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United States · Bill · S

S. 1933 (115th)

Smarter Sentencing Act of 2017

referredUnited States· United States Congress· EN

Introduced

5 October 2017

Last action

5 October 2017 · Introduced

Status

Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

Sponsors

Mike Lee, Richard Durbin, Sen. Flake, Jeff [R-AZ], Sen. Leahy, Patrick J. [D-VT], Sen. Booker, Cory A. [D-NJ], Sheldon Whitehouse, Sen. Franken, Al [D-MN], Richard Blumenthal, Sen. Udall, Tom [D-NM], Ron Wyden, Brian Schatz, Angus King, Gary Peters, Edward Markey, Tammy Duckworth, Bernie Sanders, Martin Heinrich, Christopher Coons, Jeff Merkley, Timothy Kaine, Tammy Baldwin, Elizabeth Warren, Christopher Murphy, Tina Smith, Sen. Jones, Doug [D-AL], Chris Van Hollen, Sen. Harris, Kamala D. [D-CA]

Subjects

Discovery layer

Source updated

10 August 2026

Summary

Smarter Sentencing Act of 2017 This bill amends the federal criminal code to expand the safety valve to allow a court to impose a sentence below the statutory mandatory minimum for an otherwise eligible drug offender who has three or fewer (currently, one or fewer) criminal history points. The bill amends the Controlled Substances Act to reduce the mandatory minimum prison term for defendants who manufacture, distribute, or possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Specifically, it reduces mandatory minimums: from 10 years to 5 years for a first-time high-level offense (e.g., one kilogram or more of heroin), from 20 years to 10 years for a high-level offense after one prior felony drug offense, from life to 25 years for a high-level offense after two or more prior felony drug offenses, from 5 years to 2 years for a first-time low-level offense (e.g., 100 to 999 grams of heroin), and from 10 years to 5 years for a low-level offense after one prior felony drug offense. Additionally, the bill amends the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act to modify the application of mandatory minimum prison terms for certain defendants who import or export a controlled substance. Specifically, it: makes existing mandatory minimums inapplicable to a defendant who functions as a courier; and establishes new, shorter mandatory minimum prison terms for a courier. The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 applies retroactively to allow a court to reduce the prison term of a convicted crack cocaine offender sentenced before August 3, 2010. The Department of Justice must report on and publish all federal criminal statutory offenses. Specified federal agencies, departments, and entities must report on and publish criminal regulatory offenses that they enforce.

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Timeline

  1. 5 October 2017

    Introduced

    Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.

    Source: IntroReferral

  2. 5 October 2017

    Introduced

    Introduced in Senate

    Source: IntroReferral

Votes

No vote records are attached yet.

Versions

Documents

3 official files

Sponsors

Related records

Sources

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