Home > 106th Congressional Bills > H.R. 5387 (ih) [Introduced in House] ...H.R. 5387 (ih) [Introduced in House] ...
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 5386
To amend title 18, United States Code, to reform Federal Prison
Industries, and for other purposes.
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IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 18, 2004
Mr. Conyers introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary
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A BILL
To amend title 18, United States Code, to reform Federal Prison
Industries, and for other purposes.
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 ``Fair Access and Individual
Responsibilities Act of 2004''.
SEC. 2. INDUSTRIAL OPERATIONS IN FEDERAL PRISONS.
(a) Board of Directors.--Section 4121 of title 18, United States
Code, is amended by striking all after the section heading and
inserting the following:
``(a) Establishment.--Federal Prison Industries is a government
corporation of the District of Columbia.
``(b) Board.--
``(1) In general.--Federal Prison Industries is
administered by a board of directors, composed of 12 directors
appointed by the Attorney General, of which 4 shall be
appointed as follows:
``(A) 1 director upon the recommendation of the
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
``(B) 1 director upon the recommendation of the
minority leader of the House of Representatives.
``(C) 1 director upon the recommendation of the
majority leader of the Senate.
``(D) 1 director upon the recommendation of the
minority leader of the Senate.
``(2) Term.--A director shall be appointed to a term of 4
years and may be reappointed.
``(3) Compensation.--A director shall serve without
compensation.
``(c) Duty.--The duty of the board shall be to carry on and
facilitate such industrial operations in Federal correctional
institutions as the Attorney General determines.
``(d) Chief Executive Officer.--The Director of the Bureau of
Prisons shall serve as chief executive officer of the corporation.
``(e) Independent Review Panel.--
``(1) In general.--The Attorney General shall appoint an
independent review panel to advise the board of directors
regarding the type and quantity of products to be produced by
Federal Prison Industries and conditions of hire and work
consistent with this chapter.
``(2) Members.--The panel shall be comprised of--
``(A) 1 member representing the Department of
Commerce;
``(B) 1 member representing the Department of
Labor;
``(C) 1 member representing the Department of the
Treasury;
``(D) 1 member representing the International Trade
Commission;
``(E) 1 member representing the Small Business
Association;
``(F) 1 member representing the Economic
Development Administration;
``(G) 1 member representing the business community;
``(H) 1 member representing organized labor;
``(I) 1 member representing taxpayers;
``(J) 1 member representing crime victims;
``(K) 1 member representing the Department of
Health and Human Services Office of Child Support
Enforcement;
``(L) 1 member representing minorities
overrepresented in prison populations;
``(M) not less than 2 members representing, and
appointed from among, inmates working in Federal Prison
Industries; and
``(N) such other members as the Attorney General
considers appropriate.
``(3) Compensation.--Members of the panel shall serve
without compensation.
``(4) Inapplicability of faca.--The Federal Advisory
Committee Act shall not apply with respect to the panel.''.
(b) Administration.--Section 4122 of title 18, United States Code,
is amended by striking all after the section heading and inserting the
following:
``(a) In General.--The Attorney General shall determine in what
manner and to what extent industrial operations shall be carried on in
Federal correctional institutions.
``(b) Objectives.--The Attorney General shall conduct such
operations so as to maximize--
``(1) the productivity, legal income, and financial
responsibility of every Federal corrections inmate;
``(2) the unsubsidized competitive opportunities of
industrial operations in Federal correctional institutions; and
``(3) the profit opportunities of private and non-profit
firms employing inmates in Federal correctional institutions,
within the rules of the normal competitive economy and subject
to the requirements of safe and secure correctional facilities.
``(c) Responsibilities.--Within requirements of safety and
security, the Attorney General shall be responsible for protecting and
facilitating the participation rights of each Federal corrections
inmate as well as for facilitating the ability of each inmate to meet
that inmate's financial responsibilities through successful competitive
participation in the economy of the United States.
``(d) Availability of Opportunities.--The Attorney General shall
endeavor to make available to inmates who have been committed to the
custody of the Bureau of Prisons opportunities, free from
discrimination, to work or be employed in a Federal Prison Industries
shop.
``(e) Standards.--The Attorney General may set standards regarding
education and conduct for those inmates who work in a Federal Prison
Industries shop.
``(f) Voluntary Movement.--Except where safety and security of
individual inmates requires exception, the voluntary movement of
inmates among classes of institutional maintenance, work, or employment
shall not be inhibited.''.
SEC. 3. INDUSTRY CLASSES.
(a) Purchase of Prison-Made Products by Federal Departments.--
Section 4124 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by striking
``products of the industries authorized by this chapter'' and inserting
``products of Class A industries authorized by this chapter''.
(b) Classes A, B, C, and D.--(1) Chapter 307 of title 18, United
States Code, is amended by adding after section 4124 the following new
sections:
``Sec. 4124A. Class A industries
``(a) Definition.--In this chapter, a Class A industry is an
industry established under this chapter as of December 31, 2002.
``(b) Limitations on Number of Workers.--The number of inmates
working in Class A industries may not exceed--
``(1) the number of inmates working in Class A industries
as of December 31, 2002, during the period beginning on the
date of the enactment of this section and ending on December
31, 2015;
``(2) 75 percent of the number referred to in paragraph
(1), during the period beginning on January 1, 2016, and ending
on December 31, 2020; and
``(3) 50 percent of the number referred to in paragraph
(1), after December 31, 2020.
``(c) Limitations on Percentage of Workers.--Of the total
population of inmates, the percentage who work in Class A industries
may not exceed--
``(1) the percentage who worked in Class A industries as of
December 31, 2002, during the period beginning on the date of
the enactment of this section and ending on December 31, 2015;
``(2) 75 percent of the percentage referred to in paragraph
(1), during the period beginning on January 1, 2016, and ending
on December 31, 2020; and
``(3) 50 percent of the percentage referred to in paragraph
(1), after December 31, 2020.
``(d) Limitation on Industries.--The types of industries in Class A
industries may not expand beyond the industries in existence as of
December 31, 2002.
``Sec. 4124B. Class B industries
``(a) Definition.--In this chapter, a Class B industry is an
industry established on or after January 1, 2005, that meets the
requirements of subsection (b).
``(b) Requirements.--An industry meets the requirements of this
subsection if, and only if, it meets the following requirements:
``(1) It is carried out by a competitive entity unrelated
to a Class A industry that produces goods or services for sale
in government or open markets, including in interstate and
international commerce.
``(2) The entity is an independent taxpaying unit subject
to all opportunities and obligations affecting a similarly
located private firm.
``(3) All civilian and inmate workers of the entity are
identically covered under wage and benefit plans and all
Federal and applicable State and local laws covering civilian
employees, including but not limited to all provisions of the
Fair Labor Standards Act, the National Labor Relations Act, the
Americans With Disabilities Act, and health and safety
standards affecting private firms.
``(4) The entity is subject to all license, permit, and tax
obligations of a similarly located private firm.
``(5) Any land, buildings, capital equipment, utilities,
services, or staff assistance (except security) owned or
provided to the entity by Federal Prison Industries are
obtained in an arms-length, open, competitive bidding process
maximizing returns to taxpayers.
``(6) The entity does not receive from Federal Prison
Industries any implicit or explicit subsidy not equivalently
offered to other firms.
``(7) The entity, before engaging in a business, offers for
competitive bid all resources, including opportunities to
recruit inmate employees, to firms in the locale engaged in the
proposed line of business.
``(8) Mandatory preference does not apply to the entity.
``Sec. 4124C. Class C industries
``(a) Definition.--In this chapter, a Class C industry is an
industry established on or after January 1, 2005, that meets the
requirements of subsection (b).
``(b) Requirements.--An industry meets the requirements of this
subsection if, and only if, it meets the following requirements:
``(1) It is carried out by a private entity located in a
Federal correctional institution that produces goods or
services for sale in government or open markets, including in
interstate and international commerce.
``(2) The entity employs convicts or prisoners who meet the
requirements of each paragraph of section 1761(c) of this
title.
``(3) The entity meets the same requirements that an entity
must meet for participation in the State Prison Industry
Enhancement Certification program of the Department of Justice.
``(4) The entity meets any other requirements that the
Federal Bureau of Prisons may prescribe under subsection (c).
``(c) BOP Requirements.--
``(1) In general.--The Federal Bureau of Prisons shall
prescribe the other requirements referred to in subsection
(b)(4). The first such requirements shall be published not
later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this
section.
``(2) Limitations.--The requirements shall be designed to
maximize opportunities for private and nonprofit firms to
compete for efficient operations in Federal correctional
facilities while maintaining necessary security. The
requirements shall ensure that a Class C industry may be
established, invested in, or participated in, by inmates, so
long as--
``(A) normal conditions of law are met;
``(B) the business or investment poses no
significant threat to the safety or security of the
institution; and
``(C) inmate entrepreneurs and managers exercise no
notable control or influence over employed inmates
outside the workplace.
``Sec. 4124D. Class D industries
``(a) Definition.--In this chapter, a Class D industry is a pilot
industry that is created for purposes of testing reform of inmate
employment and prison industries and that meets the requirements of
subsection (b).
``(b) Requirements.--An industry meets the requirements of this
subsection if, and only if, it meets the following requirements:
``(1) Inmate participation is voluntary.
``(2) The entity carrying out the industry meets all health
and safety regulations.
``(3) The Attorney General determines that the industry is
safe, fair, and devised to increase inmate economic well-being.
``(4) It is a legitimate test industry meant to be
preliminary to wider application or for purposes of determining
whether there should be a proposed change in law.
``(5) The entity carrying out the industry has adequate
public oversight and independent evaluation.
``(c) BOP Requirements.--The Federal Bureau of Prisons may
establish up to 20 separate Class D industries, employing no more than
a cumulative total of 2000 inmates over the life of the Class D
industry program.
``(d) Relationship to Class A, B, and C Industries.--Class D
industries do not have to comply with the requirements of class A, B,
and C industries, as set forth in sections 4124A, 4124B, and 4124C.
``(e) Termination.--The Class D industries program shall terminate
on December 31, 2020.
``Sec. 4124E. Other industries prohibited
``An industry may not be established under this chapter unless it
is a Class A industry under section 4124A, a Class B industry under
section 4124B, a Class C industry under section 4124C, or a Class D
industry under section 4124D.''.
(2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is
amended by adding at the end the following new items:
``4124A. Class A industries.
``4124B. Class B industries.
``4124C. Class C industries.
``4124D. Class D industries.
``4124E. Other industries prohibited.''.
SEC. 4. REPEAL OF MANDATORY SOURCE PROVISIONS.
Section 4124 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding
at the end the following new subsection:
``(e)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), this section shall
not apply after December 31, 2010.
``(2) This section shall apply with respect to Federal Prison
Industries at a specific correctional facility for a period not
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