H.R. 350: Prosecutors Need to Prosecute Act

This bill, known as the "Prosecutors Need to Prosecute Act," seeks to implement reporting requirements for district attorney and prosecutor’s offices receiving federal Byrne grants. Here’s a breakdown of its main components:

1. Annual Reporting Requirement

District attorney or prosecutor offices that serve jurisdictions with populations of 380,000 or more must submit annual reports to the Attorney General. These reports must include information from the previous fiscal year, specifically:

• The total number of cases referred for prosecution of specific serious offenses.
• The number of those cases that the office chose not to prosecute.
• Details on plea agreements, including:
  • The total number of plea agreement cases.
  • Breakdown of these cases by initial charge.
  • Breakdown by charge of conviction.
• The number of cases against defendants who have prior arrests, convictions, or ongoing cases involving similar serious offenses.
• The status of defendants charged, regarding their release conditions and bail requests.

2. Uniform Standards

The Attorney General is responsible for defining uniform standards for how the required information should be reported. This will include guidelines on the format of the reports and the sharing process with the Attorney General's office.

3. Submission of Information

The Attorney General will compile and submit the received information to the Senate and House Committees on the Judiciary and publish it on a publicly accessible website.

4. Definition of Covered Offense

The term "covered offense" includes a range of serious crimes, specifically:

• Murder or non-negligent manslaughter.
• Forcible rape.
• Robbery.
• Aggravated assault.
• Burglary.
• Larceny.
• Motor vehicle theft.
• Arson.
• Illegal use of firearms.
• Illegal possession of firearms.

Relevant Companies

None found.