S. 234

119 S234 IS: Prosecutors Need to Prosecute Act of 2025
 U.S. Senate
 2025-01-23
 text/xml
 EN
 Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
 II  119th CONGRESS  1st Session  S. 234  IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES   January 23, 2025   Mr. Kennedy  (for himself and  Mr. Cruz ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the  Committee on the Judiciary    A BILL
To amend the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to direct certain prosecutor's offices to annually report to the Attorney General, and for other purposes.
1.
Short title
This Act may be cited as the   Prosecutors Need to Prosecute Act of 2025  .
2.
District attorney and prosecutor reports
Section 501 of title I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 ( 34 U.S.C. 10151 ) is amended—
(1)
by redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as subsections (h) and (i), respectively; and
(2)
by inserting after subsection (f) the following:
(f)
District attorney reporting requirements
(1)
Definitions
In this subsection:
(A)
Covered offense
The term  covered offense  means any of the following:
(i)
Murder or non-negligent manslaughter.
(ii)
Forcible rape.
(iii)
Robbery.
(iv)
Aggravated assault.
(v)
Burglary.
(vi)
Larceny.
(vii)
Motor vehicle theft.
(viii)
Arson.
(ix)
Any offense involving the illegal use of a firearm.
(x)
Any offense involving the illegal possession of a firearm.
(B)
Covered prosecutor
The term  covered prosecutor  means the chief executive of a district attorney or prosecutor’s office that serves a local government—
(i)
the population of the jurisdiction of which is not less than 360,000 individuals; and
(ii)
that receives funds under this part.
(2)
Reporting requirement
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the  Prosecutors Need to Prosecute Act of 2025 , and annually thereafter, a covered prosecutor shall submit to the Attorney General a report that contains, for the previous fiscal year, the following:
(A)
The total number of cases referred to the covered prosecutor for prosecution of a covered offense.
(B)
The number of cases involving a covered offense—
(i)
that the covered prosecutor declined to prosecute or refer for diversion; or
(ii)
for which the covered prosecutor declined to reach a plea agreement.
(C)
For cases involving a covered offense that result in a plea agreement or referral for diversion reached with the defendant, the number of cases for which the defendant—
(i)
was previously arrested for a covered offense arising out of a separate conviction;
(ii)
was previously convicted for a covered offense arising out of a separate conviction;
(iii)
is involved in an open case involving a covered offense arising out of separate conduct;
(iv)
is serving a term of probation for a conviction for a covered offense arising out of separate conduct; and
(v)
was released on parole for a conviction for a covered offense arising out of separate conduct.
(D)
The number of covered offenses that the covered prosecutor does not prosecute as a result of an internal policy against prosecuting specific criminal offenses, including—
(i)
each covered offense captured in the internal policy; and
(ii)
each criminal offense that is not captured in the internal policy.
(3)
Compliance
With respect to a covered prosecutor that complies with the requirement under paragraph (2)—
(A)
the Attorney General shall give priority in disbursing funds under this part to the local government served by the covered prosecutor; and
(B)
the local government described in subparagraph (A) shall ensure that the covered prosecutor receives a portion of the funds received under this part.
(4)
Uniform standards
The Attorney General shall establish uniform standards for the reporting of the information required under this subsection, including the form such reports shall take and the process by which such reports shall be shared with the Attorney General.
(5)
Submission to judiciary committees
The Attorney General shall—
(A)
submit the information received under this subsection to the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of Representatives; and
(B)
publish such information on a publicly viewable website.
 .
3.
Byrne-JAG funds and elimination of cash bail
The Attorney General shall not distribute amounts under subpart I of part E of title 1 of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 ( 34 U.S.C. 10151 et seq. ) to a State or local government that has in effect a policy that prohibits the use of cash bail for a defendant in a case involving the illegal use or illegal possession of a firearm.