political 
issue. The facts are, of course, that the NRA targeted 
countless House and Senate seats and lost nearly every single 
one. So gather your courage, my colleagues. Bit by bit, the 
tide is turning.
    Governor Pataki, New York, has proposed far more ambitious 
gun safety measures than those that were bottled up by the 
Republican leadership this year. Senator McCain and Lieberman 
are attempting to find common ground on this issue as we speak. 
But regardless of the politics, I and others feel that we 
cannot back down on this issue because it is the logical and 
correct position to take, and if we really do not want to leave 
any child behind, we cannot allow so many children to be killed 
in senseless and preventable acts of gun violence. Too many 
families have lived through this unthinkable experience of 
burying their own children for us not to act.
    I would have offered amendments to this bill, reasonable 
and moderate measures passed by the Senate in the last 
Congress, the gun show background checks, child safety locks, a 
ban on the importation of large-capacity ammunition clips and a 
juvenile Brady, but because of our parliamentary rules, I am 
not able to do so. But let's all stay tuned for further 
complementary support to this excellent measure before us.
    Thank you very much.
    Chairman Sensenbrenner. The gentleman's time has expired.
    The gentleman from Virginia, Mr. Scott.
    Mr. Scott. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And I look forward to 
the next round of legislation that the gentleman from Michigan 
will be introducing.
    This bill before us today is a product of witnesses who 
presented a clear consensus that rather than moving children 
out of the juvenile system into the adult system, more 
resources were needed in the juvenile system for appropriate 
individually tailored responses at the first offense, not the 
fifth offense, that allowed broader choices than traditional 
limitations of either probation or incarceration.
    We received that same advice from witnesses who appeared 
before the bipartisan Task Force on Youth Violence which was 
appointed by Speaker Hastert and Leader Gephardt to come up 
with a bipartisan recommendation to deal with juvenile 
violence.
    In the same manner recommended by these witnesses, the bill 
before us today provides resources to be used to both hold the 
juvenile offenders accountable for their actions and to 
adequately address their needs for services, starting with an 
appropriate response when the delinquent offense first occurs 
and escalating the level of response upon any succeeding 
offense until the problem is eliminated.
    Appropriate responses could consist of punishment, family 
and individual counseling or other mental health services, drug 
treatment, or other assistance individual-tailored for the 
individual juvenile.
    Mr. Chairman, we have a good bill with bipartisan support, 
so I would hope that the members of the Committee would report 
the bill.
    Chairman Sensenbrenner. Let the Chair observe that we are 
about 10 minutes away from a vote and I don't think we can get 
people back after this vote. So----
    Mr. Smith of Texas. Mr. Chairman?
    Chairman Sensenbrenner. For what purpose does the gentleman 
from Texas, Mr. Smith, seek recognition for a manager's 
amendment?
    Mr. Smith of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at 
the desk if that's appropriate.
    Chairman Sensenbrenner. The Clerk will report the 
amendment.
    [Amendment to the Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute 
to H.R. 863 Offered By Mr. Smith of Texas follows:]


    The Clerk. Amendment to the amendment in the nature of a 
substitute to H.R. 863 as reported by the Subcommittee on 
Crime----
    Mr. Smith of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent 
that the amendment be considered as read.
    Chairman Sensenbrenner. Without objection, so ordered, and 
the gentleman from Texas is recognized for 5 minutes.
    Mr. Smith of Texas. Mr. Chairman, I offer this amendment on 
behalf of myself and Mr. Scott, the Ranking Member of the Crime 
Subcommittee. It is the result of close cooperation between the 
majority and minority staffs of the Subcommittee.
    The amendment makes a number of discrete changes to the 
bill that are designed to better direct grants to the areas of 
greatest need and also to ensure that recipients of the grants 
have sufficient flexibility to use the funds productively.
    Mr. Chairman, I will ask unanimous consent that the rest of 
my statement be made a part of the record and I recommend that 
my colleagues support the amendment.
    Chairman Sensenbrenner. Without objection, so ordered.
    [The statement of Mr. Smith of Texas in Support of 
Manager's Amendment to H.R. 863 follows:]
 Prepared Statement of Hon. Lamar Smith, a Representative in Congress 
                        From the State of Texas
    Mr. Chairman, I offer this Amendment on behalf of myself and Mr. 
Scott, the ranking member of the Crime Subcommittee. It is the result 
of close cooperation between the majority and minority staffs of the 
Subcommittee.
    The Amendment makes a number of discreet changes to the bill that 
are designed to better direct grants to the areas of greatest need, and 
also to ensure that recipients of the grants have sufficient 
flexibility to use the funds productively.
    The most important of these changes are the following:

         The Amendment modifies that portion of the bill that 
        requires each participating State to distribute 75 percent of 
        its grant funds to local governments. This pass-through 
        provision is necessary because local governments pay for much 
        of the juvenile justice expenditures. However, in the event 
        that the State government is responsible for more than 25 
        percent of the total juvenile justice expenditures in the 
        State, the State may seek a waiver from the Attorney General of 
        the pass-through requirement so that it can keep a share of the 
        grant funds equal to its share of the total expenditures in 
        that State.

