Smarter Sentencing Act of 2013
Latest action · Jan 9, 2014 Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedOct 30, 2013
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Smarter Sentencing Act of 2013 - Amends the federal criminal code to direct the court to impose a sentence for specified controlled substance offenses without regard to any statutory minimum sentence if the court finds that the criminal history category for the defendant is not higher than category two. (Currently, the court may disregard the statutory minimum if the defendant does not have more than one criminal history point.)
Authorizes a court that imposed a sentence for a crack cocaine possession or trafficking offense committed before August 3, 2010, on motion of the defendant, the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, the attorney for the government, or the court, to impose a reduced sentence as if provisions of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 were in effect at the time such offense was committed.
Amends the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act (CSIEA) to reduce mandatory minimum sentences for manufacturing, distributing, dispensing, possessing, importing, or exporting specified controlled substances.
Directs the Commission to review and amend its guidelines and policy statements applicable to persons convicted of such an offense under the CSA and CSIEA to ensure consistency with this Act and to consider specified factors, including: (1) its mandate to formulate guidelines to minimize the likelihood that the federal prison population will exceed federal prison capacity, (2) fiscal implications of changes, (3) relevant public safety concerns, (4) the intent of Congress that penalties for violent and serious drug traffickers who present public safety risks remain appropriately severe, and (5) the need to reduce and prevent racial disparities in sentencing.
Requires the Attorney General to report on how the reduced expenditures on federal corrections and cost savings resulting from this Act will be used to help reduce overcrowding, increase investment in law enforcement and crime prevention, and reduce recidivism.
Cosponsors 55
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Oct 30, 2013 to Nov 18, 2014, with 8 there on the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| D-LA | Cedric L. Richmond | Original | Oct 30, 2013 |
| D-NY | Hakeem S. Jeffries | Original | Oct 30, 2013 |
| D-GA | Henry C. "Hank" Johnson, Jr. | Original | Oct 30, 2013 |
| D-MI | John Conyers, Jr. | Original | Oct 30, 2013 |
| D-VA | Robert C. "Bobby" Scott | Original | Oct 30, 2013 |
| R-IL | Rodney Davis | Original | Oct 30, 2013 |
| R-AL | Spencer Bachus | Original | Oct 30, 2013 |
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | Original | Oct 30, 2013 |
| D-FL | Theodore E. Deutch | Nov 13, 2013 | |
| R-KY | Thomas Massie | Dec 3, 2013 | |
| R-TX | Blake Farenthold | Dec 9, 2013 | |
| D-OH | Marcia L. Fudge | Dec 9, 2013 | |
| D-IL | Janice D. Schakowsky | Dec 19, 2013 | |
| D-TX | Beto O'Rourke | Jan 8, 2014 | |
| R-MI | Dave Camp | Jan 10, 2014 |
Actions 4
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jan 9, 2014Referred to the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations.
- Nov 1, 2013Referred to the Subcommittee on Health.
- Oct 30, 2013Introduced in House
- Oct 30, 2013Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1410 | Smarter Sentencing Act of 2014 | Identical bill | Dec 9, 2014 |
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Crime and Law Enforcement.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Oct 30, 2013Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.