Federal Funding for Fiscal Year 2002

The appropriations process for Fiscal Year 2002 (which began on October 1, 2001) had pretty much ground to a halt as Congress considered responses to the September 11 attacks and the anti-terrorism bills. The final appropriations bill for the Department of Justice was delayed until December with funding for Justice programs being continued by temporary spending bills (continuing resolutions).

The president’s budget request in February 2001 did not start this process with a rosy outlook for local law enforcement. The request zeroed out many of the categories of funding that have assisted local efforts for a number of years. The philosophy expressed was basically that the federal government should fund federal law enforcement requirements and the states and local government should provide funds for those efforts at their level.

In the big picture, Congress is providing the Department of Justice with $21.5 billion for Fiscal Year 2002. This is $612 million over the last fiscal year and $554 million more then the president’s request. The final amounts provided by Congress are shown below. While the Byrne Discretionary Grants look like a viable amount, in reality they are heavily earmarked (dedicated), and there is little or no discretion in their use.

• Byrne Memorial Grants (total): $594.5M
• Byrne Formula $500M
• Byrne Discretionary $94.5M
• Local Law Enforcement Block Grants $400M
• Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grants $249.5M
• Drug Courts $50M
• VAWA Programs $390.6M
• Juvenile Justice Programs $305.9M
• Truth in Sentencing/Violent Offender Grants $0
• State Criminal Alien Assistance (SCAAP) $565M
• Community Prosecution
  • Southwest Border Initative $50M—help local prosecutors defray expenses of prosecuting drug related cases
  • Gun Violence Reduction Imitative $49.7M—help local prosecutors reduce violence in their communities due to guns
• Community Oriented Policing $1.05B
  

The budget request for Fiscal Year 2003 should be announced shortly after this edition of The Prosecutor is available. Watch to see if the request mirrors that of the prior year and again cuts funding for local law enforcement while increasing that for federal agencies. (See the members’ section of the NDAA Web site for periodic updates.)

Unfinished Business

When Congress returns for the second session of the 107th Congress, there are a number of key pieces of legislation that have been in abeyance because of the effort dedicated to the terrorist attacks. These include:

The Consequences for Juvenile Offenders Act (H.R. 863) which has passed the House and been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill amends the 1968 Crime Bill by replacing provisions authorizing grants: to develop alternative methods of punishment with provisions for grants to promote greater accountability in the juvenile justice system, including grants for graduated sanctions; for juvenile facilities; to provide funding for prosecutors to address drug, gang, and youth violence problems; for school safety; and to hire and train detention and corrections personnel.

The Innocence Protection Act (S. 486 and H.R. 912) bills have been referred to the respective judiciary committees of each house. There are 24 cosponsors for the Senate bill and 213 for that in the House.

The act would amend federal judicial code to allow a person convicted of a federal offense to apply to the appropriate federal court for DNA testing to support a claim either that the person did not commit the crime of which they were convicted or any other offense that a court may have relied upon when it sentenced the person with respect to such crime. It also sets out guidelines to use in ordering DNA testing; post-testing procedures; provisions regarding preservation of evidence; criminal penalties for destroying or altering DNA evidence; and provisions regarding post-conviction DNA testing in state criminal justice systems.

It also prohibits a state from denying an application for DNA testing made by a prisoner in state custody who is under sentence of death if specified conditions apply and provides grants to prosecutors for DNA testing programs. Finally it would establish the National Commission on Capital Representation.

The Innocence Protection Act would withhold funds from states not complying with standards for capital representation and provides for capital defense incentive grants and resource grants. It would increase compensation in federal cases and set out provisions on compensation in state cases where an individual is unjustly sentenced to death. The act also expresses the sense of Congress regarding the execution of juvenile offenders and the mentally retarded.

The Drug Abuse Education, Prevention, and Treatment Act (S. 304, cosponsored by Senators Leahy and Hatch) would increase federal penalties for drug offenses involving juveniles, including trafficking in or near a school. It establishes grant programs to encourage drug-free prisons and jails but requires mandatory revocation of probation and supervised release for failing a drug test. It also authorizes grants to prosecutors for drug treatment programs as an alternative to prison; to study the effect of mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses; and for substance abuse programs for juveniles. A number of specialized grant programs are also funded as experiments. Faith based programs are specifically authorized to participate in these grant programs.