         The Amendment also modifies the formula by which a 
        State determines the amount of the passed-through funds to be 
        distributed among its local governments. The changes made to 
        this formula will use juvenile justice expenditures, rather 
        than adult crime expenditures, as a means to determine the 
        areas of greatest need for distributing the funds granted by 
        the bill.

         The Amendment also adds two additional activities for 
        which the bill's grant funds may be used. First, the Amendment 
        will allow the grant funds to be used to establish and maintain 
        programs to enable juvenile courts and juvenile probation 
        officers to be more effective and efficient in holding juvenile 
        offenders accountable. Second, the Amendment will allow grant 
        funds to be used to hire and train juvenile detention and 
        corrections personnel. While the underlying bill provides for 
        the hiring and training of court personnel and prosecutors, it 
        made no specific provision for using grants funds to hire the 
        corrections personnel.

         Finally, the underlying bill contains a cost-sharing 
        provision that requires grant recipients to pay for 10 percent 
        of costs of any programs paid for with grant funds. The 
        Amendment would require State and local governments using grant 
        funds for the construction of facilities to pay at least 50 
        percent of the cost with non-grant funds. This provisions is 
        consistent with the approach taken in other grant programs.

    Mr. Chairman, I believe this Amendment strengthens the bill and 
urge my colleagues to support.

    Chairman Sensenbrenner. The gentleman from Massachusetts, 
Mr. Delahunt.
    Mr. Delahunt. Yes. And I'll try to be brief, Mr. Chairman, 
but I just want to commend both the Chairman and the Ranking 
Member for a very sound piece of legislation. This isn't get-
tough legislation; this is doing it smartly, doing it 
intelligently.
    You know, in the course of the past several months, we've 
heard a lot about bipartisanship, working together. The 
rhetoric seems to have improved somewhat. But let me suggest in 
terms of what I have seen that has an excellent opportunity to 
pass this Congress, this is the first piece that I would 
suggest is truly bipartisan, it's very positive, I think 
continues--it continues the recommendations and the concepts 
that were embraced about a year ago in the so-called bipartisan 
Task Force on Youth Violence that received unanimous support. 
It was comprised of eleven members on the Republican side and 
eleven members on the Democratic side.
    I support the Manager's Amendment. I would hope to work 
with the Chair of the Subcommittee on possibly an amendment 
before the bill goes to the floor or on the floor dealing 
simply with the issues--the issue of findings, because I think 
it's very important that the American people should be aware 
that there is good news out there, and hopefully this 
legislation would continue to support the dramatic reduction in 
juvenile crime that is occurring in this country.
    You know, I think it was--since 1993, there has been a 
close to 70 percent decline in juvenile homicides. Now, I don't 
think the American people really understand that because the 
perception is to the contrary. But I think it's time that we as 
their representatives inform the Nation that this approach and 
these kind of efforts are working, they're working at the State 
level, and that we're stepping up to support their continuation 
and, in fact, their enhancement.
    Mr. Delahunt. I yield back.
    Chairman Sensenbrenner. The gentleman from California, Mr. 
Gallegly.
    Mr. Gallegly. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. I'll be 
very brief. I just want to publicly thank Chairman Smith for 
his help in working with us on a provision in the manager's 
amendment dealing with the increase of training for 
correctional officers working with juveniles. And I would ask 
unanimous consent to have my statement in its complete form for 
the record.
    Chairman Sensenbrenner. Without objection.
    [The statement of Mr. Gallegly follows:]
Prepared Statement of Hon. Elton Gallegly, a Representative in Congress 
                      From the State of California
    Mr. Chairman, I would like to commend Mr. Smith, the new chairman 
of the Subcommittee on Crime, for working with me and including a 
provision in the manager's amendment that I believe strengthens the 
bill.
    The language would allow grant money to be used by state and local 
governments, at their discretion, to increase training for correctional 
officers working in juvenile facilities or to increase the ratio of 
officers to inmates.
    This language is needed because juvenile correctional facilities 
have become increasingly dangerous--both to correctional officers and 
the juvenile detainees. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, in 
1997 over 33% of the juveniles in facilities nationwide were sentenced 
for committing violent offenses. In California, 60% of the total first 
admissions in the juvenile system during 1997 were for violent 
offenses, including many that were gang-related.
    At the same time, as juvenile detainees have become more violent, 
many state and local governments simply do not have the ability to hire 
enough correctional officers to ensure the safe operation of its 
juvenile facilities. When this happens, correctional officers are 
unable to gather the intelligence necessary to prevent violent 
incidents or provide sufficient backup when an incident occurs.
    This problem is compounded by a lack of proper training on the part 
of correctional officers in many state and local facilities. Adequate 
training is necessary to protect our citizens from escapes, to protect 
the lives of correctional officers and wards, and to ensure that 
juveniles are provided the services they need.
    Once again, these provisions allow--but not require--state and 
local governments to use funds to hire additional staff for 
correctional and detention facilities and provide correctional officers 
additional training.
    This language is supported by the California Correctional Peace 
Officers Association and the members of Corrections U.S.A, a national 
coalition of over 80,000 correctional officers in forty states.
    Thank you Mr. Chairman and I yield back the balance of my time.

