Next Step Act of 2019
Latest action. Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Next Step Act of 2019
This bill revises sentencing guidelines, addresses prison conditions and prisoner reentry, and addresses law enforcement training.
First, it eliminates increased and mandatory minimum penalties for drug offenses involving mixtures or substances which contain cocaine base (i.e., crack cocaine).
It decriminalizes marijuana by (1) removing marijuana from the list of scheduled substances; (2) eliminating criminal penalties for an individual who imports, exports, manufactures, distributes, or possesses with intent to distribute marijuana; and (3) expunging convictions for marijuana use or possession.
It reduces the mandatory minimum prison term for defendants who manufacture, distribute, or possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
Additionally, the bill
requires the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to provide videoconferencing free of charge to prisoners;
prohibits federal agencies from requesting that applicants disclose their criminal history before receiving a conditional offer of employment;
restricts the use of criminal records to disqualify individuals from employment, occupational licensing, or occupational certification;
creates a mechanism by which certain eligible individuals may file a petition to seal federal criminal records for certain nonviolent offenses;
reinstates the right to vote in federal elections for persons convicted of criminal offenses;
revises requirements for the BOP to help prisoners obtain identification documents prior to their release;
establishes and revises certain grants;
requires a state or tribe that receives certain funding to report on use-of-force incidents involving a law enforcement officer and a civilian; and
prohibits racial profiling by law enforcement.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on March 7, 2019. 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 March 7, 2019: Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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 116th Congress (2019-20), 344 of the 14,345 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 2.4 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?
Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced it on March 7, 2019, and 1 member has since signed on as a cosponsor.
They are 1 Democrat.
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 March 7, 2019, 2744 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 2744 days ago, on March 7, 2019.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 116th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2021 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers