Justice Reinvestment Initiative Act of 2019
This bill provides statutory authority for the Justice Reinvestment Initiative grant program within the Department of Justice. The program provides grants to states, local governments, Indian tribes, and entities and institutions of higher education with national law enforcement and corrections expertise to analyze criminal justice trends and increase public safety by allocating resources to efforts that reduce crime and recidivism.
[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3081 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 3081
To authorize the Justice Reinvestment Initiative grant program, and for
other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 4, 2019
Mr. Armstrong introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To authorize the Justice Reinvestment Initiative grant program, and for
other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Justice Reinvestment Initiative Act
of 2019''.
SEC. 2. JUSTICE REINVESTMENT INITIATIVE.
(a) Authorization.--The Attorney General is authorized to make
grants to States, units of local government, Indian tribes, entities
with national law enforcement and corrections expertise, and
institutions of higher education with national law enforcement and
corrections expertise for the purposes described in subsection (b).
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of the grant program under this section
are to--
(1) identify drivers of criminal justice resource
consumption;
(2) improve jurisdictions' capacity to prevent and respond
to violent crime, including by reducing the risk for recidivism
(as measured by arrests for new crimes, convictions for new
crimes, incarcerations for new crimes, and revocations based on
technical violations);
(3) identify offenders' risks for general and violent
recidivism, and related substance use and mental health needs,
and mitigate their risk for engaging in violent behavior or
being the victims of violent crime; and
(4) improve public safety through a re-allocation of
resources in high performing crime- and recidivism-reduction
efforts.
(c) Application.--An applicant seeking a grant under this section
shall submit to the Attorney General an application at such time, in
such manner, and containing such information as the Attorney General
may reasonably require.
(d) Uses of Funds.--A recipient of a grant under this section shall
use the grant funds for programs designed to--
(1) analyze criminal justice trends to understand factors
driving jail and prison population growth;
(2) develop and implement policy options to generate
savings and increase public safety;
(3) quantify savings and reinvest in select, high-risk
communities and other prevention-oriented strategies; and
(4) measure the impact of policy changes and reinvestment
resources and enhance the accountability of criminal justice
system actors and policies.
(e) Contracts and Subawards.--A State, unit of local government, or
Indian tribe may, in using a grant under this part for program
described in subsection (d), use all or a portion of that grant to
contract with, or make one or more subawards to, one or more--
(1) local or regional organizations that are private and
nonprofit, including faith-based organizations;
(2) units of local government; or
(3) tribal organizations.
(f) Program Assessment Component; Waiver.--
(1) Program assessment component.--Each program funded
under this part shall contain a program assessment component,
developed pursuant to guidelines established by the Attorney
General, in coordination with the National Institute of
Justice.
(2) Waiver.--The Attorney General may waive the requirement
of paragraph (1) with respect to a program if, in the opinion
of the Attorney General, the program is not of sufficient size
to justify a full program assessment.
(g) Administrative Costs.--Not more than 10 percent of a grant made
under this part may be used for costs incurred to administer such
grant.
(h) Equitable Distribution of Funds.--In awarding grants under this
section, the Attorney General shall distribute funds in a manner that
equitably addresses the needs of underserved populations, including
rural and tribal communities.
(i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated to carry out this section $40,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2021 through 2025.
SEC. 3. AUDIT AND ACCOUNTABILITY OF GRANTEES.
(a) Definitions.--In this section--
(1) the term ``covered grant program'' means the awarding
of grants under section 2;
(2) the term ``covered grantee'' means a recipient of a
grant from the covered grant program;
(3) the term ``nonprofit'', when used with respect to an
organization, means an organization that is described in
section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and is
exempt from taxation under section 501(a) of such Code; and
(4) the term ``unresolved audit finding'' means an audit
report finding in a final audit report of the Inspector General
of the Department of Justice that a covered grantee has used
grant funds awarded to that grantee under the covered grant
program for an unauthorized expenditure or otherwise
unallowable cost that is not closed or resolved during a 12-
month period prior to the date on which the final audit report
is issued.
(b) Audit Requirement.--Beginning in fiscal year 2020, and annually
thereafter, the Inspector General of the Department of Justice shall
conduct audits of covered grantees to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse
of funds awarded under covered grant programs. The Inspector General
shall determine the appropriate number of covered grantees to be
audited each year.
(c) Mandatory Exclusion.--A grantee that is found to have an
unresolved audit finding under an audit conducted under subsection (b)
may not receive grant funds under the covered grant program in the
fiscal year following the fiscal year to which the finding relates.
(d) Reimbursement.--If a covered grantee is awarded funds under the
covered grant program from which it received a grant award during the
1-fiscal-year period during which the covered grantee is ineligible for
an allocation of grant funds under subsection (c), the Attorney General
shall--
(1) deposit into the General Fund of the Treasury an amount
that is equal to the amount of the grant funds that were
improperly awarded to the covered grantee; and
(2) seek to recoup the costs of the repayment to the Fund
from the covered grantee that was improperly awarded the grant
funds.
(e) Priority of Grant Awards.--The Attorney General, in awarding
grants under the covered grant program shall give priority to eligible
entities that during the 2-year period preceding the application for a
grant have not been found to have an unresolved audit finding.
(f) Nonprofit Requirements.--
(1) Prohibition.--A nonprofit organization that holds money
in offshore accounts for the purpose of avoiding the tax
described in section 511(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, shall not be eligible to receive, directly or indirectly,
any funds from the covered grant program.
(2) Disclosure.--Each nonprofit organization that is a
covered grantee shall disclose in its application for such a
grant, as a condition of receipt of such a grant, the
compensation of its officers, directors, and trustees. Such
disclosure shall include a description of the criteria relied
on to determine such compensation.
(g) Prohibition on Lobbying Activity.--
(1) In general.--Amounts made available under the covered
grant program may not be used by any covered grantee to--
(A) lobby any representative of the Department of
Justice regarding the award of grant funding; or
(B) lobby any representative of the Federal
Government or a State, local, or tribal government
regarding the award of grant funding.
(2) Penalty.--If the Attorney General determines that a
covered grantee has violated paragraph (1), the Attorney
General shall--
(A) require the covered grantee to repay the grant
in full; and
(B) prohibit the covered grantee from receiving a
grant under the covered grant program from which it
received a grant award during at least the 5-year
period beginning on the date of such violation.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security.
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