Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2017
Latest action. Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2017
This bill amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to:
revise and reauthorize grant programs for offender reentry demonstration projects; family-based substance abuse treatment; and evaluating and improving educational methods at prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities; and
repeal grant programs for offender reentry courts and drug treatment alternatives to incarceration.
Additionally, the legislation amends the Second Chance Act of 2007 to:
rename, revise, and reauthorize grant programs for technology career training demonstration projects and reentry mentoring services,
reauthorize offender reentry research and the grant program for offender reentry substance abuse and criminal justice collaboration,
reauthorize and modify eligibility for an elderly offender early release pilot program, and
repeal grant programs for the responsible reintegration of offenders and the study of Depot Naltrexone to treat heroin addiction.
It amends the federal criminal code to establish partnerships between prisons and faith- or community-based nonprofit organizations to conduct activities to reduce recidivism.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Inspector General must conduct annual audits of selected grant recipients to prevent waste, fraud, and abuse of funds. The bill prohibits grants to nonprofit organizations that hold money in an offshore account to avoid tax liability. It also prohibits a grantee from using grant funds to lobby DOJ or a state, local, or tribal government regarding the award of grant funding.
DOJ, in collaboration with interested persons, providers, and organizations, and state, local, and tribal governments, must coordinate and report to Congress on federal reentry programs, policies, and practices.
The bill limits the use of grants for conferences that use more than $20,000 in DOJ funds.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on June 13, 2017. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on September 13, 2018: Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 115th Congress (2017-18), 442 of the 11,421 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.9 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
F. SENSENBRENNER (R-WI) introduced it on June 13, 2017, and 44 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 29 Democrats, 15 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on June 13, 2017, 3376 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2919 days ago, on September 13, 2018.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 115th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2019 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers