supporting this management principle. The bill is a product of multi-year bipartisan negotiations and enjoys support from across the political spectrum.). It is in the best operational interests of the Bureau and the institutions it manages. The CARES Act authorizes the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to lengthen the amount of time a prisoner may be placed in home confinement beyond the statutory maximum normally allowed under 18 U.S.C. Each document posted on the site includes a link to the at 304-06. et al., documents in the last year, 987 This proposed rule affirms that the Director has the authority to allow prisoners placed in home confinement under the CARES Act to remain in home confinement after the expiration of the covered emergency period. In the alternative, written comments may be mailed to the Rules Unit, Office of General Counsel, Bureau of Prisons, 320 First Street NW, Washington, DC 20534. 59. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), signed into law March 27, 2020, provides over $2 trillion of economic relief to workers, families, small businesses, industry sectors, and other levels of government that have been hit hard by the public health crisis created by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Start Printed Page 36788. CDC, The Possibility of COVID-19 after Vaccination: Breakthrough Infections (updated Dec. 17, 2021), Most of the 17 offenses were drug-related. The total number of inmates placed in home confinement from March 26, 2020 to the present (including inmates who have completed service of their sentence) is 31,503." The Biden administration is . There is no legislative history to support such a reading, and there are other plausible explanations for the grace period, including broader forms of administrative convenience and benefit, such as letting BOP finish processing home-confinement placements that were in progress and to which BOP had already devoted resources. Language and Structure of the CARES Act, PART 0ORGANIZATION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2022-13217, MODS: Government Publishing Office metadata, https://www.bop.gov/coronavirus/docs/bop_memo_home_confinement_april3.pdf, https://www.justice.gov/olc/file/1457926/download, part 0 of title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/about-covid-19/basics-covid-19.html, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/how-covid-spreads.html, https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/community/correction-detention/COVID-Corrections-considerations-for-loosening-restrictions-Webinar.pdf, https://www.durbin.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Letter.%20to%20DOJ%20and%20BOP%20on%20COVID-19%20and%20FSA%20provisions%20-%20final%20bipartisan%20text%20with%20signature%20blocks.pdf, https://www.bop.gov/coronavirus/docs/bop_memo_home_confinement.pdf, https://www.bop.gov/inmates/fsa/pattern.jsp, http://www.bop.gov/foia/docs/Home%20Confinemet%20memo_2021_04_13.pdf, https://www.bop.gov/foia/docs/Updated_Home_Confinement_Guidance_20201116.pdf, https://www.bop.gov/foia/docs/Home%20Confinement%20memo_2021_04_13.pdf, https://www.bop.gov/coronavirus/faq.jsp, https://www.bop.gov/policy/progstat/7320_001_CN-2.pdf, https://www.justice.gov/olc/file/1355886/download, https://www.congress.gov/bill/110th-congress/house-bill/1593/actions?r=5&s=5, https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/756/actions?r=6&s=9, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/living-prisons-jails.html, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/effectiveness/why-measure-effectiveness/breakthrough-cases.html. 509, 510, part 0 of title 28 of the Code of Federal Regulations is proposed to be amended as follows: 1. See This proposed rule is not a major rule as defined by the Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. [55] [19] documents in the last year, 1411 It was previously unclear whether inmates would have to return to prison when the pandemic ends. Congress demonstrated support for this type of logical progression toward reentry in the First Step Act. shall be committed to the custody of the Bureau of Prisons until the expiration of the term imposed . [35] 110-140, at 1-5 (2007) (The Second Chance Act will strengthen overall efforts to reduce recidivism, increase public safety, and help States and communities to better address the growing population of ex-offenders returning to their communities. Federal Register issue. You can also include a description of the CARES Act home confinement circumstances, and why these circumstances may present an "extraordinary and compelling" reason to reduce your sentence. and the resulting increased crowding in prison settings could lead to new COVID-19 outbreaks, including breakthrough cases in fully vaccinated inmates and infections in the most vulnerable prisoners. CARES Act sec. 03/03/2023, 234 The Act's name is the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. 25. Chevron, U.S.A., Inc. Letter for Attorney General Barr & Director Carvajal from Senator Richard J. Durbin Register, and does not replace the official print version or the official 26, 2022). COVID-19 most often causes respiratory symptoms, but can also attack other parts of the body. As the OLC opinion explains, the Department's reading of the CARES Act is grounded in the language of the relevant provision, section 12003(b)(2). has no substantive legal effect. 467 U.S. 837 (1984).[29]. Counts are subject to sampling, reprocessing and revision (up or down) throughout the day. . 5194, 5238 (2018), The Bureau, in its discretion, forwards certain home confinement cases to the prosecuting United States Attorney's Office for the input of prosecutors, taking any objections into account when approving or denying those cases. Courts have recognized the Bureau's authority to administer inmates' sentences,[54] In the SCA, Congress increased the Bureau's discretion to place inmates in home confinement in two ways. 12003(b)(2). 5238. When an inmate is placed in home confinement, he or she is not considered released from the custody of the Bureau of Prisons; rather, he or she continues serving a sentence imposed by a Federal court and administered by the Bureau of Prisons. Id. 45 Op. For example, Congress has made clear that the Bureau must base its determination of an inmate's place of imprisonment on an individualized assessment that takes into account factors including the inmate's history and characteristics. Open for Comment, Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions, Economic Sanctions & Foreign Assets Control, Fisheries of the Northeastern United States, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Further Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, 1. If a comment has so much confidential business information that it cannot be effectively redacted, all or part of that comment may not be posted at As DOJ notes, the CARES Act is silent "as to whether the Director has discretion to determine whether specific individuals placed in home confinement under the CARES Act may remain there" after the COVID-19 emergency ends. Rep. No. 3624(c)(2).[15]. Section 12003(b)(2) of the CARES Act authorizes the Director to place inmates in home confinement, notwithstanding the time limits set forth in 18 U.S.C. Initially, prioritization is being made to review inmates who meet the following . The Department's interpretation is also consistent with congressional action demonstrating an interest in increasing the Bureau's use of home confinement. July 20, 2022. Individuals placed in home confinement under the CARES Act, like other inmates in home confinement, remain in the custody of the Bureau. For all of these reasons, the Department believes that it is not only statutorily authorized, but also operationally appropriate for the Director to have the discretion to allow individuals placed in home confinement under the CARES Act to remain in home confinement after the end of the covered emergency period. __(Dec. 21, 2021), Federal Bureau of Prisons Program Statement 7320.01, CN-2, Home Confinement (updated Dec. 15, 2017), These tools are designed to help you understand the official document This information is not part of the official Federal Register document. BOP, [49] [64] . These can be useful [16], The term covered emergency period refers to the period beginning on the date the President declared a national emergency with respect to COVID-19 and ending 30 days after the date on which the national emergency declaration terminates.[17]. Liesl M. Hagan documents in the last year, 87 CDC, For People Living in Prisons and Jails (updated Feb. 15, 2022), The Bureau also explained that home confinement decisions have historically been made on an individualized basis, which serves penological goals. 602, 132 Stat. available at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/about-covid-19/basics-covid-19.html 1503 & 1507. 16. . provides that most people on home confinement should remain there through the end of their sentence. FSA sec. offers a preview of documents scheduled to appear in the next day's 3624(c)(2), during and for 30 days after the termination of the national emergency declaration concerning COVID-19, provided that the Attorney General has made a finding that emergency conditions are materially affecting BOP's functioning. Individuals placed in home confinement under the CARES Act, like other inmates in home confinement, remain in the custody of the Bureau. 11, 17 (2000) (finding that 89 percent of 17,000 individuals placed in home confinement between 1988 and 1996 successfully completed their terms without incident). Memorandum for Chief Executive Officers from Andre Matevousian 35. On June 21, 2022, the Federal Register issued a call for comments on a rule as how the BOP would end the program of transferring prisoners to home confinement upon the end of the CARES Act. The economic impact of this proposed rule is limited to a specific subset of inmates who were placed in home confinement pursuant to the CARES Act and are not otherwise eligible for home confinement at the end of the covered emergency period. Specifically, the Act states: During the covered emergency period, if the Attorney General finds that emergency conditions will materially affect the functioning of the Bureau, the Director of the Bureau may lengthen the maximum amount of time for which the Director is authorized to place a prisoner in home confinement under the first sentence of section 3624(c)(2) of title 18, United States Code, as the Director determines appropriate. . The CARES Act provides that if the Attorney General finds that emergency conditions will . 101, 132 Stat. These include increasing the Bureau's ability to control inmate populations in BOP facilities and in the community, allowing it to be responsive to changed circumstances; empowering the Bureau to make individualized assessments as to whether inmates placed in home confinement should remain in home confinement after the end of the covered emergency period, taking into account, for example, penological goals and the benefits associated with an inmate establishing family connections and finding employment opportunities in the community; and allowing the Bureau to weigh the ongoing risk of new COVID-19 outbreaks in BOP facilities against the benefit of returning any inmate to secure custody. 7. Reaffirm condemnation of torture as a human rights violation and call for an end to prolonged solitary confinement as a form of torture. Federal Register provide legal notice to the public and judicial notice available at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/effectiveness/why-measure-effectiveness/breakthrough-cases.html 26, 2022). available at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/living-prisons-jails.html Home confinement provides penological benefits as one of the last steps in a reentry program. Relevant information about this document from Regulations.gov provides additional context. Jody Sundt 12. 23, 2020), 3624(c)(2)and even assuming the act of placement involves an ongoing process, the Bureau fully completes the act of lengthening the time for which an individual may be placed in home confinement under the CARES Act when an inmate is transferred to home confinement under the Act. See edition of the Federal Register. See, e.g., But she feels certain "we could have been releasing so many more people during the pandemic and we . 15. An inmate would usually be moved over the course of a sentence to progressively less secure conditions of confinementoften from a secure prison, to a residential reentry center, to home confinementto provide transition back into the community with support, resources, and supervision from the agency. Congress vested the Attorney General with broad control over the control and management of Federal penal and correctional institutions and the ability to promulgate rules for the government thereof.[42]