Bill Summary
This bill, titled the "Sentencing Commission Improvements Act", aims to amend an existing law to include a Federal defender as a nonvoting member of the United States Sentencing Commission. This means that the Federal defender, who is responsible for providing legal defense to individuals charged with federal crimes, will be given a seat on the Commission but will not have voting power. This will increase representation and input from the Federal defender's perspective in the Commission's decisions. The bill also mentions a conforming amendment, which will increase the number of ex officio (non-voting) members on the Commission from two to three.
Possible Impacts
1. The inclusion of a Federal defender as a nonvoting member of the United States Sentencing Commission could potentially lead to more fair and balanced decisions being made by the Commission, as the defender would bring a unique perspective and expertise to the table.
2. This legislation may also impact the workload and responsibilities of the Federal defender, as they will now have additional duties and responsibilities as a member of the Commission.
3. The amendment to include a Federal Public or Community Defender designated by the Defender Services Advisory Group as an ex officio, nonvoting member of the Commission could potentially increase representation and diversity within the Commission, as the Defender Services Advisory Group is made up of representatives from various organizations and backgrounds.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3286 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 3286
To include a Federal defender as a nonvoting member of the United
States Sentencing Commission.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 30, 2021
Mr. Booker (for himself and Mr. Durbin) introduced the following bill;
which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To include a Federal defender as a nonvoting member of the United
States Sentencing Commission.
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 ``Sentencing Commission Improvements
Act''.
SEC. 2. FEDERAL DEFENDER AS A NONVOTING MEMBER OF THE UNITED STATES
SENTENCING COMMISSION.
(a) In General.--Section 991(a) of title 28, United States Code, is
amended--
(1) in the first sentence, by striking ``one nonvoting
member.'' and inserting ``2 nonvoting members.''; and
(2) in the fifth sentence, by striking ``shall be an ex
officio, nonvoting member'' and inserting ``and a Federal
Public or Community Defender designated by the Defender
Services Advisory Group, shall be ex officio, nonvoting members
of the Commission.''.
(b) Conforming Amendment.--Section 235(b)(5) of the Sentencing
Reform Act of 1984 (18 U.S.C. 3551 note) is amended, in the last
sentence, by striking ``nine members, including two ex officio,
nonvoting members'' and inserting ``10 members, including 3 ex officio,
nonvoting members.''.
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