    Chairman Sensenbrenner. The gentlewoman from Texas, Ms. 
Jackson Lee.
    Ms. Jackson Lee. Yes, Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. 
Let me add my appreciation to Chairman Smith and Ranking Member 
Scott. This is a long journey. I hope that we will find in the 
107th Congress the ability to pass this legislation.
    It was about 6 years ago when Ranking Member Scott and 
myself, along with other members of the Crime Subcommittee, and 
then the then-chairman, Mr. McCollum, traveled the country to 
hear people talk about the issues dealing with juvenile crime. 
At that point there was a lot of hysteria, and the approaches 
dealt mostly with incarceration.
    And I think if we look at the statistics, and as Mr. Scott 
has said, in joining him on the House Task Force on Juvenile 
Violence, all of those experts said that we need intervention 
and prevention. And despite the public perception of high 
levels of juvenile violence, only 8 percent of juvenile 
offenses in 1994 were violent crimes, yet thousands of young 
people are incarcerated. And at one point in this very 
Committee, Mr. Chairman, we were talking about incarcerating 
young people with adults.
    I do want to add the point that we have had an increase of 
utilization by young people of guns. Whether or not it is 
pervasive, it still happens, and deaths do occur. I hope that 
we'll find it in our conscience and in our hearts and minds, to 
move legislation along that deals with gun safety. That's what 
I'd like to call it. I don't call it gun regulation, but gun 
safety. In doing that, I think we'll have a wonderful balance 
to this legislation.
    In concluding, let me say that I thank both the Ranking 
Member and the Chairman for including an amendment of mine in 
the manager's substitute I believe, or amendment to the 
amendment, that deals with maintaining and establishing 
juvenile--in juvenile courts and justice programs, efforts by 
prosecutors to reduce juvenile crime and recidivism by allowing 
the prosecutors to participate in programs once the young 
person gets into the courthouse, to produce or reduce 
recidivism.
    The other thing that I think is extremely important is 
language in this bill--can you believe it?--in a juvenile 
justice bill, which we added last term that deals with 
intervention and mental health support systems and screening. 
Our young people, as our adults, need mental health services, 
and this particular amendment and legislation now has it.
    With that, let me yield back and ask support for this 
legislation.
    Chairman Sensenbrenner. The question is on the amendment to 
the amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by the 
gentleman from Texas, Mr. Smith. Those in favor will signify by 
saying aye.
    Opposed, no.
    The ayes appear to have it. The ayes have it.
    Are there any further amendments?
    Hearing none, the question is on the amendment in the 
nature of a substitute as amended. Those in favor will signify 
by saying aye.
    Opposed, no.
    The ayes appear to have it. The ayes have it and the 
amendment in the nature of a substitute as amendment--as 
amended is agreed to.
    The question now occurs on the motion to report the bill 
H.R. 863 favorably as amended by the amendment in the nature of 
a substitute. All in favor say aye.
    Opposed, no.
    The ayes have it and the motion to report favorably is 
adopted.
    Without objection, the Chairman is authorized to move to go 
to conference pursuant to House rules. Without objection, the 
staff is directed to make any technical and conforming changes, 
and all members will be given 2 days, as provided by House 
rules, in which to submit additional dissenting supplemental or 
minority views.
    This concludes the agenda and the Committee is adjourned.
    [Whereupon, at 2:27 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]

                                  
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